Appeal No. 2003-1738 Page 3
Application No. 08/739,396
The specification discloses an alternative method of making probe
arrays. Instead of forming the probes in situ on the surface of the array, each
probe is synthesized on a different support (generically known as a “discrete
physical entity”, page 4), which is then subdivided into smaller “tiles”. The array
is then made by placing multiple tiles (each having a different probe bound to it)
onto a solid support at particular spatial locations. See, e.g., the specification at
pages 2-3, 6-7, and Figure 1.
Discussion
Claim 37, the broadest independent claim, is directed to a method of
making an array “comprising a plurality of species of bioorganic molecules.” The
claimed process comprises, first, constructing a batch of tiles “for each species of
said plurality of bioorganic molecules” by attaching the species to a “substantially
planar solid material” and subdividing the planar material to form tiles, then
“affixing separate tiles from the said batches of tiles in predetermined spatial
positions on a support.”
1. Anticipation
The examiner rejected most of the claims, including claim 37, as
anticipated by Rava. The examiner characterized the claims as “briefly recit[ing]
a process for constructing an [sic] chemical array comprising a plurality of
species of bioorganic molecules in a predetermined arrangement.” Examiner’s
Answer, page 3. The examiner did not further discuss the limitations of the
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