UNM Rainforest Innovations

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued fifteen U.S. patents to STC during the months of October, November, and December for technologies invented at the University of New Mexico. The patents, issued during STC’s 2020 fiscal 2nd quarter, are for a variety of technologies created by researchers in the Departments of Gastroenterology, Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Physiology, Pharmacy, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Civil, Construction, & Environmental Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Chemical & Nuclear Engineering, the Center for High Technology Materials, and the Center for Emerging Energy Technologies.

Issued Patent for “High Speed Michelson Interferometer Microscope
Patent No. 10,436,570, issue date October 8, 2019
Inventors: Arash Kheyraddini-Mousavi, Zayd Leseman, Behnam Kheyraddini-Mousavi

This invention provides a Michelson interferometer for capturing images of a vibrating sample comprising a coherent light source. The light source may be adapted to illuminate a sample with a constant brightness across the sample. The interferometer may also be configured to generate a 3D representation of a sample using a single frame for a predetermined phase of the sample. The 3D representations may be combined to create a 3D video representation of the vibrating sample.

Issued Patent for “Methods of Using N-Containing Compounds with Carbon Black to Replace PAN and Form Carbon Fibers
Patent No. 10,442,934, issue date October 15, 2019
Inventors: Richard Alan Kemp, Mahmoud Reda Taha

This invention provides a method and precursor for making carbon fibers and the like comprising carbon black modified with at least one cyclic compound promoter. A source of the carbon black may be recycled materials such as recycled tires or recycled plastics. The carbon black is modified by attaching at least one cyclic compound promoter to the outer periphery of the carbon black.

Issued Patent for “Growth of Cubic Crystalline Phase Structure on Silicon Substrates and Devices Comprising the Cubic Crystalline Phase Structure
Patent No. 10,453,996, issue date October 22, 2019
Inventors: Steven R.J. Brueck, Seung-Chang Lee, Christian Wetzel, Mark Durniak

This invention provides a method of forming a semiconductor structure includes providing a substrate comprising a first material portion and a single crystal silicon layer on the first material portion. The substrate further comprises a major front surface, a major backside surface opposing the major front surface, and a plurality of grooves positioned in the major front surface. A buffer layer is deposited in one or more of the plurality of grooves. A semiconductor material is epitaxially grown over the buffer layer and in the one or more plurality of grooves, the epitaxially grown semiconductor material comprising a hexagonal crystalline phase layer and a cubic crystalline phase structure disposed over the hexagonal crystalline phase.

Issued Patent for “Compounds with Reduced Ring Size for Use in Diagnosing and Treating Melanoma, Including Metastatic Melanoma and Methods Related to Same”
Patent No. 10,464,985, issue date November 5, 2019
This invention is currently licensed.
Inventors: Yubin Miao, Haixun Guo

This invention is directed to novel non-invasive diagnostic tools/compounds to image cancers, especially, melanoma, including metastatic melanoma in vivo. The present compounds exhibit enhanced uptake in cancerous cells and tissue and decreased renal uptake in kidney, evidencing favorable pharmacokinetics of compounds of the present invention. The compounds according to the present invention represent an advance in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma, including metastatic melanoma using non-invasive molecular imaging techniques. The novel probes of the present invention are also useful for initiating therapy for melanoma as well as monitor patients’ response to chemotherapy treatments and other interventions or therapies used in the treatment of melanoma/metastatic melanoma. Compounds according to the present invention may be used as diagnostic tools for a number of conditions and diseases states as well as therapeutic agents for treating such conditions and disease states.

Issued Patent for “Quantitative [Fe]-MRI (Femri) of Anti-PSMA-Conjugated SPIONs Based on PSMA Expression Levels
Patent No. 10,466,326, issue date November 5, 2019
Inventor: Laurel Sillerud

This invention provides a method of measuring the concentration of a magnetic material in an object using magnetic resonance imaging comprising administering magnetic material to the object; obtaining a set of T.sub.1-weighted and T.sub.2-weighted images of the object in order to determine a background magnetic resonance imaging signal intensity and measurements of the background nuclear magnetic relaxation times (T.sub.1, T.sub.2) of the object without magnetic material; and obtaining a set of T.sub.1-weighted and T.sub.2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the object with magnetic materials added; measuring effect of magnetic material on the relaxation times; and converting the T.sub.1-weighted and T.sub.2-weighted images into a set of contrast images which are subtracted from each other to yield a contrast difference image proportional to the concentration of the magnetic material.

Issued Patent for “Method for Treating Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular and Kidney Diseases by Regulating GPR30/GPER Activity”
Patent No. 10,471,047, issue date November 12, 2019
This invention is currently optioned.
Inventors: Eric R. Prossnitz, Geetanjali Sharma

This invention is in the field of molecular biology/pharmacology and provides methods of using compounds that modulate the effects of GPR30/GPER for treating obesity and diabetes (preferably agonists) as well as disease states and/or conditions that result from excessive formation of reactive oxygen species (preferably antagonists). These compounds may function as agonists and/or antagonists of the disclosed estrogen receptor and/or modulate the expression/upregulation of nox and nox-associated reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Issued Patent for “Accelerated Precomputation of Reduced Deformable Models
Patent No. 10,474,927, issue date November 12, 2019
Inventor: Yin Yang

This invention provides precomputation methods for reduced deformable models. In such precomputation, a Krylov subspace iteration may be used to construct a series of inertia modes for an input mesh. The inertia modes may be condensed into a mode matrix. A set of cubature points may be sampled from the input mesh, and cubature weights of the set of cubature points may be calculated for each of the inertia modes in the mode matrix. A training dataset may be generated by iteratively adding training samples to the training dataset until a training error metric converges, wherein each training sample is generated from an inertia mode in the mode matrix and corresponding cubature weights. The reduced deformable model may be generated, including inertia modes in the training dataset and corresponding cubature weights.

Issued Patent for “Nanowire Bending for Planar Device Process on (001) Si Substrates
Patent No. 10,483,105, issue date November 19, 2019
Inventors: Seung-Chang Lee, Steven R.J. Brueck

This invention provides a method for growing a nanowire, including: providing a substrate with a base portion having a first surface and at least one support structure extending above or below the first surface; forming a dielectric coating on the at least one support structure; forming a photoresist coating over the substrate; forming a metal coating over at least a portion of the dielectric coating; removing a portion of the dielectric coating to expose a surface of the at least one support structure; removing a portion of the at least one support structure to form a nanowire growth surface; growing at least one nanowire on the nanowire growth surface of a corresponding one of the at least one support structure, wherein the nanowire comprises a root end attached to the growth surface and an opposing, free end extending from the root end; and elastically bending the at least one nanowire.

Issued Patent for “Methods to Introduce Sub-Micrometer, Symmetry-Breaking Surface Corrugation to Silicon Substrates to Increase Light Trapping”
Patent No. 10,483,415, issue date November 19, 2019
This invention is currently licensed.
Inventors: Sang Eon Han, Brittany R. Hoard, Sang M. Han, Swapnadip Ghosh

This invention provides a method for fabricating a nanopatterned surface. The method includes forming a mask on a substrate, patterning the substrate to include a plurality of symmetry-breaking surface corrugations, and removing the mask. The mask includes a pattern defined by mask material portions that cover first surface portions of the substrate and a plurality of mask space portions that expose second surface portions of the substrate, wherein the plurality of mask space portions are arranged in a lattice arrangement having a row and column, and the row is not oriented parallel to a [110] direction of the substrate. The patterning the substrate includes anisotropically removing portions of the substrate exposed by the plurality of spaces.

Issued Patent for “Electrically and Thermally Conductive Polymer Concrete
Patent No. 10,494,299, issue date December 3, 2019
Inventors: Mahmoud Reda Taha, Usma Farid Kandil, Ala Eddin Douba, Mehmet Emiroglu

This invention is an electrically and thermally conductive polymer concrete (made of a polymer and aggregate particles without cement) comprising non-functionalized nanoparticles (e.g. non-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NF-MWCNTs), non-functionalized carbon nanofibers, non-functionalized nanoalumina) dispersed therein and methods of making same.

Issued Patent for “Systems and Methods for Integrating Distributed Energy Resources
Patent No. 10,511,172, issue date December 17, 2019
Inventors: Andrea A. Mammoli, Yasser Yasaei

The present invention is an apparatus and method for using aggregated loads from a plurality of distributed energy resources to perform a function at a power distribution feeder. The invention includes a plurality of distributed energy resources, wherein at least one distributed energy resource includes a renewable energy resource, a communication network, a control device, a power distribution feeder coupled to the control device, and an energy storage system coupled to the power distribution feeder. The control device sends a signal to the plurality of distributed energy resources via the communication network. The signal is a request to switch a status of one or more of the distributed energy resources if one or more distributed energy resources is within a predetermined condition. Loads from the one or more of the distributed energy resources that switched status are aggregated to perform a function at the power distribution feeder.

Issued Patent for “Inhibition of MK2 in the Treatment of Cancer
Patent No. 10,512,651, issue date December 24, 2019
Inventor: Ellen Beswick

This invention relates to the discovery that MK2 is highly expressed in cancer tissue and the inhibition of MK2 using an MK2 inhibitor represents a viable approach to the treatment of cancer, including drug resistant cancers, metastatic cancers and recurrent cancers. MK2 inhibitors as described herein may be used alone or in combination with an at least one additional anti-cancer agent for the treatment of cancer.

Issued Patent for “Microsphere-Based Coatings for Radioactive Cooling Under Direct Sunlight
Patent No. 10,514,215, issue date December 24, 2019
Inventors: Sang Eon Han, Sang M. Han

This invention provides a surface coating for cooling a surface by light scattering comprising a plurality of successive layers, each of the layers may be comprised of a plurality of spheres arranged to form a structure comprised of packed spheres. Each layer may have a different arrangement of packed spheres to create to a different light scattering property in each of the layers. The coating of the structures may also be formed by randomly packed spheres and the spheres may have a uniform diameter.

Issued Patent for “Tattletale Ion-Implanted Nanoparticles
Patent No. 10,514,361, issue date December 24, 2019
Inventors: Timothy J. Boyle, Khalid Hattar, Fernando Garzon, Stephen J. Bauer

This invention describes ion-doped metal or ceramic nanoparticles that can be added into, for example, a component that upon exposure to an environmental stimulus, will release the ion and `tattle` on any impending destruction.

Issued Patent for “Supported NI-M Materials for Electrooxidation of Hydrazine
Patent No. 10,522,843, issue date December 31, 2019
Inventors: Alexey Serov, Plamen B. Atanassov, Tomokazu Sakamoto, Hirohisa Tanaka, Koichiro Asazawa

This invention describes a supported bi-metallic non-platinum catalyst that is capable of oxidizing hydrazine to produce, as by-products of energy production, nitrogen, water, and zero or near-zero levels of ammonia. The catalyst is suitable for use in fuel cells, particularly those that utilizes an anion-exchange membrane and a liquid fuel such as hydrazine.

Skip to content