Appeal No. 2006-0227 Page 16
Application No. 10/121,264
different container or taken up in a pipette, it would transport the chromosomal DNA
along with it.
The upturned Falcon tube cap meets the specification’s definition of a substrate
(“an object onto which genetic material may be deposited”) that comprises a matrix (“a
material that includes transfer agent spaces”; specifically, the plastic that the cap is
made of) and a transfer agent space (“a region capable of containing at least one
transfer agent”; specifically, the concave area inside the upturned cap, which is capable
of containing the sucrose solution). Thus, claim 24 reads on the microcentrifugation
chamber disclosed by Kausch.
Appellants argue that “the sucrose in Kausch that the Examiner alleges is a
transfer agent layer does not meet the definition of a transfer agent layer presented in
Appellants’ specification. Kausch uses sucrose as a physical cushion for a coverslip, to
prevent the coverslip from breaking during centrifugation. The sucrose itself never
moves independent of the coverslip, and does not transport genetic material anywhere.”
Appeal Brief, page 28.
We disagree with Appellants’ interpretation of the claim. The specification
defines a transfer agent layer as a layer comprising “a substance onto or into which
genetic material may be deposited, which can transport the genetic material when the
[substance] is moved.” Specification, page 13. A solution of 1M sucrose (or any other
liquid, for that matter) is capable of having genetic material deposited into it, and of
transporting the genetic material when the solution is moved. Thus, a one centimeter
deep layer of 1M sucrose meets the specification’s definition of a transfer agent layer.
The fact that the solution was not actually used to transport chromosomes from one
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