UNM Rainforest Innovations

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued twelve U.S. patents to STC during the months of January, February, and December for technologies invented at the University of New Mexico. The patents, issued during STC’s 2019 fiscal 3rd quarter, are for a variety of technologies created by researchers in the Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Chemistry, Pathology, Internal Medicine, Computer Science, Neurosurgery, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and the Centers for High Technology Materials and Molecular Discovery.

Issued Patent for “Anticancer Therapy”
Patent No. 10,172,967, issued January 8, 2019
This technology is currently licensed.
Inventors:  Jeffrey P. Norenberg

This technology is a therapy to treat patients with cancer or precancerous conditions by administering a radiopharmaceutical composition such as a somatostatin analog labeled with a high Linear-Energy-Transfer (LET) .alpha.-emitter. The radiolabeled somatostatin analog is administered in an effective amount to reduce the likelihood that a precancerous condition will develop into cancer, to inhibit the growth of cancer or tumor, shrink the cancer or tumor, or reduce the likelihood of metastasis of the cancer or tumor.

Issued Patent for “Structure, Synthesis, and Applications for Poly (Phenylene) Ethynylenes (PPEs)”
Patent No. 10,174,042, issued January 8, 2019
This technology is currently licensed.
Inventors: David G. Whitten, Kirk S. Schanze, Anand Parthasarathy, Eunkyung Ji, Motokatsu Ogawa, Thomas S. Corbitt, Dimitri Dascier, Ying Wang, Linnea K. Ista, Eric H. Hill

This technology consists of novel poly(phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) compounds, methods for synthesizing these compounds, and materials incorporating these compounds for use as novel methods and compounds for infection control  as antimicrobials. Poly (phenylene ethynylene) based conjugated polyelectrolytes (also referred to herein as Poly (phenylene ethynylenes) or (PPEs)) are conjugated molecules that also have a wide range of applications in electrically conducting materials, bio-chemical sensors, and supramolecular assemblies.

Issued patent for “Flat-Pack Rocking Chair”
Patent No. D838,115 S, issued January 15, 2019
Inventor:  Geoffrey Adams

This technology is an ornamental design for a flat-pack rocking chair.

Issued Patent for “Innovative Nanopore Sequencing Technology”
Patent No. 10,184,930, issued January 22, 2019
This technology is currently licensed.
Inventors:  Steven R. J. Brueck, Jeremy Scott Edwards, Alexander Neumann, Yuliya Kuznetsova, Edgar A. Mendoza

This technology is comprised of methods and apparatus for long-read, label-free, optical nanopore long-chain molecule sequencing. The novel sequencing technology is based on the integration of nanochannels to deliver single long-chain molecules with widely spaced (>wavelength), about 1-nm aperture, “tortuous” nanopores that slow translocation sufficiently to provide massively parallel, single-base resolution using optical techniques. A novel, directed self-assembly nanofabrication scheme using simple colloidal nanoparticles is used to form the nanopore arrays atop nanochannels that unfold the long chain molecules. At the surface of the nanoparticle array, strongly localized electromagnetic fields in engineered plasmonic/polaritonic structures allow for single-base resolution using optical techniques.

Issued Patent for “Methods for Treating Bacterial Infection”
Patent No. 10,183,032, issued January 22, 2019

Inventors:  Susan A. McDowell, Robert E. Sammelson, Larry A. Sklar, Mark K. Haynes

This technology is comprised of molecules that function as selective modulators (i.e., inhibitors and agonists) of the Ras-homologous (Rho) family of small GTPases and, in particular, CDC42 GTPase, and their use to treat bacterial infection, including systemic infection from sources such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes.

Issued Patent for “Vaccination Compositions, Methods of Making, and Methods of Use”
Patent No. 10,183,068, issued January 22, 2019

Inventors:  Pavan Muttil, Denis Wafula, Terry Wu, Nitesh Kunda, Dominique N. Price

This technology provides compositions and methods for formulating, storing and using thermostable, dry-powder vaccines. The dry powder formulations increase the length of time that the vaccine remains viable under non-refrigerated, ambient temperatures. The vaccines can be transported and stored in areas where refrigeration is unavailable and/or inconvenient, such as military conflict zones, disaster zones, wilderness areas, and certain Third World areas. The vaccines can be given orally and/or via pulmonary administration.

Issued Patent for “Relativistic Magnetron Using a Virtual Cathode”
Patent No. 10,192,709, issued January 29, 2019

Inventors:  Edl Schamiloglu, Mikhail I. Fuks

This technology is a relativistic magnetron, including an anode with an entrance channel, the channel having an input end, an output end and a dimensional discontinuity between the ends. The channel is connected to the magnetron and has an anode defining an interaction space located between the dimensional discontinuity and output end. Also provided is a cathode, located upstream, a spaced distance away from the interaction space towards the input end. The cathode is adapted to send an electron beam into the interaction space where the electron beam forms a virtual cathode in the interaction space.  Magnetrons are generators of high-power microwaves and have applications for industrial microwave ovens, telecommunications equipment, lighting, radar, and military weapons.

Issued Patent for “Composite Wellbore Seal System with Sensing and Self-Healing Capabilities”
Patent No. 10,190,370, issued January 29, 2019

Inventors:  Mahmoud Reda Taha, John Stormont

This technology is a self-healing wellbore seal system comprising a casing, a fiber-reinforced polymer layer, and layer of polymer cement. The layers are bonded together and configured to create a low permeable and ductile seal at discrete locations of the wellbore or along the wellbore. The polymer layer may be chemically bonded to the casing and inhibits the formation of a microannulus at the casing. The polymer layer may be an aramid fiber reinforced polymer, a fiber reinforced polymer layer, or a glass reinforced polymer layer.

Issued Patent for “Systems and Methods for Generating Physically Unclonable Functions from Non-Volatile Memory Cells”
Patent No. 10,216,965, issued February 26, 2019
This technology is currently licensed.
Inventors:  James Plusquellic, Swarup Bhunia

This technology provides systems and methods for generating bitstrings and more particularly, to Physically Unclonable Functions (PUFs). Secret reproducible bitstrings may be used in various security applications including device identification, authentication, metering, remote activation, and encryption. PUFs are emerging as an alternative to programming embedded secret keys in read only memories (ROM) and non-volatile memories in integrated circuits (ICs).

Issued Patent for “Treatment and Prevention of Stroke and Other Neurological Disorders”
Patent No. 10,220,008, issued March 5, 2019

Inventor:  Jeff Wade Hill

The technology provides treatment methods and pharmaceutical compositions to treat and prevent stroke and other ischemia-related injuries. Using high-throughput screening, in an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model, isoxsuprine hydrochloride was identified as a potent neuroprotective compound. In an animal middle artery occlusion (MCAO) model of transient focal ischemia, isoxsuprine significantly reduced infarct volume compared to vehicle.

Issued Patent for “Signal Propagation Biomolecules, Devices and Methods”
Patent No. 10,221,446, issued March 5, 2019

Inventors: Carl Brown, III, Steven Wayde Graves, Darko Stefanovic, Matthew Richard Lakin

In order to combine different DNA computing components in a single system, they must be able to communicate with each other. In integrated electronic circuits, wires serve as the interface that connects all the transistors, capacitors, and other components to each other. This technology is a biomolecular equivalent—interface molecules that enable signal transmission between different kinds of DNA computing circuit components.  It is comprised of a structured polynucleotide, devices that include the structured polynucleotide and methods involving the structured polynucleotide and/or devices.  The novel technology can be used as a molecular logic-based assay for accurate, rapid, sequence-specific detection of viruses.

Issued Patent for “Systems and Methods for Leveraging Path Delay Variations in a Circuit and Generating Error-Tolerant Bitstrings”
Patent No. 10,230,369, issued March 12, 2019
This technology is currently licensed.
Inventors:  James Plusquellic, James Aarestad

This technology is a Hardware-Embedded Delay PUF (HELP) that leverages entropy by monitoring path stability and measuring path delays from core logic macros. HELP incorporates techniques to deal with bias. A unique feature of HELP is that it compares data measured from different test structures. HELP can be incorporated into existing FPGA platforms and leverages both path stability and within-die variations as sources of entropy.  The technology can be used for a wide variety of security-related applications, including chip ID, authentication, metering, and encryption.

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