[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70229-70230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29559]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, DHHS.

[[Page 70230]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by agencies of the U.S. 
Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance 
with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results 
of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent 
applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage 
for companies and may also be available for licensing.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent 
applications listed below may be obtained by writing to the indicated 
licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National 
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7057; fax: 301/402-0220. A 
signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive 
copies of the patent applications.

Countercurrent Chromatography Separation of Polar Sulfonated Compounds

Adrian Weisz, Yoichiro Ito (NHLBI)

    DHHS Reference No. E-304-2002 filed 26 Aug 2002.
    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/435-5019; [email protected].
    The invention is a method and apparatus for separating a quantity 
of a sulfonated polar compound from other compounds in a mixture using 
countercurrent chromatography. The inventors have found that 
countercurrent chromatography techniques may be employed to separate 
different species of polar sulfonated compounds that have resisted 
isolation in preparative amounts by other chromatographic methods. 
Countercurrent chromatography is a technique that has been used to 
separate a variety of compound mixtures, but has not been previously 
employed to separate multigram quantities of polar sulfonated compounds 
without use of a ligand. In one embodiment, pH-zone-refining 
countercurrent chromatography has been found especially successful in 
this application. It has also been found that the use of an X-type 
planetary centrifuge is beneficial to obtaining good results. For two 
particular species of polar sulfonated compounds, the use of a cross-
axis (X1.5L-type) centrifuge successfully separated preparative 
quantities (100 mg, gram, or multi-gram quantities) of material to 
greater than 99% purity. The cross axis centrifuge facilitated the use 
of polar solvent systems with high retention of the stationary phase, 
resulting in successful separation and/or purification of large 
quantities of polar compounds.

MRI Navigator Methods and Systems

Vinay Pai, Han Wen (NHLBI)

    DHHS Reference No. E-164-2002 filed 16 Sep 2002.
    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/435-5019; [email protected].
    The invention is a non-breathhold flow sensitive navigator (FLOSEN) 
technique for reducing respiratory motion artifacts in MR images that 
tracks the cardiac position using a blood flow based complex difference 
scheme. The approach tracks the fast moving blood during systole as a 
marker for the heart position, while stationary or slow moving spins 
are suppressed. By this approach, the position of the heart can be 
determined directly, without needing fractional correlation with the 
diaphragm motion. The method uses a spoiled-Fast Low Angle Shot (FLASH) 
sequence and incorporates an alternating pair of bipolar velocity-
encoding gradients. This method appears to be capable of resolving 
heart motions greater than +/-0.1 pixel. The navigator based on the 
position of the fast moving blood volume in the left ventricle may be 
applied prospectively to shift a subsequent imaging slice to compensate 
for subject motion, and thereby provide MRI images with increase 
clarity and resolution.

Method for Functional Kidney Imaging Using Small Dendrimer Contrast 
Agents

Martin Brechbiel (NCI), Robert Star (NIDDK), Hisataka Kobayashi

    DHHS Reference No. E-151-2002 filed 26 Aug 2002.
    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/435-5019; [email protected].
    The invention is a method for functional kidney imaging using small 
dendrimer-based MRI contrast agents that transiently accumulate in 
renal tubules. The accumulation enables visualization of renal 
structure and function, permitting assessment of structural and 
functional damage to the kidneys. Six small dendrimer-based MRI 
contrast agents have been synthesized, and their pharmacokinetics, 
whole body retention and renal MRI images were evaluated in mice. 
Surprisingly, despite having unequal renal clearance properties, all of 
the dendrimer agents clearly visualized the renal anatomy and proximal 
straight tubules of the mice better than Gd-[DTPA]-dimeglumine. 
Dendrimer conjugate contrast agents prepared from PAMAM-G2D, DAB-G3D 
and DAB-G2D dendrimers were excreted rapidly and may be acceptable for 
use in clinical applications.

Modified Defensins and Their Use

Dr. Joel Moss et al. (NHLBI)

    DHHS Reference No. E-080-2002/0 filed 19 Feb 2002.
    Licensing Contact: Marlene Shinn; 301/435-4426; [email protected].
    The ubiquitous use of antibiotics has resulted in the selection of 
bacteria that are relatively resistant to these drugs. Furthermore, few 
drugs are effective against viral and fungal microorganisms. There is 
therefore a continuing need to identify novel agents that reduce or 
inhibit the growth of such microorganisms, or to identify ways of 
modifying existing agents in order to give them superior antimicrobial 
activities, or to identify agents that may recruit inflammatory cells.
    Defensins are broad-spectrum antimicrobial molecules that act 
against infectious agents and play important roles in the innate immune 
defense in vertebrates. These molecules exhibit a wide range of 
antimicrobial activities, including cytotoxicity towards bacteria 
cells, but are also cytotoxic for mammalian cells, which limits their 
usefulness as antimicrobial agents. The NIH announces the creation of 
modified defensins through their arginine residues. These compounds can 
be used to inhibit the toxic effect of defensins, while retaining their 
T cell chemotactic properties and promoting recruitment of inflammatory 
cells. In the case of pulmonary disease, these agents can be delivered 
directly to the site of inflammation by inhalation.

    Dated: November 8, 2002.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 02-29559 Filed 11-20-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P