MEDIA CONTACT: Debra Kain
561-297-2010, dkain@fau.edu
Kristine M. McGrath
561-297-1168, kmcgrath@fau.edu

FAU is Issued Patents on Three Faculty Inventions

BOCA RATON, FL (May 5, 2004) - Three new patents on inventions by Florida Atlantic University faculty members have recently been issued to FAU by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Dr. Russell Kerr, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, was issued a patent for his invention relating to the purification and partial sequencing of an elisabethatriene cyclase from P. Elisabethae, a purple, frilly seafan. "The patent describes the key advance that we expect will lead to the development of a biotechnological production method of a family of potent anti-inflammatory agents known as the pseudopterosins," said Dr. Kerr. The pseudopterosin compounds were originally isolated from a marine sea whip and have been used as an additive in skin creams, but have also been successful in human trials to fight inflammatory disorders such as arthritis, rheumatism and asthma. Currently, the only source of these compounds is from the extraction of sea whip collected from reefs. This patent describes purification of the key enzyme involved in the natural production of these compounds, allowing scientists at FAU to identify and clone the gene encoding this enzyme - a key step in the overall production of the anti-inflammatory agents.

The most recent patent issued to Dr. Bill Glenn, director of FAU's Imaging Technology Center, provides a variable focus technique and apparatus to facilitate the ability of high-quality, inexpensive and portable ultrasonic imaging equipment for medical applications. By taking advantage of the computing power of a personal computer, it will make possible very inexpensive ultrasound scanners that can be used in a doctor's office as well as by medical technicians using telemedicine facilities for remote diagnosis. His patent describes a way of providing high resolution at all ranges of depth in a patient, as compared to ultrasound scanners in the past which have been large, expensive and with relatively low resolution. Dr. Glenn has built a scanner of this design in his laboratory.

Dr. Ramaswamy Narayanan is a professor of biological science at FAU. His patent, "Methods of Detecting a Colon Cancer Cell," uses information from mapping the human genome and bioinformatics to analyze the data to isolate a colon cancer-specific secreted gene. The presence of this gene can be detected in blood, serum, urine, stool and tissue samples, and isolation of this gene may lead to the first noninvasive detection procedure for colon cancer. Creation of an easy and affordable diagnostic test for this cancer, as opposed to expensive and invasive procedures like endoscopy, colonoscopy and biopsy, could dramatically increase treatment and recovery rates for colon cancer. Dr. Narayanan's lab will now focus on the development of an antibody test to detect protein produced by this gene.

For information on the FAU Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), part of FAU's Division of Research and Graduate Studies, or patents issued to FAU faculty, contact Jeanie McGuire, OTT director, at 561-297-0202 or Steve Nappi, OTT coordinator, at 561-297-1165.

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