UNM Rainforest Innovations

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued seven U.S. patents to UNM Rainforest Innovations during the months of January, February, and March for technologies invented at the University of New Mexico. The patents, issued during UNM Rainforest Innovations’ 2024 fiscal third quarter, are for a variety of technologies created by researchers in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Chemical & Nuclear Engineering; Chemical & Biological Engineering; Neurology; Molecular Genetics & Microbiology; Obstetrics & Gynecology; the Center for High Technology Materials; the Center for Micro-Engineered Materials; and the Center for Biomedical Engineering.

Issued Patent for “Concurrent MRSI and FMRI

Patent No. 11,857,306, issued January 2, 2024

Inventors: Stefan Posse

(Ref. 2018-083)

This invention describes a method of obtaining multiple MRI contrasts of a subject comprising the steps of concurrently acquiring an MRSI and fMRI data in the same scan.

Issued Patent for “System and Methods Directed to Side-Channel Power Resistance For Encryption Algorithms Using Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration”

Patent No. 11,863,304, issued January 2, 2024

This technology is currently licensed.

Inventors: James Plusquellic

(Ref. 2018-031)

Described here is a side-channel attack countermeasure that leverages implementation diversity and dynamic partial reconfiguration as mechanisms to reduce correlation in the power traces measured during a differential power analysis (DPA) attack. The technique changes the underlying hardware implementation of any encryption algorithm using dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR) to resist side-channel-based attacks. 

Issued Patent for “Phosphorylation of Syntaxin 17 By TBK1 Controls Autophagy Initiation

Patent No. 11,878,018, issued January 23, 2024

Inventors: Vojo P. Deretic, Suresh Kumar

(Ref. 2019-077)

The present invention relates to discovery that TBK1 phosphorylates Syntaxin 17 and that phosphorylation of Syntaxin 17 is intimate to control autophagy initiation. The present invention is directed to this discovery and the use of TBK1 inhibitors or inhibitors of Syntaxin 17 phosphorylation alone or in combination with additional bioactive agents to inhibit autophagy in the treatment of disease, especially the treatment of cancers. Methods of treating various cancers are disclosed using TBK1 inhibitors to patients with cancer and into cancerous tissues for the treatment of cancer including the inhibition, amelioration, reduction in metastasis and in recurrence of cancer in remission. Assays and methods for identifying compounds as inhibitors of Syntaxin 17 and as potential therapeutic agents for cancer and autoimmune diseases are also diseased herein.

Issued Patent for “Autonomous, Self-Authenticating and Self-Contained Secure Boot-Up System and Methods”

Patent No. 11,880,468, issued January 23, 2024

This technology is currently licensed.

Inventors: James Plusquellic

(Ref. 2018-058) 

The invention is directed to an autonomous, self-authenticating and self-contained secure boot-up system and methods for field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that leverages physical unclonable functions (PUFs). 

Issued Patent for “Substituted Thiophene Oligomers and Polymers

Patent No. 11,882,831, issued January 30, 2024

Inventors: David G. Whitten, Dylan Brown, Jianzhong Yang, Edward Strach, Mohammed Khalil

(Ref. 2018-018) 

The present disclosure provides an antimicrobial substrate including a substrate and a polythiophene polymer. The polythiophene polymer has a number of repeated monomer units from n is 5-14 or 30 to 120, a number average molecular weight (Mn) from 1,000 to 4,000 or 10,000 to 40,000; and a polydispersity index (PDI) from 1 to 1.3. The present disclosure also provides the polythiophene polymer and uses thereof. 

Issued Patent for “Silicified Cell Replicas, Methods of Making, and Methods of Using

Patent No. 11,896,653, issued February 13, 2024

Inventors: Rita Serda, C. Jeffrey Brinker, Jacob Ongudi Agola, Jimin Guo, Sarah Adams

(Ref. 2017-090) 

Described here is a silicified cell replica includes a silicified cell or a silicified subcellular fragment. The silicified cell replica may be used to induce an immunological response, treat a bacterial infection, or treat a patient with cancer. 

Issued Patent for “Interferometric Sensor Based on Slab Waveguide

Patent No. 11,933,732, issued March 19, 2024

Inventors: Mani Hossein-Zadeh

(Ref. 2015-002)

The present invention provides a sensor having, one or more optical slab waveguides having one or more target regions. The target regions may interact with gas molecules or trap, entrain or capture one or more targets of interest. The optical slab waveguides are adapted to receive one or more input optical beams from one or more light sources to create a plurality of propagating optical waves in optical slab waveguide. The propagating optical waves interact with said one or more target regions to create an optical output wavefront that may be in the form of a diffraction pattern. The target regions may be functionalized with an antibody, polymer, cell, tissue, or biological material. 

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