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Nine Patents and One Trademark Issued for UNM Technologies in January, February, and March

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued nine patents and one trademark during January, February and March for technologies invented at the University of New Mexico. The patents and trademark, issued during STC.UNM’s 2018 fiscal 3rd quarter, are for a variety of technologies created by researchers in the Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Psychiatry, Mechanical Engineering, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, and in the Center for High Technology Materials and Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions.

Issued Patent for “Nested Frequency Combs
Patent No. 9,859,677, issued January 2, 2018
Inventors:  Ladan Arissian, Jean-Claude Diels

This technology is a mode locked laser with intracavity etalon element. The result of this design is a nested frequency comb with two separate spacings; the fine spacing is defined by the laser cavity repetition rate (in the order of 100 MHz) and the larger spacing (6-10 GHz) with a one cm etalon. The coupled resonant condition makes this system ideal for sensor application.

Issued Patent for “Toroidal Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (TMSNPs) and Related Protocells”
Patent No. 9,855,217, issued January 2, 2018
Inventors:  C. Jeffrey Brinker, Yu-Shen Lin

This technology is a novel monodisperse, colloidally-stable, torroidal mesoporous silica nanoparticle (TMSNPs) which is synthesized from ellipsoid-shaped MSNPs prepared using an ammonia base-catalyzed method under low surfactant conditions. The TMSNPs can be loaded simultaneously with a small molecule active agent, a siRNA, an mRNA, a plasmid and other cargo to be used in the diagnosis and/or treatment of a variety of disorders, including cancer and bacterial and viral infections. By modifying TMSNP core (size, shape, mass) and surface properties, in vivo biodistribution can be altered by changing the proportion of particles arrested in different types of cells and tissues. This control over the particles allows for precise physiochemical targeting of specific cell and tissue types.

Issued Patent for “Cardiac Biomarker Sensing Based on Nanofluidic Amplification and Resonant Optical Detection
Patent No. 9,869,669, issued January 16, 2018
Inventors:  Sang M. Han, Cornelius F. Ivory, Mani Hossein-Zadeh

This novel technology is a compact, integrated sensor consisting of several technologies on a single chip to detect ultra-low concentrations of biomarkers with high sensitivity (1 nanogram/microliter). The lab-on-a-chip sensor platform has been developed to detect multiple cardiac biomarkers from microliter bloods samples.  The technology is accurate, portable, fast, and inexpensive and can be used in field, clinic or hospital settings.  The device requires minimal training, consumes little power and can be adapted to detect other trace biomarkers.

Issued Patent for “Harmonic Generation of Laser Radiation Using Optimized Stacks of Thin Films
Patent No. 9,880,445, issued January 30, 2018
Inventors:  Wolfgang G. Rudolph, Cristina Rodriguez

This technology is a device and method that uses stacks of films to frequency convert laser radiation using nonlinear optical harmonic generation.  The technology has the potential for the relative phases of the fundamental and harmonic waves to reset, so nonlinear frequency conversion could be added over an extended propagation distance. The optimized film stacks could lead to field enhancements that increase conversion efficiency of 20-30% greater than other methods. The stacks could also support the conversion of the large spectral width of ultrashort laser pulses while minimizing undesired dispersive effects.

Issued Patent for “Immunogenic Respiratory Syncytial Virus Glycoprotein-Containing VLPs and Related Compositions, Constructs, and Therapeutic Methods”
Patent No. 9,884,107, issued February 6, 2018
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors:  Bryce C. Chackerian, David S. Peabody

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a human pathogen that is the predominant cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections common in children and in elderly populations.  In the U. S., nearly all children are infected with RSV by the age of three. Symptoms range from severe pneumonia and bronchiolitis to milder infections.  Because of its prevalence, RSV is a major cause of serious respiratory illness in children requiring hospitalization.  Significant morbidity and mortality are also associated with RSV infection of the elderly.  There is no current vaccine for RSV infection or useful therapeutics for treating RSV infection.  This technology provides vaccines candidates for Respiratory Syncytical Virus (RSV). These vaccine candidates have proven to be highly immunogenic in vivo. The candidate vaccines are currently undergoing testing in animal models of RSV infection.

Issued Patent for “System and Methods for Simulating Real-Time Multisensory Output”
Patent No. 9,898,249, issued February 20, 2018
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventor:  Panaiotis

This technology is a multisensory system and apparatus for multisensory real-time computer simulations. It especially relates to computer simulations and coordination of games, music and music composition, and tactile stimulation. The technology has been used to develop two programs:  (1) a computer-based musical instrument that enables people with little or no musical background or training to easily and intuitively play melodies that are harmonized to a wide range of rich musical accompaniments; and as (2) a symbolic simulation of the absorption and secretion process of the kidney nephron. The reified representation uses mnemonic and simplified structural depictions to demonstrate complex processes of the kidney.

Issued Trademark for “SPIRITED”
Tradmark No. 87,551,071, issued February 27, 2018
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors:  Randall Starling, Brandi Fink, Samuel Levine

This mark is used for education services, namely, classes, seminars, workshops, and on-line instruction in the field of consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages and for web sites featuring medical and health information to manage and control the consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Issued Patent for “Apparatus and Method for Solar Energy Resource Micro-Forecasts for Solar Generation Sources and Utilities”
Patent No. 9,921,339, issued March 20, 2018
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors:  Anthony Robert Manicucci, Thomas P. Caudell, Andrea A. Mammoli

This technology is an apparatus and method for forecasting solar energy irradiance potential and subsequent photovoltaic output in a region.  The technology collects meteorological data for a given region and then estimates irradiance levels using parameters collected from the data.  Solar energy production is then simulated using the data, irradiance levels and physical characteristics of a solar generating system in a given region at a predetermined time.

Issued Patent for “Innovative Nanopore Sequencing Technology Including a Self-Assembled Porous Membrane”
Patent No. 9,927,397, issued March 27, 2018
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors:  Steven R. J. Brueck, Jeremy Scott Edwards, Alexander Neumann, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Edgar A. Mendoza, C. Jeffrey Brinker

This technology is a method and apparatus for long-read, label-free, optical nanopore long-chain molecule sequencing.  The technology is based on the integration of nanochannels to deliver single, long-chain molecules with widely spaced (>wavelength), ~1-nm aperture “tortuous” nanopores that slow translocation sufficiently to provide massively parallel, single-base resolution using optical techniques. At the surface of the nanoparticle array, strongly localized electromagnetic fields in engineered plasmonic structures allow for single base resolution using Surface Enhanced Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (SECARS).

Issued Patent for “Therapeutic Agents for Skin Diseases and Conditions”
Patent No. 9,925,153, issued March 27, 2018
Inventors:  David L. Vander Jagt, Lorraine M. Deck, Robert E. Royer, John E. Heidrich

This technology is a compound that is highly effective in treating inflammatory skin conditions in a variety of skin pathologies and inflammation leading to Alzheimer’s disease.  The inventors have extensive canine and feline in vivo data showing positive efficacy in curing/treating a variety of inflammatory skin conditions (e.g. peri-anal fistula, ear eczema, atopic dermatitis with retinal complications, moist dermatitis, hemangiosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma and Pempigus).  In investigating this compound for Alzheimer’s disease, the inventors treated transgenic Amyloid Precursor Protein/Presenilin-1 (APP/PS1) mice for one year with a low dose (0.01 % by weight in the diet) of a synthetic compound they developed.  The 3D distribution of Ab plaques was measured ex vivo in intact brains by quantitative MRI and in stained slides by optical microscopy. The experimental compound reduced both inflammation, determined as microglia activation, and plaque load by 70-100%. These reductions were broadly observed across all areas of the brain including the hippocampus.  The results of this study have been accepted for publication in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.