US Patent 7998415 - Functionalized particles for composite sensors

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7998415.html

This patent is from the Michigan Molecular Institute and includes some basic claims with priority going back to 2003 which may be very relevant to nanocomposite sensors. Claim 1 reads:

1. A chemical sensor comprising:

a transducer element; and

a layer of a composite material disposed on a surface of the transducer element, the composite material comprising a polymer matrix and a solid particulate filler dispersed in the polymer matrix, in which the particulate filler is comprised of functionalized particles having at least one sensory moiety capable of interactions with an analyte.

US Patent 7794699 - Nanostructured blood substitute

http://ip.com/patent/US7794699

In the HBO series True Blood the premise is that an artificial human blood substitute is invented allowing for vampires to come out of hiding. Thanks to the research behind this patent issued to the Michigan Molecular Institute such an artificial blood substitute could become a reality with the help of nanotechnology. Hopefully the vampire part will remain fiction. Claim 1 reads:  

1. A nano-structured compound capable of carrying oxygen and/or other gases, comprising: dendron, dendrimer, hyperbranched polymer, or dendrigraft having a plurality of branches, each branch including a plurality of repeat units that contain a fluorocarbon moiety represented by the formula —(CF2)x—, wherein x is an integer greater than 1, and each branch including a terminal repeat unit; and peripheral hydrophilic moieties covalently bonded to said terminal repeat units to provide solubility of the compound in aqueous media.