Appeal No. 2006-0484 Page 4
Application No. 09/657,729
Claim 1 also requires providing and operating an electrochemical control for the
redox environment of the sample. The electrochemical control can be, for example, a
set of three electrodes such as that described on page 7 of the specification. Finally,
the claim requires “analyzing the sample using a detection scheme . . . to identify if
interaction has occurred between the target and the sample.”
Claim 51 is similar to claim 1 but requires the electrochemical control to have
auxiliary, working, and reference electrodes, and also requires the detection scheme to
be spectroscopic.
2. Anticipation by Higgins
The examiner rejected claims 1-3, 5, 7, 13, and 48-51 under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
as anticipated by Higgins.1 As the examiner pointed out (Examiner’s Answer, pages 6-
7 and 8-9), Higgins discloses a method that meets all the limitations of claims 1 and 51.
Example 3 is particularly relevant. That example involves luciferase, an enzyme that
requires electrons for its activity; the electrons are normally supplied to the enzyme by
the cofactor NADH. See col. 6, lines 38-40. Higgins’ Example 3 involves a reaction of
luciferase to produce light using electrons (a.k.a. reducing equivalents) produced
electrochemically. Col. 6, lines 40-42.
Higgins discloses combining luciferase, decyl aldehyde, and a phosphate buffer
in an electrochemical cell (col. 6, lines 49-57). The electrochemical cell contains a
working electrode, reference electrode, and counter (auxiliary) electrode, all of which
are connected to a potentiostat. Col. 6, lines 52, 54-55, 58, and 60-61. After the
reactants are added to the electrochemical cell, the electrical potential of the cell is
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