[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71931-71932]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24530]


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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, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency 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

[[Page 71932]]

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.

Micropatterning of Extracellular Matrix Proteins Using 
Microphotoablation of Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) Monolayers

    Description of Technology: Available for licensure and commercial 
development is a microphotoablation ([mu]PA) method used as a 
micropatterning technique to attach ECM proteins or other biological 
molecules to specified locations. Advantages of this photolytic 
technique are that it: (a) Is stampless, (b) allows for flexible 
pattern generation to the submicron level, (c) allows for live cell 
fluorescence imaging, retains cell viability, and (d) allows the use of 
multiple proteins. The technique has demonstrated experimentally that 
micropatterning with live cell fluorescence imaging can be used to 
precisely visualize studying distinct cell-ECM interactions.
    Applications of microlithography techniques into the study of cell 
biology aid in resolving cellular function as regulated by the 
interaction of cells with the extracellular matrix. Currently many 
techniques have used micro-contact patterning ([mu]CP) to apply ECM 
proteins in distinct localized patterns. These techniques require the 
fabrication of silicone-based stamps to either ``ink'' proteins 
directly or indirectly onto a gold coated surface, limiting the user to 
a specified stamp shape and size. To bypass the necessity of a physical 
stamp the current technique provides submicron-sized spots using a 
tunable multiphoton laser coupled to a confocal microscope to 
photoablate hydrophilic poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) macro-molecular thin 
films. Through controlled photoablation, PVA layers are locally removed 
allowing deposition of ECM proteins into distinct patterns. The use of 
ROI's produces a ``virtual mask'' that can be created in any shape or 
pattern and is easily modified. Unlike [mu]CP techniques, 
microphotoablation ([mu]PA) allows live cell imaging of multiple 
fluorophores and is possible even with total internal reflection 
fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. Therefore, microphotoablation ([mu]PA) 
allows kinetic quantification of ECM-cell interactions. This technique 
that uses a macro-molecular thin film together with localized 
photoablation allows the versatility to create protein spots of any 
size or shape easily on the same cover slip. Furthermore, this process 
can be repeated multiple times to directly conjugate different proteins 
to the same local region allowing the investigation of how single cells 
probe their surroundings to discern different ECM proteins.
    Applications: Cellular interactions; Protein visualization; 
Diagnostics.
    Inventors: Andrew Doyle (NIDCR), Kenneth Yamada (NIDCR), et al.

Relevant Publications

    1. CM Cheng, PR LeDuc. Micropatterning polyvinyl alcohol as a 
biomimetic material through soft lithography with cell culture. Mol 
Biosyst. 2006 Jun;2(6-7):299-303.
    2. T Matsuda, T Sugawara. Development of surface photochemical 
modification method for micropatterning of cultured cells. J Biomed 
Mater Res. 1995 Jun;29(6):749-756.
    Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/979,045 filed 10 
Oct 2007 (HHS Reference No. E-001-2008/0-US-01).
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Michael A. Shmilovich, Esq.; 301/435-5019; 
[email protected].
    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The National Institute of 
Dental and Craniofacial Research is seeking statements of capability or 
interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further 
develop, evaluate, or commercialize Microphotoablation of Poly Vinyl 
Alcohol (PVA) Monolayers. Please contact David W. Bradley, Ph.D. at 
[email protected] for more information.

Chimeric SHIV Gag Proteins Optimize T-Cell Response Against HIV Gag

    Description of Technology: HIV Gag has been included in nearly all 
HIV vaccines entering clinical trials because of its importance in SIV 
models and its correlation with protection in HIV-infected long-term 
non-progressors. However, HIV Gag has proven less immunogenic than Env 
in phase I clinical trial studies. Through sequence comparison, two 
regions in HIV Gag have been identified as contributing to the 
decreased immunogenicity observed for HIV Gag. Replacement of these 
regions with corresponding SIV sequences significantly increased the 
resulting T-cell response to HIV Gag in mice. Utilization of these 
chimera in an HIV vaccine could significantly enhance the overall 
immunogenicity of the vaccine.
    Applications: HIV vaccine.
    Inventors: Gary J. Nabel et al. (NIAID).

Patent Status

    U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/965,268 filed 17 Aug 2007 (HHS 
Reference No. E-304-2007/0-US-01).
    U.S. Patent No. 7,094,598 issued 22 Aug 2006 (CMV/R expression 
vector) and pending foreign applications (HHS Reference No. E-241-2001/
1-US-01).
    Development Status: Animal (mouse) data available.
    Licensing Status: Available for exclusive or non-exclusive 
licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Susan Ano, Ph.D.; 301/435-5515; 
[email protected].

    Dated: December 11, 2007.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director,Division of Technology Development and Transfer,Office of 
Technology Transfer,National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E7-24530 Filed 12-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P