Appeal No. 2006-2198 Page 4
Application No. 10/074,499
that the complex is formed in the absence of any electrically conductive metal particles
in the complex.” Examiner’s Answer, page 5.
The examiner cited Sigal as “teach[ing] that it is generally known in the art to
create microparticles using conductive material from a variety of alternative sources,
including metals such as gold and organic polymers such as polyaniline. . . . See
column 4, line 52 to column 5, line 32. The examiner concluded that “it would have
been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to substitute
an organic polyaniline polymer for gold metal, since Sigal et al[.] teach that the materials
to make electrically conductive microparticles are interchangeable and suitable for the
same purpose.” Id., page 6.
We agree with the examiner that the cited references would have made the
instantly claimed device prima facie obvious. The device disclosed by Kim is identical
to the device of claim 1, except that the second (mobile) capture reagent is bound to
both a gold particle and an electrically conductive polymer and therefore is not bound “in
[the] absence of electrically conductive metal particles.” Kim discloses that gold
particles were used as a label in order to test the approach of quantitating the
immunoassay signal based on a change in electrical conduction. See page 908, left-
hand column:
There is an intriguing approach whereby because the colloid particles
contain metal, the gold density formed on the membrane surface may vary
the electric conduction along the metal particles. . . .
. . . [W]e have explored thick-film electrodes screen-printed on
nitrocellulose membranes that were also used as solid matrix for antibody
immobilization, and a suitable signal generator for conductimetric
measurement by utilizing colloidal gold . . . modified with a conducting
polymer.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007