Appeal No. 2003-0892 Page 2
Application No. 09/454,385
electrophoresis to identify the target DNA or RNA sequence.
The references relied on by the examiner are:
Conrad 5,652,099 Jul. 29, 1997
Mandecki 5,736,332 Apr. 7, 1998
Albrecht et al. (Albrecht) 6,265,163 Jul. 24, 2001
Castro & Shera (Castro), “Single-Molecule Electrophoresis,” Analytical Chemistry, Vol.
67, No. 18, pp. 3181-3186 (September 15, 1995)
Claims 1, 2, 5 and 6 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) as anticipated by
Mandecki; claims 1-3 and 5-7 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e) as anticipated
by Albrecht; and claims 1-12 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as unpatentable
over Conrad and Castro.
We reverse these rejections.
BACKGROUND
The rapid and efficient detection of specific nucleic acid sequences in
biological samples plays a central role in a variety of fields . . . One of the
most commonly used techniques for the detection of specific nucleic acid
sequences is the Southern blot[,] . . . in which the fragments to be
interrogated have been size-separated by gel electrophoresis and
transferred from the gel to a nylon nitrocellulose filter. A radioactive probe
is then added to the filter so that hybridization takes place. After washing
away the excess probe, the band containing the target nucleic acid is
detected by exposing an X-ray film to the filter.
Despite its popularity, Southern blotting suffers from some limitations: it
involves a series of manually intensive procedures that cannot be run
unattended and cannot be readily automated . . .
The use of automated probes brings up . . . safety and environmental
concerns. The lack of adequate sensitivity is another limitation, which has
been partially addressed by the development of the polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) and related target amplification methods . . . Amplification
methods, however, may introduce ambiguities resulting from
contamination or from variability in amplification efficiency.
Specification, pages 1-2.
The present invention provides a “non-radioactive approach for the ultrasensitive
detection of specific sequences” which “combines the advantages of flow-based
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