US Patent 7985385 - Programmable charge patterns for protein assembly

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7985385.html


This patent from SRI International teaches a device to achieve protein crystallization using a bottom-up nanoscale approach which may be useful to future customization of drug design. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device for providing a purification of biomolecules, said device comprising:

a nanoscale substrate supporting an addressable nanoscale array, the addressable nanoscale array being programmable with charge patterns for selective molecule attraction; and

a means for exposing biomolecules, where said biomolecules are in a form amenable to a directable flow, to the nanoscale substrate in a manner such that the biomolecules are collected, thereby improving the purification of said biomolecules.

US Patent 7728830 - Inverse GPS control of nanoparticle circuits

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7728830.html

This patent teaches a new way of addressing nanoscale structures by using 3 wavefronts which are selectively delayed to intersect at a selected position. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for addressing a plurality of nano-scaled structured elements embedded in an m-dimensional medium capable of wave-like propagation of signals, each of said plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements being reactive to a local state of the m-dimensional medium, said method comprising steps of:

a) sending, via a broadcast through said m-dimensional medium in a wave-like propagation from n+1 spatially localized transmitters, a plurality of control signals to the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements arranged in an n-dimensional array within the m-dimensional medium, where a timing of initiation of said plurality of control signals is varied and each of said plurality of control signals reaches all of said plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements in said n-dimensional array; and

b) addressing at least one of the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements, when said plurality of control signals propagating through said m-dimensional medium arrives at a common time at a location of said at least one of the plurality of nano-scaled, structured elements.

US Patent 7683303 - Nanoscale volumetric imaging

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7683303.html

This patent from SRI International teaches the use of nanowire arrays in fabricating a 3D image capture device. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of making a nanoscale imaging device comprising the steps of:

a) depositing a plurality of nanoscale devices on a pre-selected form of transmissive material;

b) assembling an addressable array of said nanoscale devices on said transmissive material; and

c) establishing electrical connectivity between said addressable array to a logic device.

US Patent 7417119 - Protein processing using nanowire arrays

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7417119.html

This patent from SRI International teaches a new way to conduct protein assembly to build complex molecular structures by using programmable charge patterns that can attract molecules in specified arrangements. Although I am generally sceptical of the popularized "nanorobot" version of nanotechnology, the technology covered by this patent has at least some possibility of leading in the direction of some sort of manufacturable nanobiorobot. Claim 1 reads:

1. A device for promoting the bonding of molecules from a medium containing unbound molecules of interest, said device comprising:

an addressable nanoscale array, said nanoscale array being multilayer and on a flexible substrate and wherein a charge pattern is imposable on a first surface of said addressable nanoscale array, such that the charge pattern is predetermined to selectively attract molecules from said medium and whereby, as a consequence of the attraction of the charge pattern, formation of bonds among said molecules of interest is effected.