Appeal 2006-3259
Application 09/785,188
The Level of Skill in the Art
The skilled artisan would recognize the value of immobilizing cells by
a sol-gel process, as taught by Uo and Hino, and the value of macroporous
gels such as those taught by Uo.
Based on the teachings of Hino and Uo (and further in view of those
of Block), the skilled artisan would have been aware of the potential toxicity
of alcohols to microbial cells. Thus, if necessary to preserve cell activity,
the artisan would have minimized contact between the cells and an alcohol,
for example, by omitting the addition of alcohol to the reaction mixture
when forming the sol, as suggested by Hino. See Answer 11.
The skilled artisan would have recognized the value of using
“vegetative cells” rather than spores, i.e., to simplify the process. See
Answer 5-6.
Other Findings
The value of Block’s teachings is limited, as it analyzes the impact of
alcohols in water rather than in the types of gels relevant to the claimed
invention. See Answer 11.
DISCUSSION
Based on the above findings, one of ordinary skill in the relevant art
would have been motivated to combine the teachings of Uo and Hino to
arrive at the method of claim 26. As the Examiner found, such a
combination would have involved the substitution of Hino’s cells for Uo’s
spores and, optionally, omitting the methanol from the reaction mixture if
necessary to obtain a higher activity level. See Answer 5-6, 9-11. The
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