The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued twenty-three patents during January, February, and March for technologies invented at the University of New Mexico. The patents, issued during STC.UNM’s 2017 fiscal 3rd quarter, are for a variety of technologies created by researchers in the Departments of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Chemical & Biological Engineering, Physics & Astronomy, Pathology, Computer Science, Internal Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Emergency Medicine; and the Centers for High Technology Materials, Biomedical Engineering, Global Health, Molecular Discovery, Micro-Engineered Materials and the UNM Cancer Center.
Issued Patent for “Immunogenic HPV L2-Containing VLPs and Related Compositions, Constructs, and Therapeutic Methods”
Patent No. 9,533,057, issued January 3, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors: Bryce Chackerian, David S. Peabody
This technology provides immunotherapeutic and prophylactic bacteriophage viral-like particles (VLPs) which are useful in the treatment and prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and related disorders, including cervical cancer and persistent infections associated with HPV. Related compositions (e.g. vaccines), nucleic acid constructs, and therapeutic methods are also provided. VLPs and related compositions of the invention induce high titer antibody responses against HPV L2.
Issued Patent for “Intraperitoneally-Administered Nanocarriers that Release Their Therapeutic Load Based on the Inflammatory Environment of Cancers”
Patent No. 9,532,949, issued January 3, 2017
Inventor: Reema Zeineldin
This drug-delivery carries technology chemotherapy drugs by the intraperitoneal route so that the drug is targeted and released only in the cancer area. Ovarian cancer microenvironments are inflammatory ones rich with activated macrophages and immune cells that produce various reactive oxygen species, including ozone. By utilizing the ozone and other reactive oxygen species to lyse lipid bilayers on nanocarriers, the technology platform only release its contents peritoneally at the ovarian cancer site.
Issued Patent for “Structural Illumination and Evanescent Coupling for the Extension of Imaging Interferometric Microscopy”
Patent No. 9,541,374, issued January 10, 2017
Inventors: Steven Brueck, Alexander Neumann, Yuliya Kuznetsova
This technology, structured illumination microscopy (SIM), uses a low-numerical aperture (NA) microscope objective to obtain high frequency partial images using simultaneous coherent off axis illumination beams. Multiple calculations adjust the resultant images. The technology also provides different methods of creating the image. The benefits of this flexibility include a new option, requiring only minimal access to the objective pupil. Therefore, the invention is much more adaptable to current technology.
Issued Patent for “System and Methods for Dynamic Management of Hardware Resources”
Patent No. 9,542,198, issued January 10, 2017
Inventors: Marios Pattichis, Yuebing Jiang, Daniel Llamocca Obregon
This technology is a system and method for improving the resource management in computer systems, using one or more pareto-optimal realizations to meet time-varying energy, power, performance, and accuracy constraints. This scalable and efficient hardware incorporates dynamically reconfigurable signal, image, and video processing architectures that can densely sample the power/energy, bitrate, and image quality space when applied to such digital content applications as 2D/3D filter-banks for image analysis and high-efficiency video coding.
Issued Patent for “Sensors Using Optical RF Oscillators”
Patent No. 9,541,528, issued January 10, 2017
Inventor: Mani Hossein-Zadeh
This technology is a scheme for using the sensitivity of the oscillation frequency of optomechanical (driven by radiation pressure), thermo-optical (driven by thermo-optical effect), and thermo-optomechanical oscillators (driven by thermo-optical and thermal expansion effects) to the chemical composition of surrounding medium for detection and quantification of molecules.
Issued Patent for “Non-Invasive Diagnostic Agents of Cancer and Methods of Diagnosing Cancer, Especially Leukemia and Lymphoma”
Patent No. 9,546,186, issued January 17, 2017
Inventors: Jeffrey Norenberg, Richard Larson
This technology includes non-invasive diagnostic agents for cancer and methods for diagnosing cancer, especially leukemia and lymphoma. Additionally, these novel compounds may be used for treating and preventing cancers, especially leukemia and lymphoma. The technology includes a small molecule that binds to LFA-1 (CD18, CD11a)1, an integrin cell surface receptor specifically expressed on leukocytes, lymphoma and leukemia cells, making it an attractive target for non-invasive imaging.
Issued Patent for “Antimicrobial Materials and Methods”
Patent No. 9,549,549, issued January 24, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors: David G. Whitten, Kirk S. Schanze, Eunkyung Ji, Dimitri Dascier, Anand Parthasarathy, Thomas S. Corbitt, Kirsten Cicotte, Elizabeth LeBleu Dirk, Xuzhi Zhu
This technology provides methods and materials for decontamination of surfaces and fabrics, such as non-woven fabrics, that are contaminated with infestations of microorganisms such as bacteria. Biocidal oligomers having conjugated oligo-(aryl/heteroaryl ethynyl) structures and comprising at least one cationic group can be used to decontaminate infested surfaces in the presence of oxygen and, optionally, illumination. Biocidal non-woven mats prepared by the technology’s methods, incorporating the biocidal oligomers, can be used to suppress bacterial growth in wound, surgical dressings, and personal hygiene products.
Issued Patent for “Affinity Selection of Nipah and Hendra Virus-Related Vaccine Candidates from a Complex Random Peptide Library Displayed on Bacteriophage Virus-Like Particles”
Patent No. 9,549,976, issued January 24, 2017
Inventors: David Peabody, Bryce Chackerian, Carlee Ashley, Eric Carnes, Oscar Negrete
This technology advances the treatment of Nipah Virus (NiV) and is an alternative to existing research methods into DNA and virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines, which are under development and have been demonstrated to induce high-titer antibody responses that protect various animal models against live NiV infection. The affinity-selected sequences discovered here, as well as the corresponding wild-type sequences, are seen as potential vaccine candidates to combat both NiV and Hendra Virus (HeV), offering new hope in the battle against these emerging bio-threats.
Issued Patent for “Fabrication of Neural Interfaces Using 3D Projection Micro-Stereolithography”
Patent No. 9,555,583, issued January 31, 2017
Inventors: Elizabeth Dirk, Shawn Dirk, Kirsten Cicotte, Steven Buerger, Patrick Lin, Gregory Reece
This technology is a new method of fabricating a neural interface that allows for neuron growth and the close integration with biological tissue without harming any part of the nervous system. Additionally, the new neural interface exhibits selective and structured conductivity to allow for multiple, electrically independent electrode sites and the bidirectional transmission of neural signals. Lastly, the interface can be physically and electrically connected to external circuitry through wires attached to each of the electrode sites. Each of these aspects contributes to a more comprehensive, durable, and effective interface.
Issued Patent for “System and Methods of Photon-Based Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery Delivery”
Patent No. 9,561,389, issued February 7, 2017
Inventors: Shuang Luan, Lijun Ma, Zhe Chen
This technology is a novel system for developing a radiosurgery solution for treating local and regional tumors with a dynamic plan. The radiation beam is used dynamically to treat a target tumor volume and has the potential to increase the dose fall-off rate by an order of magnitude.
Issued Patent for “Fluorescent Fusion Polypeptides and Methods of Use”
Patent No. 9,566,353, issued February 14, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors: Anatoliy Markiv, Ravi Venkata Durvasula, Angray Singh Kang
This technology is a novel method for overcoming the disadvantages associated with existing fluorescent antibodies and for generating stable recombinant antibodies. The panel of multi-colored antibodies was assembled by genetically incorporating fluorescent proteins as bridging scaffolds (rather than by chemical linking of the fluorophore).
Issued Patent for “Non-PGM Catalyst for ORR Based on Pyrolysed Poly-Complexes”
Patent No. 9,570,761, issued February 14, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors: Alexey Serov, Plamen B. Atanassov, Barr Halevi, Paul Short
This technology is a metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) network derived from an in-situ polymerization-complexation process, using melamine, carbaldehyde and carbamide as a source of carbon and nitrogen, and metal soluble salts as a source of metal. The preparation method uses a sacrificial supports method to tune the M-N-C morphological, structural and electronic properties to achieve high performance for oxygen-reduction reactions in fuel cell operations.
Issued Patent for “Solid State Optical Refrigeration Using Stark Manifold Resonances in Crystals”
Patent No. 9,574,801, issued February 21, 2017
Inventors: Mansoor Sheik-Bahae, Denis Seletskiy, Richard Epstein, Markus Hehlen
This technology is a novel method for increasing the cooling efficiency of an optical refrigerator. Due to long-range order in a crystal, dopant atomic levels are broadened with less inhomogeneous contribution than glass, leading to a larger resonant absorption in the cooling tail. At low temperature, inhomogeneously broadened ytterbium (Yb) absorption in a glass host diminishes monotonically everywhere spectrally. In contrast, Yb absorption doped into yttrium lithium fluoride (YLF) crystal shows pronounced peaks in its absorption tail.
Issued Patent for “Methods of Treating Autophagy-Associated Disorders and Related Pharmaceutical Compositions, Diagnostics, Screening Techniques and Kits”
Patent No. 9,572,820, issued February 21, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventors: Vojo Deretic, Eliseo Castillo, Steven Bradfute, Larry A. Sklar
This technology is a clinically usable assay that can be applied for diagnostics, biomarkers, and drug screening and development. Specifically the technology has the potential to direct autophagy in order to keep a living cell healthy.
Issued Patent for “Porous Nanoparticle-Supported Lipid Bilayers (Protocells) for Targeted Delivery and Methods of Using Same”
Patent No. 9,579,283, issued February 28, 2017
Inventors: C. Jeffrey Brinker, Carlee Ashley. Eric Carnes, Cheryl Willman
This technology is a peptide-targeted, porous nanoparticle protocell for targeted delivery of drugs without damaging the non-cancerous surrounding cells/tissues. Composed of a core containing supercoiled plasmid DNA with a nuclear localization sequence for the cancer cells and a bilayer which can be easily modified to meet certain conditions, researchers believe they have found a means to improve upon the more widely practiced and simpler liposomal means of delivery.
Issued Patent for “Magnetodynamic Activation of .sup.13 C-Acyl Isoniazid and Isoniazid and Ethionamide Derivatives”
Patent No. 9,579,381, issued February 28, 2017
Inventors: Graham Timmins, Seong Won Choi
This technology is a novel method for increasing the effectiveness of a modified version of the antibiotic Isoniazid (INH) for treating tuberculosis (TB). Research has revealed that the combined use of this approach and administering of the modified drug, together or in close time proximity, results in better in vitro killing of the bacterium than just that with the modified drug alone. Positive results were seen in both typical and isoniazid-resistant strains, providing a novel means of combating multidrug resistant and extremely drug-resistant strains of TB.
Issued Patent for “Method for Synthesis of Functional Ceramic Materials”
Patent No. 9,579,636, issued February 28, 2017
Inventors: Plamen Atanassov, Timothy Ward, Alexey Serov, Aaron Joseph Roy
This technology is a preparation method that uses the formation of a sacrificial support as a decomposition product of ceramic material precursors to achieve high-surface-area, high-performance ceramic catalysts.
Issued Patent for “Patient Controlled Analgesia Device”
Patent No. 9,592,349, issued March 14, 2017
This technology is currently optioned/licensed.
Inventor: Mark Hauswald
This technology is a patient-controlled analgesia device that allows patients to safely titrate their own pain medication in a timely manner. The device is purely mechanical, low cost, and disposable.
Issued Patent for “Incremental Principal Component Pursuit for Video Background Modeling”
Patent No. 9,595,112, issued March 14, 2017
Inventors: Paul Rodriguez-Valderrama, Brendt Wohlberg
This technology is a novel incremental principal-component-pursuit (PCP) algorithm for video background modeling. The algorithm is able to process one frame at a time, keeping a low-memory footprint while obtaining similar (quality) results than current classical (batch) PCP algorithms. The technology can be applied to real-time background modeling applications such as automatic video analysis (sports, traffic, etc.), surveillance systems, as well as other applications.
Issued Patent for “Blood Biomarker for Early Blood Brain Barrier Disruption in Ischemic Stroke”
Patent No. 9,599,625, issued March 21, 2017
Inventors: Graham Timmins, Ke Jian Liu, Wenlan Liu, Rong Pan
Blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption is a hypothesized precursor to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Studies have shown that ischemic brain regions with compromised BBB at the time of tPA administration are at high risk of intracerebral bleeding. Early ischemic BBB damage appears to be a key factor in determining whether ischemic brain tissue can safely withstand a return of blood flow and is increasingly considered a promising pretreatment predictor for post-thrombolysis ICH. This technology is a rapid and reliable blood-based indicator for predicting post-thrombolysis ICH, allowing physicians to administer tPA treatment while understanding the patient’s risk for symptomatic ICH.
Issued Patent for “Supported NI-M Materials for Electrooxidation of Hydrazine”
Patent No. 9,601,784, issued March 21, 2017
Inventors: Hirohisa Tanaka, Plamen Atanassov, Koichiro Asazawa, Alexey Serov, Tomokazu Sakamoto
This technology involves methods of preparation, by different synthetic approaches, of highly active supported Ni-M catalysts. The metals or alloys can be either solid solutions or single phases, or mixture of phases. Supported Ni-M catalysts are highly active in the reaction of electro-oxidation of hydrazine, are durable and are inexpensive to manufacture.
Issued Patent for “Blood Biomarker for Early Blood Brain Barrier Disruption in Ischemic Stroke”
Patent No. 9,606,129, issued March 28, 2017
Inventors: Graham Timmins, Ke Jian Liu, Wenlan Liu, Rong Pan
Blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption is a hypothesized precursor to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Studies have shown that ischemic brain regions with compromised BBB at the time of tPA administration are at high risk of intracerebral bleeding. Early ischemic BBB damage appears to be a key factor in determining whether ischemic brain tissue can safely withstand a return of blood flow and is increasingly considered a promising pretreatment predictor for post-thrombolysis ICH. This technology is a rapid and reliable blood-based indicator for predicting post-thrombolysis ICH, allowing physicians to administer tPA treatment while understanding the patient’s risk for symptomatic ICH.
Issued Patent for “Method for Atomic Layer Deposition”
Patent No. 9,605,344, issued March 28, 2017
Inventors: Joseph Cecchi, C. Jeffrey Brinker, Ying-Bing Jiang, Yaqin Fu
This technology is a method for synthesizing L-alanine polypeptide thin films via atomic layer deposition by use of L-alanine amino acid derivatized with a protecting group to prevent self-polymerization and increase vapor pressure. The successful deposition of a conformal polypeptide film has been confirmed by FTIR and TEM.