Appeal 2006-2897
Application 10/074,715
3. The term includes EDTA, a preferred chelating agent. Id. at 5,
ll. 19-20.
4. The “term ‘cell lysing agent’ . . . means any chemical medium or
substance capable of disrupting the cellular membrane of cells in
contact with the medium or substance . . . ,” id. at 3, ll. 10-13, and
includes “water soluble organic solvents such as alcohols.” Id. at 4,
l. 31 to 5, l. 1.
5. “A particularly preferred cell lysing agent is ethanol.” Id. at 5,
ll. 3-4.
6. Claim 12 does not require either “a preservative” or “an antifreeze
agent,” given that the language “up to . . .” indicates that none need
be present. See Ans. at 6.
7. The claim language “consisting essentially of” does not exclude
other components that do not materially affect the claimed
composition. See Ans. at 7-8.
8. The claim language “being capable of preserving thyroid stimulating
hormone” does not avoid prior art compositions that inherently
possess this characteristic, even though it is not expressly disclosed.
See FOA at 9-10.
III. The Cited Prior Art
1. Steaffens discloses stabilizing compositions containing a chelating
agent and cell lysing agent (called a solubilizing or dispersing agent
by Steaffens). See, e.g., col. 4, ll. 33-53; col. 6, ll. 1-3 & 12-53.
5
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