Available for licensing are patent rights in a wide-range infrared and ultraviolet reflective films and coatings based on magnetically responsive photonic crystals. (more...)

Carborane crosslinked silicone-based polymeric encapsulants for solid state lighting and display applications  (more...)

University researchers have developed compositions and methods that enable light-triggered ocular drug delivery utilizing a polymer that degrades upon exposure to specific wavelength(s) of light. (more...)

The ubiquitous LCD screen is energy inefficient because most of the photons generated by the backlight unit are lost to the polarizing layers (75%). For instance, when a black color is displayed by the LCD, the backlight is still fully on thereby wasting energy that could otherwise be conserved or recycled. The power consumption of the backlight units takes up 80~90% of the total power consumption in LCD modules.       (more...)

Hybrid polymer seed and tablet coating process (more...)

First time demonstration of enhanced formation of polymers on nanostructures under X-ray irradiation. (more...)

Multiplex assays are extremely useful in biomedical research for producing genomic and proteomic data.  The ability to translate novel biomarkers for various diseases into new diagnostic multiplex assays is highly attractive from a drug discovery point of view.  However, the actual execution of creating such high-throughput multiplex assays remains challenging, as they require the ability to reliably track the identity and location of individual probes throughout an experiment.  One way of accomplishing this is by using encoded beads, where uniquely identifiable beads are attached to each individual probe.  Spectral encoding is a popular method of encoding beads and involves mixtures of luminescent materials that emit light at different wavelengths in order to generate distinguishable output signatures.  Typically, however, this approach is limited by low photostability and small numbers of usable unique codes.  In order to accelerate the discovery of new biomarkers for drug discovery purposes, there is a need for a more efficient and cost-effective method of creating encoded beads for high-throughput multiplex assays.      (more...)

A novel approach to create molds for manufacturing that allows for reusable molds that can be made into any arbitrary shape. (more...)

A novel living radical polymerization with highly responsive control over the activation and deactivation of polymerization using visible light as a trigger.  (more...)

Trialkoxysilanes are chemical compounds widely employed in research, commercial, and industrial settings. They and other members of the silane family have been used to modify or enhance material properties including surface wettability, adhesion, tribological/optical/electrical properties, and redox activity. While large varieties of trialkoxysilane are commercially available, many are also expensive. Moreover, current synthesis methods allow for only limited functionalization of trialkoxysilanes, a barrier that must be overcome to meet future demand for new silane-based materials and devices. (more...)

The occurrence of potholes on asphalt and cement pavements are long standing issues. Previous repair methods offer only temporary solutions as traffic stress cause a portion or whole block of the repaired material to separate from the original pothole. In order to boost the lifetime of the repaired potholes, it is necessary to employ strong bonding material with high fracture toughness that can absorb energy without breakage. (more...)

Immunoassays have a tremendous range of uses in the diagnosis of diseases, pharmaceutical drug development studies, and therapeutic drug monitoring.They are highly popular due to their high specificity and sensitivity for a variety of analytes in biological samples.However, immunoassays can be labor intensive, time consuming, and require expensive reagents.An immunoassay method that is rapid, inexpensive, and highly effective would be practical and may have widespread use.Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a fluoroimmunoassay chip that can be used for improving the detection of low concentration (approx. 1 nM) biological agents.The method is rapid, inexpensive, and provides a fluorescence enhancement that is approximately 30-fold greater than glass.In addition, this method does not use the principle of metal enhanced fluorescence to enhance the signal, so the fluorophore is not distance dependent in order to achieve enhancements. (more...)

An extracellular matrix (ECM) that directs cell behavior and diminishes the chance of an immune response has been developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis.  The invention at issue is a controlled means of depositing a mesenchymal stem cell-secreted extracellular matrix on polymeric implants of any size and geometry.  The ECM is produced by cells on tissue culture plastic under controlled conditions and then decellularized.  The ECM produced on the tissue culture plastic can be reset on other substrates in a controlled manner.  This creates a powerful tool to coat any polymeric implant with an engineered ECM without requiring cells to deposit the ECM on the substrate by culturing for prolonged durations. (more...)

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a novel method to continuously pattern nanofibers on 2D and 3D substrates. A unique polymer ink formulation provides the right balance of viscosity and elasticity necessary to enable controlled, seamless near-field electrospinning of nanofibers at very low voltages. (more...)

A novel composition for a non-volatile polymer electrolyte that is applicable in batteries. At room temperature and without additives, it has conductivities orders of magnitude higher than the standard polymer electrolyte PEO. (more...)

Alginates have been used for decades for the encapsulation of biological molecules, cells and chemicals. The traditional encapsulation process involved dissolving or dispersing the active agent in a sodium alginate solution, forcing the solution through an orifice to form a droplet which was then cross-linked by contact with a calcium chloride solution. This process was not easily scaled-up and was limited to particles larger than 500 μm. Spray-drying would be a commercially viable process to form a calcium alginate matrix particle in the size range of 10 – 20 μm; however, one would have to find a way of cross-linking the sodium alginate solution during atomization. Researchers at the University of California Davis have developed a method that accomplishes this by spray-drying an aqueous formulation that contains sodium alginate, a calcium salt that is only soluble at reduced pH and an organic acid that has been neutralized to a pH just above the pKa with a volatile base. Under these conditions, the calcium salt is insoluble and calcium ions are not available for cross-linking. The solution in this fluid state is pumped through the nozzle of the spray dryer, where it is effectively atomized. Upon atomization, the volatile base is vaporized, which reduces the pH (hydrogen ions are released into solution) and in turn releases calcium ions from the calcium salt that cross-link the alginate. The incorporation of an additional polymer to the formulation allows for the control of hydration properties of the particles to control the release of the encapsulated compounds. This same process can be used for encapsulation using soy protein. (more...)

Highly cross-linked polymers have been studied for a number of engineering applications for uses such as adhesives, insulators, and electronic packaging. However, highly cross-linked polymers are also known to be brittle and susceptible to cracking. Therefore, self-mending highly cross-linked polymers hold great promise for overcoming this challenge. These polymers could also find use in automobiles, self-healing windows, and the protection of silicon chips. Several methods have been demonstrated for the creation of self-healing materials. For example, thermoplastics can be repaired by thermally melting the damaged material back together. Materials have also been fabricated that have embedded hollow fibers or capsules within the material itself, so that when a crack propagates, small molecules with the capability to repair the crack are released. However, the ability of these types of materials to self-heal multiple times is limited. (more...)

Conjugated polymers are useful for a variety of electronic applications. In the past few years, photovoltaic devices based on conjugated polymers have been extensively studied. The most widely used configuration of polymer solar cells is the so-called bulk heterojunction devices in which the active layer consists of a blend of an electron-donating materials, e.g., a p-type conjugated polymer, and an electron-accepting (n-type) material such as (6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (P3ATs) have been found to be one of the most promising conjugated polymers. Further improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) entails new conjugated polymers with higher carrier mobility and broader absorption of the solar spectrum, especially in the red and infrared range. (more...)

Polymeric vesicles are a new class of nanoscale self-assembled materials that show great promise in drug delivery applications. Compared to liposomes, polypeptide vesicles have increased stability and can respond to external stimuli. (more...)

Suspended structures enable control of p-n or n-p-n junctions- the interfaces between diodes, transistors and other semi-conductor devices. However, fabrication of suspended structures using most current techniques is extremely difficult because direct deposition of dielectrics (or ‘insulators’) can stress or even collapse the thin graphene layers employed in these devices. UC researchers have developed a novel technique for fabrication of suspended structures on graphene (Figure 1). The UC technique makes it easier to fabricate a suspended top gate over the semi-conductor substrate and back gate. The top gate makes it easier to apply local electric fields that enhance mobility in graphene p-n and n-p-n junctions.     Figure 1: Suspended          top gate structures on graphene    The UC technique offers the following advantages relative to existing techniques: It is compatible with large-scale CMOS technology It utilizes air or vacuum as the dielectric rather than solid materials. This eliminates current leakage, a recurring problem in most currently fabricated CMOS devices Ease of deposition of suspended top gate eliminates unintentional damage to graphene Fabrication in only one vacuum cycle vastly reduces manufacturing costs   The UC technique ensures that the graphene devices formed do not suffer from undesirable defects that arise from deposition of intervening layers that involve introduction of impurities and dopants. The technique does not require etching of sacrificial (or ‘resist’) layers, which may inadvertently edge other components during fabrication.   The new UC technique can also be applied to fabrication of other types of devices that are highly sensitive to process-induced damage. These devices may include sensors for detection of local magnetic fields and micro-electrochemical (MEM) devices with moving parts such as resonators.   The UC technique can also be used to induce local magnetic fields, which can be employed in conjunction with magnetic media for data storage. The localization of magnetic fields eliminates the need for a read/write head that moves over the surface of the magnetic media. The use of high density array of suspended structures using the UC technique may result in production of high density magnetic storage devices. (more...)

This invention provides methods and compositions useful for making synthetic peptide conjugates. Glycoprotein pharmaceuticals are major targets for the biotechnology industry and include widely used therapeutic agents such as TPA, EPO, and monoclonal antibodies. Glycosylation presents special challenges in drug discovery, development and manufacture due to the heterogeneity of oligosaccharide structures on peptides. New strategies for the production and control of oligosaccharide formation and uniformity would facilitate the development and utility of glycoprotein pharmaceutical agents. This invention relates to the development of novel methods for the synthesis of glycopeptides based on the selective reaction of nucleophilic carbohydrate derivatives with ketone containing peptides. Peptides bearing unnatural ketone side chains can be generated using N-protected (2S)-aminolevulinic acid by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Oligosaccharides functionalized at their reducing termini with aminooxy, hydrazide, or thiosemicarbazide groups can be coupled to keto-peptides in aqueous solvent without need for protecting groups or auxiliary coupling reagents. These methods can be used to prepare glycopeptides of therapeutic interest. References: Marcaurelle, L.A.; Rodriguez, E.C.; Bertozzi, C.R. Synthesis of an oxime-linked neoglycopeptide with glycosylation-dependent activity similar to its native counterpart. Tet. Let.1998.39:8417-8420. Marcaurelle, L.A.; Bertozzi, C.R. Direct incorporation of unprotected ketone groups into peptides during solid-phase synthesis: Application to the one-step modification of peptides with two different biophysical probes for FRET. Tet. Let.1998.39:7279-7282. (more...)

Fluorocarbon (FC) film deposition by plasma techniques has been used in numerous electrical, mechanical and biomedical applications due to the desirable physicochemical properties of FC films (i.e. low dielectric constant, surface energy, friction and wettability) as well as good hemocompatibility. To take advantage of these attributes, researchers at UC Berkeley have investigated the dependence of FC film thickness, surface morphology and chemical behavior on the plasma power. These studies have resulted in the development of a method for synthesizing FC films on biopolymers such as low-density polyethylene. (more...)

Molding and casting of parts can be done more simply and economically for parts that are free from undercut features, primarily because a more expensive multi-piece mold must be used for parts with such undercut features. Therefore immediate feedback to the designer about the presence of costly undercuts allows for their early removal in the design process. Without immediate and accurate feedback designers can wind up with high part costs, waste, and a complicated manufacturing process. UC Berkeley researchers have developed a design system, based on a sophisticated new algorithm that allows for very efficient and rapid identification of undercuts in 3D geometric models. The Berkeley system uses graphics acceleration to allow a user to rotate an object, examine the undercuts in real time and accurately identify undercuts on a pixel by pixel basis. The system also highlights the portions of faces, including curved faces, which have undercuts. Early detection and removal of undercuts ensures rapid development of the lowest cost design. The system can also be used as a subroutine in finding whether any under-cut free parting directions exist and for evaluating which is optimal if there are multiple choices. The ability to find the optimal direction along with pixel level accuracy makes the system highly desirable for designers. (more...)

The objective of molecular imprinting is to create solid materials containing chemical functionalities that are spatially organized by interactions with imprint (or template) molecules during the synthesis process. Subsequent removal of the imprint molecules leaves behind designed sites for the recognition of small molecules, making the material ideally suited for applications such as separations, chemical sensing and catalysis. A significant limitation to the use of bulk imprinted silica in catalytic applications has been due to the hydrophobic framework resulting from the materials synthesis process. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a process for synthesizing a new class of bulk imprinted silicates with a hydrophilic framework, which circumvents these limitations. Imprinted sites consisting of up to two primary amines have been synthesized within hydrophilic microporous and mesoporous inorganic-oxide frameworks. The preparation of bulk-imprinted silicas is a step toward the development of imprinting as a general strategy for synthesizing materials-by-design. (more...)

This invention embodies a platform technology consisting of a polymer matrix that aids in cell transplantation for either tissue formation ex vivo or tissue regeneration in vivo, drug or chemotherapy agent delivery, and gene therapy. Ideally, these matrices can deliver mammalian cells, and/or therapeutic agents into the body and act as three-dimensional templates to support and promote tissue growth. These polymer networks are tunable in terms of their delivery, drug dosing, and mechanical and biochemical properties. The polymer networks are injectable through minimally invasive methods, and do not exhibit macroscopic fracture following injection. (more...)