Latest technologies from Rutgers University

Modified Simmons Catheter

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 06:40:33 GMT

Neurointerventions with improved success Invention Summary: The global neurovascular catheter market size was valued at USD 2.88 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.7% from 2021 to 2028. Neurointerventionalists, interventional radiologists, cardiologists, and vascular surgeons often can have difficulties using the commonly used Simmons catheter or any other double curve or a diagnostic angiography catheter for endovascular interventions for neurological/ peripheral vascular or cardiac disorders. This catheter te...

MicroRNA Based Therapeutics for Parkinson’s Disease

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 07:04:18 GMT

Protection of the mouse brain by microRNA-7 against the toxicity of a-synuclein (A) Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) stained coronal section of mouse brain injected in the right striatum with AAV-miR-7 or non-targeting (NT) vector following by a-synuclein preformed fibrils (PFF) or PBS. (B) Substantia nigra sections. (C) Nigral dopamine neuron count. (D) Striatal TH density. (E) Performance on the rotarod. Invention Summary: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurogenerative disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population over the age of 60. The characteristic...

Blacktop Sealer Composite from Recycled Paint

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:47:21 GMT

Invention Summary: Over 16 million gallons of latex paint are discarded every year into landfills, which is the largest liquid hazardous waste in the United States. Latex paint is difficult to recycle and hazardous to the environment due to its volatile organic compounds. Researchers at Rutgers have developed a novel method for recycling latex paint that can be used as a high-performance blacktop sealer. The method consists of blending latex paint, carbon black, fiberglass, and crumb rubber with high shear. The paints and other components are liquid blended in large v...

Hard and crack-resistant glass

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:31:46 GMT

Invention Summary: Brittleness of glass has been perceived as its gravest handicap in the glass technology space. While the glass industry has always strived to design a "hard" and "crack-resistant" glass, it has been generally accepted by glass scientists that it is hard to achieve both these properties in the oxide glasses. Recent literature in the glass space revealed that a hard and crack resistance glass can be obtain using a Al2O3 – SiO2 binary system. However, to synthesize such composition of glass requires high melting temperatures (>1800...

Use of Retinoids in Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 12:09:38 GMT

Zebrafish model of CEP develops bone phenotype resembling human disease Invention Summary: Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP) is a rare genetic disorder leading to accumulation of uro/coproporphyrin-I (uro-I) in tissues due to inhibition of the enzyme uroporphyrinogen-III synthase. Clinical manifestations of CEP include bone fragility, severe photosensitivity and photo-mutilation. Currently there is no specific treatment for CEP, except bone marrow transplantation. There is a clear need for treating this orphan disease. Rutgers researchers have found that uro-I accum...

Finite Element

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:34:18 GMT

Vacuum-Tooth Brush Attributes: On-off switch, Vaccum power (hi-low), Easy-Empty (or disposable) fluid & debris collector cup, Ergonomic design, Battery-operated and Affordable. Invention Summary: There is a need for a powered toothbrush that has a built-in pump and waste container that automatically removes the liquids from the oral cavity while brushing the teeth. The removal of these potentially harmful and infectious materials aids in the prevention of pneumonia caused by oral bacteria (via Streptococcus mutans) and other respiratory and tra...

Balloon Catheters

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:31:31 GMT

Novel ChABC formulation with machine learning-guided automation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 07:22:03 GMT

Invention Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to the formation of scar tissue. The scarring leads to the toughening of the extracellular matrix, or the cellular environment. One of the major concerns of SCI is the prevention of neuronal connection recovery, which can lead to paralysis or reduced control of the nervous system. For treating SCI-related scarring, scientists have identified Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), an enzyme that breaks down the extracellular network and allows for regeneration of neuronal axons. However, a major limitation to t...

Moving on from Supportive Housing (MOSH) Training

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 07:37:05 GMT

Invention Summary: The transition from supportive housing and other forms of homeless services to mainstream housing without embedded support services is a critical transition period for persons with histories of homelessness, criminal justice involvement, mental illness, substance abuse, and other prior barriers to housing stability. Under a grant from the NJ Department of Community affairs, Dr. Tiderington (PI), Dr. Zippay (co-PI), and several collaborators developed a curriculum that provides supervisors and frontline case managers with the skills needed to assist formerly h...

Nitrous Oxide Sedation for the Dental Team (Video and DVD)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 12:15:51 GMT

Invention Summary: Nitrous Oxide Sedation for the Dental Team DVD is an instructional video for dental practitioners such as dental hygienists, assistants, dentists and students. The DVD teaches and shows how to monitor Nitrous Oxide Sedation (NOS). Video Content: Dr. Vaishali Singhal created the NOS DVD in response to a lack of supplemental educational material about NOS monitoring. The 21-minute video demonstrates the parts and use of a nitrous oxide machine and provides information about different NOS machines. A step-by-step NOS scenario with narration provides a demonstratio...

Ireland: a Minute, a Love Affair - Photographs of Ireland

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 14:04:52 GMT

Invention Summary: A compilation of sixty-one beautiful photographs captured by Patricia (Gilmartin) Woods while on tour in Ireland. All photos include descriptions with information about the location in Ireland. The photographs are available in pdf form and upon request are available for adaptation, web-viewing or hard copy. Sample Photos: Intellectual Property & Development Status: Available through license or distribution agreement. For information about commercial licenses contact: Andrea Di...

“Alex Takes Care of a Lake”: A Children’s book about Aquatic Invasive Species

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:50:51 GMT

Invention Summary: “Alex Takes Care of a Lake” is a creative work designed, written and illustrated by Joanne Diglio, a local children’s author, illustrator and teacher, and Pat Rector, a county Environmental and Resource Management Agent. Synopsis One day a curious boy named Alex is kayaking on a lake when he comes across a water chestnut, an aquatic invasive species. After learning about the harm aquatic invasive species cause nature, he decides to help take care of the environment. Details This creative work educates children...

SAHMI: Microbiome-based screening method for cancer and other diseases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:29:14 GMT

Screening methodology and principle data identifying differences in microbiome diversity from disease state in pancreatic cancer Invention Summary: The microbiome plays an essential role in the prognosis and progression of disease and health, as seen in cancers like pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is rising in majority of cancer deaths, and remains difficult to study with its large fibrotic tumor volume that hinders sampling and cellular mechanistic studies by existing bulk profiling methods. With increasing interest in using the microbiome for treatment of disease, cur...

Novel Maturation‐defective Attenuated Chlamydia Vaccine

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:26:48 GMT

Invention Summary: Millions of American men and women are infected with Chlamydia each year. Without proper treatment, a substantial proportion of chlamydia-infected women may develop infertility and other health problems. To date, no Chlamydia vaccine is available. Chlamydia is an obligate intracellular bacterium with a unique developmental cycle consisting of two cell types: the infectious but non-proliferative elementary body (EB) and the proliferative but noninfectious reticulate body (RB). Successful chlamydial infection requires all th...

Novel gene drive based on eliciting piRNA biogenesis in insect pests

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 13:26:30 GMT

Transgenic Anopheles gambiae larvae expressing fluorescent marker gene Invention Summary: Malaria is one of the most impactful diseases in tropical and subtropical regions and is transmitted through human contact with infectious mosquitoes. Crop pests create a large economic and social impact through direct damage to plants and spread of pathogens. Some estimates suggest a single pest, corn rootworm, causes $1 billion in damage annually in the U.S. alone. Methods to combat insect pests have primarily relied on pesticide applications whi...

Amino Decorated L-Shaped Heterobidentate NHC Ligands on Imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine Architecture and Methods

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:29:06 GMT

Invention Summary: Dalphos ligands are among the most successful and widely used arlyphosphine ligands in organic catalysis. They are among the most popular ligands in the optimization and development of new processes using Au catalysis, where the stabilization of Au intermediates by five-membered chelates plays an essential role in catalysis that is not available by other families of ligands. Rutgers’s scientists have invented amino-decorated heterobidentate L-shaped NHC ligands that are analogous to DalPhos aryl phosphine ligands. This class of ligands is focused on p...

Continuous Process for API Formulation and Manufacturing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:23:14 GMT

A comparison of dissolution profiles for impregnated ibuprofen (IBU) tablets and direct compression IBU tablets Invention Summary: A major challenge in pharmaceutical product development is the formation of homogenous blends containing small amount of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Poor mechanical properties of APIs further exacerbate the problem. A Rutgers research team led by Prof. Muzzio has developed and tested a new pharmaceutical product development process by combining continuous manufacturing with API impregnation. I...

High Throughput Library Preparation of Long Genomic DNA Targets

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:22:15 GMT

Overall workflow for preparing the LASSO library. Invention Summary: Advances in DNA sequencing have led to an exponential increase in the quantity of sequence data, whereas limited achievable maximum gene length (<200 bp) can produce highly biased libraries with constraints on sequence homology. Long-adapter single-strand oligonucleotide (LASSO) probes libraries were thus developed to allow highly multiplexed amplification of thousands of kilobase-sized DNA targets in the same reaction volume available for downstream ...

Novel Two-Phase Air Filtration Device

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:21:43 GMT

Invention Summary: Wildfires release pollutants comprising a mixture of gases and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) which are hazardous to human health. Indoor PM 2.5 concentrations depend on outdoor concentrations, infiltration, ventilation, filtration systems used and indoor sources. Current air purification products are high cost, have a large physical footprint and need continuous power. Researchers at Rutgers University have designed a novel two-phase, environmentally friendly, low-cost air purification device that could run off a backup battery for emergencies. The tw...

A Small Peptide Capable of Sustained Hydrogen Evolution

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:20:48 GMT

Invention Summary: Hydrogen is a clean fuel that can produce electricity when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, with water being the only by-product. Manufacturing of hydrogen through coal gasification, biomass gasification or natural gas, however, is energy-intensive and has carbon by-products. Alternatively, green hydrogen production employs electrolysis of water, which can be produced using renewable energy such as wind and solar. Rutgers scientists have designed a 13 L-amino acid peptide that can catalytically generate hydrogen under anaerobic conditions wh...

Suspicious Object Detection in Medical Images

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:14:20 GMT

Background: Ultrasound and other medical imaging devices generate images by scanning biological structures and/or tissues of patients. These images aid in the diagnosis of serious illnesses such as cancer. Issues such poor quality and clarity of scanned images or conditions associated with the patient during scans or skill of the technician can lead to incorrect or misdiagnosis. Invention Description: Dr. Rick Mammone and Dr. Christine Podilchuk, researchers at Rutgers University, have developed a novel method to assist in the identification of objects of interest in medic...

Correcting Image Artifacts in Medical Images

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:14:01 GMT

Background: Ultrasound and other medical imaging technologies remove noise from scanned images by combining the scanned images in an averaging process that reduces and/or eliminates noise inherent in an imaging session. An artifact of the averaging process is blurring effects introduced to the resulting image which diminish the chances of a correct diagnosis because it makes it impossible to identify distinguishable edges that would be associated with an object of interest within the medical image and necessary for diagnosis. Invention Description: Dr. Rick Mammone and Dr. ...

Heat Map Medical Image Diagnostic

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:13:35 GMT

Background: Ultrasound and other medical imaging devices scan biological structures or tissues of a patient to aid in the diagnosis of serious illnesses such as cancer. Often, clarity and quality of scanned images are suspect due to conditions associated with the patient or the skill of the technician capturing the scanned image and can lead to incorrect or misdiagnosis. Methods to assist in understanding regions of interest in the medical image are helpful in clarifying the elements of images relevant to a diagnosis. Invention Description: Dr. Rick Mammone and Dr. Christine Podi...

Correcting Image Distortion in Captured Medical Images

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:12:47 GMT

Background: There are many instances where quick and easy interpretation of a medical images, such as an x-ray, CT scan, MRI or ultrasound is useful. In these instances, the digital transfer of medical images between systems, providers, or users is difficult and time consuming due to the lack of interoperability of software protocols between imaging and diagnostic systems. Invention Description: Dr. Rick Mammone and Dr. Christine Podilchuk, researchers at Rutgers University have developed new, quick, cost-effective, and accurate solution for transmitting and interpret...

Correcting Flawed Photograph Effects in Captured Medical Images

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:12:22 GMT

Background: Ultrasound and other medical imaging devices scan biological structures or tissues of a patient to aid in the diagnosis of serious illnesses such as cancer. Clarity and poor quality of scanned images due to conditions associated with the patient at time of image capture, or the skill of the technician capturing the scanned image can lead to incorrect or misdiagnosis of diseases. Invention Description: Dr. Rick Mammone and Dr. Christine Podilchuk, researchers at Rutgers University, have developed new, quick, cost-effective, and accurate solution for the enhancem...

Use of purified Epichloë festucae antifungal protein for dollar spot control on turfgrass

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:06:51 GMT

Invention Summary: The dollar spot disease is a major challenge for turfgrass fields, especially golf courses. The commonly used solution to control this disease is fungicides, which can be hazardous and limited in effectiveness; thus, the need for an alternative solution is imminent. Rutgers researchers in the department of plant biology have identified a novel endophyte antifungal protein that can limit the spread of the dollar spread disease. Importantly, the team has also established efficient and advanced protocols for constructing and purifying the E. festucae an...

A user-centered approach to the development of a diet education tool for older adults with tooth loss

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 12:46:40 GMT

Invention Summary: For older adults with missing teeth, it can be difficult to eat healthy. They may have trouble chewing harder-to eat foods or may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed eating with friends and family because of their missing teeth. Under a grant from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation, Dr. Rena Zelig utilized a user centered approach to develop an evidence-based diet education brochure, which provides dietary guidance for older adults with tooth loss. This brochure was developed based on the findings from qualitative research (patient interviews), sta...

Intellicount

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 12 May 2022 13:36:14 GMT

Invention Summary: Aberrant synapse formation is implicated in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and others. As a result, considerable effort has been invested in developing techniques and tools to understand the molecular mechanisms by which synapses form and function. Analysis of synaptic puncta by imaging synaptic proteins using immunofluorescent (IF) labeling is an established and commonly used technique. Existing approaches and materials used with IF to perform this analysis are time-consuming, prone to human err...

Novel Cationic Amphiphiles Control Biofilm Formation for Bacterial Vaginosis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 09:53:39 GMT

Cationic amphiphiles greatly inhibits the biofilm formation of the pathogenic bacteria in BV.Cationic Amphiphile Concentration (μM)Invention Summary:Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common polymicrobial infection in women of reproductive age, affecting 10-30% of women in developed nations. BV can lead to serious complications such as abortion, premature birth and pelvic inflammatory disease. Current antibiotic treatment regimens often fail to fully eradicate the pathogenic biofilm and may lead to recurrance due to antibiotic resistence. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) hold great potential ...

Biodegradable and Versatile Copolymers to Promote Wound Healing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 09:07:53 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a copolymer formulation to stably release salicylic acid (SA). It holds the promise for promoting topical and surgical wound healing, as SA is known to reduce local pain and inflammation as well as potentially prevent fibrous adhesion formation by reducing scar tissue. The release is stable over a period of around 10 days, which is the critical window for fibrous adhesion formation. The novel formulation is achieved by copolymerization of salicylic acid-based poly(anhydride-esters) (SAPAE) with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The copolymer with ...

Novel System for High-Yield Production of Proteins and Protein Domains

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 09:06:49 GMT

Invention Summary:The synthesis of recombinant proteins using prokaryotic expression systems has been instrumental in producing valuable reagents for biomedical research and commercial products. However, the majority of in vivo expression systems have inherent limitations in most applications – including low yields, poor quality of the expressed proteins and the inability of common expression vectors such as E.coli to translate “rare codons” from other organisms. Rutgers scientists have recently devised a novel expression system to produce mRNA transcripts without the detrime...

Biomarkers for Identifying Patients at High Risk of Progressing from Barrett’s Esophagus to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 06:15:03 GMT

Invention Summary: Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) has a poor prognosis with a 5-year overall survival of 15-20%. In the past 3 decades, the incidence of EAC increased 600-800%. Barrett’s esophagus (BE), the precancerous lesion for EAC, has approximately 0.11 to 1.6% annual rate of progression to EAC. Currently, the guidelines for BE surveillance are periodical follow-up endoscopy, which suffers from low cost-effectiveness and inconsistent patient compliance since the incidence of EAC is low. Thus, there is an urgent need to identify biomarkers associated w...

Cellularized Nerve Regeneration Graft to Remediate Peripheral Nerve Injury

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:35:12 GMT

Invention Summary: Peripheral Nerve Injuries (PNI) arising from physical trauma, cancers, or other nervous system pathologies are associated with higher costs and socioeconomic impact globally. Currently available technologies to remediate nerve injury are often unsuccessful in restoring nerve functions to its original capacity and cost of managing PNIs is on the rise. The autograft used in nerve graft surgery has 50% success rate with only 25-50% of pre-injury function is regained. Cadaveric allograft or even the artificial biopolymer conduit used lacks cells and t...

High-throughput Nanoarray Screening Platform for Multi-Cellular Applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:32:45 GMT

Scope of the combinatorial nanoarray cell screening platform – varying parameters can all be contained in the CBC array to match the complexity of natural ECMs and biophysical cues. Invention Summary: Biophysical cues mediated by natural or synthetic extracellular matrices (ECMs) play an essential role in cellular reprogramming. In nature, ECM is structurally complex, spanning a wide range of sizes and hierarchical topographies. However, biomaterials (e.g., hydrogels and nanofibers) used as a synthetic ECM for cellular reprogramming are oft...

Rutgers’ Rosebell Red Habanero

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:28:18 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers "Rosebell Red" pepper is a unique habanero developed from a field cross between African and Mexican habanero peppers. It has been evaluated at Rutgers research centers in Southern and Central New Jersey between 2010 and 2019. The "Rosebell Red" was selectively developed based on its unique qualities and consistency over years of breeding, and is ready for release into the market. The "Rosebell Red" is distinct in large fruit size, wall firmness and attractive rosebell-like fruit shape. It has a notable bright glossy red co...

PEG Nanocarriers, Nanogels and Synthesis Methods

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 11:16:12 GMT

Invention Summary: A novel platform of PEG-only nanocarriers and nanogels has been developed by Rutgers scientists. The nanocarriers can be used from 100Da-100- kDa and are capable of forming stable nanogels and nanogel aggregates in a variety of sizes from 20-30nm up to >1000nm. The carriers and gels have improved solubility over existing technologies and provide for enhanced loading of drug agents. Several methods have been developed to create and tailor a wide variety of polymers and copolymers utilizing an assortment of cross-linkers and functional groups to alter surface charg...

PulseLab: An Integrated and Expandable Toolbox for Pulse Wave Velocity-base Blood Pressure Estimation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:50:51 GMT

Invention Summary: Cuff-less blood pressure (BP) estimation methods have been long pursued as substitutions for the conventional BP measurement methods to facilitate continuous and automatic monitoring of BP. The PWV (pulse wave velocity)-BP models, describing the relationship between the PWV and the BP, have been derived and used in recent BP-estimation studies. However, currently, there exist no toolboxes and graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that enable pre-processing, visualization and analysis of signals for the problem of BP estimation. Rutgers researchers have developed Pulse...

Microbiome-Leveraged Organic Herbicide

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:50:36 GMT

Invention Summary: At present, all herbicides are deleterious to human health. There is an unmet need to develop herbicides that are not harmful to people. Ethylene is a microbe-produced hormone that stimulates plant cell growth. However, in excess, ethylene causes stress in plants due to overproduction of superoxide, a highly potent form of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, the excess ethylene causes plant cells to produce superoxide, resulting in increased oxidative stress in plants that leads to plant death. Rutgers researchers have developed a natural herbicide composition tha...

JNK Inhibitor that Prevents Chemotherapy-induced Premature Ovarian Failure

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:49:57 GMT

JNK Inhibitor SP600125 prevented DOX-induced Primordial Follicle Loss Invention Summary: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a disease characterized by the depletion of primordial follicles in women’s ovaries before the age of 40, and is a major side effect of chemotherapy in childhood-age, adolescent and young adult female cancer patients. POF can cause early menopause, infertility, as well as multiple ovarian endocrine disorders. There is a need for treating, ameliorating, and/or preventing follicle loss and/or POF in the young female cancer patients. Ru...

Doubly Residual Neural Decoder: Towards Low-Complexity High-Performance Channel Decoding

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:48:57 GMT

Invention Summary: Recently deep neural networks have been successfully applied in channel coding to improve the decoding performance. However, the state-of-the-art neural channel decoders cannot achieve high decoding performance and low complexity simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, Rutgers researcher have developed a novel doubly residual neural (DRN) decoder. By integrating both the residual input and residual learning to the design of neural channel decoder, DRN enables significant decoding performance improvement while maintaining low complexity. Exten...

“Off-the-shelf” CAR-NK cells for SARS-CoV-2 targeting in COVID-19 treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:48:02 GMT

S309-CAR cells show higher lysis of cells transfected with the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein compared to control. Invention Summary: COVID-19 remains a pandemic and a critical medical concern across the world. Patients with severe symptoms who are admitted into the ER have grim prognosis and are sometimes faced with expensive and limited treatment options. New emerging COVID-19 variants, incomplete vaccine efficacy and vaccine hesitancy, and immunocompromised people unable to receive the vaccine – all indicate a large unmet need for an effective COVID-19 treatme...

Controllable Quantum Point Junction on the Surface of an Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulator

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:46:44 GMT

Depiction of a magnetic domain wall (a) and a step edge (b) on the surface of an antiferromagnetic (alternating black arrows) topological insulator creating quantum wires that can intersect (c) to form a stable quantum point junction (QPJ). Invention Summary: Surface and edge-state engineering of topological materials offers great promise for future electronic devices, in particular, the topologically-protected chiral (one-way) or helical (two-way) edge states provide dissipationless “quantum wires" with potential applications in sensor, low-power electronics, and quant...

Target Identification Focused Antibody Phage Display Technique for the Development of Cancer Therapies

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:41:55 GMT

Invention Summary: Immunotherapies are proving to be one of the most effective treatments in oncology, but finding targetable tumor-associated antigens (TAA) or neoantigens remains a major impediment to develop first-in-class pharmaceuticals. Rutgers scientists developed a proteomics-based neoantigen discovery pipeline that simultaneously yields tumor-specific target antigen(s) and biologic leads. The system is a proprietary multi-dimensional high-throughput process capable of finding novel biomarkers while providin...

Mobile Health Diagnostic for Schizophrenia

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:22:54 GMT

Invention Summary: Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder characterized by hallucinations, disorganized thought, delusions, and a decline in both mental and physical functioning. The disorder affects about 1% of the population. Early detection and treatment significantly improves patient response to treatment; and can prevent progression to full relapse by prompting adequate clinical intervention. In addition, currently schizophrenia diagnosis requires a diagnostic battery such as the SCID-II personality assessment which can take up to an hour and must be...

A Chemogenetic Therapy for Neuropathic Pain

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:21:11 GMT

Invention Summary: Neuropathic pain (NP) typically arises as a consequence of a lesion or disease affecting peripheral nerve fibers. Prominent features in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain include increased, ectopic neuronal activity in pain pathways. In general, NP is frequently refractory to conventional analgesics and currently there are no effective treatments. Rutgers researchers have proposed a chemogenetic therapy for NP, where a novel viral vector encoding the synthetic Gi-coupled DREADD (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) receptor known as hM...

Cationic Amphiphile for Antimicrobial Applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:18:52 GMT

The structure of CAms 5a, 5b, 5c, 8a, 8b, and 8c Invention Summary: The development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a prevalent concern that has prompted the development of new antimicrobial agents. Naturally-occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer advantages over conventional antibiotics due to a reduced development of resistance mechanisms through disrupting bacterial membranes. However, the therapeutic use of naturally occurring AMPs is hampered by the high manufacturing costs, poor pharmacokinetic properties, and low bacteriological efficacy...

A Method to Predict the Response of Individual Patient to Cocktails of Radiopharmaceuticals, Chemotherapeutics or Other Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:09:38 GMT

Representative pictures showing wide variation in cellular uptake of radiopharmaceuticals. Invention Summary: A number of therapeutic cocktails have been developed to treat various diseases including metastatic cancers. However, patients vary widely in their beneficial responses to such therapies. It has been found that the uptake of targeted therapeutic agents by diseased cells varies dramatically even under ideal conditions. Accordingly, treatment with a single pharmaceutical is not likely to target all cells adequately to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome. To increase treatment e...

Method to Predict the Response of Individual Patient to Cocktails of Radiopharmaceuticals, Chemotherapeutics, or Other Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:09:26 GMT

Rutgers’ Jumbo-Habanero (Capsicum Chinense)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:23:40 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers' Jumbo-Habanero (Jumbo-Hab) is an open-pollinated pepper variety that was developed from a field cross between African and Mexican habanero peppers. The plant is bushy with mostly bifurcative branching, 30-32” tall and 40-50” wide, and very attractive at maturity with red ripe pendulous fruit. It is an annual in NJ, but maybe perennial in tropical climate. Plant starts to flower 7-8 weeks after transplanting, and first fruit ripens about 12 weeks after transplanting. Average fruit number is 63/plant, and average fruit weight ...

Rutgers' UFO-Habanero (Capsicum Chinense)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:23:36 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers' UFO-Habanero (UFO-Hab) is an open-pollinated pepper variety that was developed from a field cross between African and Mexican habanero peppers. The plant is bushy with bifurcative branching, 30-36” tall and 38-49” wide, and very attractive at maturity with red ripe pendulous fruit. It is an annual in NJ, but maybe perennial in tropical climate. Plant starts to flower 7-8 weeks after transplanting, and first fruit ripens about 12 weeks after transplanting. Average fruit number is 90/plant, and average fruit weight is 17.5 g. ...

Elf: Accelerate High-resolution Mobile Deep Vision with Content-aware Parallel Offloading

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:22:12 GMT

Invention Summary: As mobile devices continuously generate streams of images and videos, a new class of mobile deep vision applications is rapidly emerging, which usually involve the use of deep neural networks on the multimedia data in real-time. To support such applications, the ability to offload the computation, especially the inference processing, to edge clouds has proved effective. Existing solutions often assume a dedicated and powerful server exists, to which the entire inference can be offloaded. In reality, it may not be possible to find such a server and therefore a nee...

A New Method to Enhance Lung Cancer Treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:48 GMT

Summary: Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. Small molecule Tyrosine Kinase (TK) Inhibitors acting on the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors (EGFRs) are standard therapies for patients with NSCLC harboring EGFR-TK inhibitor-sensitizing mutations. However, fewer than 10 % of patients with NSCLC benefit from this therapy. Moreover, this therapy can cause severe systemic toxicities and is ineffective in preventing non-canonical EGFR signaling. Rutgers researchers have developed a novel multi-tier biotechnology tr...

Method of Calibration Using Master Calibration Function

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:34 GMT

Mass errors generated by regular calibration equations and by the master calibration equation. Summary: As instrumental parameters and a sample introduction may fluctuate or drift slightly, it is necessary to perform a calibration of the instrument before measuring. The widely used method is through establishing a calibration function using a single set of constants obtained by curve-fitting. However, obtaining the data for the constants is subject to random errors and the calibration equation can have deviations, resulting in errors in subsequently ...

Method to Induce Tunable Ferromagnetism with Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Delafossite Films

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:18 GMT

Comparison of 9nm thick pristine and hydrogenated PdCoO2 films. (a) Hall effect of pristine film at room temperature. (b) Hysteretic AHE develops in the film after hydrogenation. (c,d) TEM images for pre and post-hydrogenated PdCoO2 films. Invention Summary: The metallic delafossites, PdCoO2 and PtCoO2 are known to have high room temperature conductivity which rivals those of Cu and Ag. However, these materials are not magnetic at room temperature. Researcher at Rutgers University have developed a simple method to turn thin films of these non-magnetic oxides into r...

“Off-the-shelf” CAR-NK cells for enhanced SARS-CoV-2 targeting in COVID-19 treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:15 GMT

CR3022-CAR cells have greater lysis of cells transfected with the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein compared to control. Invention Summary: COVID-19 remains a pandemic and a critical medical concern across the world. Patients with severe symptoms are admitted into the ER have grim prognosis and have expensive limited treatment options. A large unmet need remains for an effective COVID-19 treatment despite vaccine deployment. Immunocompromised people unable to receive the vaccine, COVID-19 variant strains, incomplete vaccine efficacy and vaccine hesitancy indicates a c...

Negative Capacitance Oxide TFT on Glass

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:21:01 GMT

(a) Transfer characteristics of reference TFT and NC-TFT with inset showing gate leakage. (b) Extracted SS values of reference TFT and NC-TFT. Invention Summary: Scaling down operating voltage and reducing power consumption remain a significant challenge in the evolution of integrated circuits (IC). Negative capacitance field effect transistor (NC-FET) is designed to reduce operation voltage and power consumption by reducing the subthreshold swing (SS) value through the use of ferroelectric materials. However, improvements have been limited due to high temperature fabrication pr...

New Vector Platform for Concurrent Tumor Imaging, Therapy, and Evaluation of Response to Therapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:20:56 GMT

Diagnosis of HER2+ cancer metastasis lesions in mouse using a genetically engineered targeted vector in conjunction with MRI. The MRI followed by voxel-by-voxel analysis of scans showed that the vector makes it possible to differentiate HER2+ from HER2- cancer lesions in mouse lungs Invention Summary: The human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) is overexpressed in different cancers and has been used as an important biomarker for aggressive tumors with metastatic potential. Currently in clinic, cancer diagnosis includes whole body imaging using computed tomography (...

A NOVEL METHOD OF GENERATING LIVE-ATTENUATED REPLICATION-DEFECTIVE DNA VIRUSES FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:20:51 GMT

Method for Generating Replication-Defective DNA Virus for Safer Live-Attenuated Vaccines Primary Inventor: Hua Zhu, Ph.D.Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics RU Tech ID #: 2021-002 Invention Summary: Live-attenuated vaccines are widely used for immunization against many viral diseases. However, there are still viral diseases that either entirely lack a treatment or lack a vaccine appropriate to give to subsets of the population such ...

Predicting Therapeutic Resistance to Tamoxifen in Cancer Treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:20:13 GMT

Summary: Currently, patients with ER+ breast cancer are administered tamoxifen without considering their potential response to this therapy. Thousands of women take the tamoxifen only to discover that their tumors do not respond or that they develop resistance over time. The ability to screen patients ahead of the therapy administration can improve disease course, management an outcome as patients at risk of resistance can be offered alternative regimens. Rutgers Researchers have identified molecular pathways and their read-out ge...

Earable Sensing: Bringing Intelligence to All Headphones

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:19:42 GMT

Fig. 1. The HeadFi prototype. The core components are two resistors and thus can be easily miniaturized and embedded into a smartphone or bluetooth headset as an integrated circuit. Invention Summary: Headphones continue to gain intelligence as new functions are added to them. Existing smart headphones, however, heavily rely on auxiliary sensors that would inevitably add their weight, bulk, cost, and power consumption, which will in turn hinder their wide adoptions. Rutgers inventors introduce HeadFi, an earable sensing platform offering headphones intelligence without adding auxiliary...

Method for Generating Memory T-cells In Vitro and Their Use in Immunotherapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:19:23 GMT

Invention Summary: Dendritic cell-based immunotherapies have been tested for the treatment of cancer patients with limited success. The limited success is probably due to the ineffective activation of specific T-cells by injected dendritic cells. In vitro generation of memory T-cells that can respond to cancer cells could circumvent ineffective T-cell activation, thereby greatly enhancing the efficiency of cancer immunotherapy. Rutgers researchers have developed a method to generate polyclonal, antigen-specific memory T-cel...

Single Atom Catalyst on Holey Graphene Nanoplatelets

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:19:15 GMT

Invention Summary: The drive to replace precious platinum group metal (PGM)-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts has boosted the research and development of PGM free single-atom catalyst. However, numerous challenges remain in large scale practical application, efficiency, and long-term durability. Rutgers Researchers have developed a time and energy efficient microwave assisted approach for the direct fabrication of electrochemical single-atom catalysts (E-SAC) without the requirement of post-treat...

Rapid Cell Assembly for 3D Culture

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:19:08 GMT

A. Schematic diagram showing the self-assembly of a spheroid. B. Schematic showing transplantation of spheroids for the repair/regeneration of spinal cord Invention Summary: 3D cell culture including organoid and spheroid cultures is at the center stage of biomedical research. It is widely applied in organ development research, disease modeling, drug screening and cell therapies. Conventional methods for 3D cultures using hydrogels, polymeric scaffolds, and nanofiber-based scaffolds or through scaffold-free approaches are utilized but they can be very time cons...

Optimal Relay Beamforming with Predictive Relay Selection for mmWave Communications in Urban Environments

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:54 GMT

Summary: Millimeter wave (mmWave) communications supports high data rates with extremely high frequency, showing the promising potential in the future wireless communications including 5G networks. However, their sensitivity to blockage and severe signal attenuation present challenges in their deployment in urban settings. Current solutions to this dilemma are resource demanding and introduce network latency. Rutgers scientists have introduced a novel relay beamforming approach for mmWave communications in an urban scenario. T...

dCas9 Protein Allele Sequestration for Improved CRISPR Gene Editing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:51 GMT

Invention Summary: CRISPR technology is widely used in research to edit genes in animals and cell lines and is moving towards therapeutic use in the clinic. Inherent to almost all methods employed in gene editing is the lack of control in target gene usage. A method to direct cleavage of only a single target within a cell would be beneficial to research and therapeutic gene editing for the following reasons: - ...

Regularizing Deep Learning Architectures The Stochastic Delta Rule

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:48 GMT

Graphs comparing the use of SDR vs. Dropout. SDR has significantly less training and validation errors. SInvention Summary: Deep learning has enabled advances in text, image and speech analysis and processing. The deep layered neural networks necessary for these activities lead to high-dimensional, nonlinear parameter spaces that can prove difficult to search and lead to overfitting, model misspecification and poor generalization performance. Rutgers researcher, Dr. Stephen Hanson, has developed a solution named the Stochastic Data Rule (SDR) that addr...

Architecture for Generating Synthetic Medical Data

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:40 GMT

Learning without sharing medical images Segmentation using synthetic images Summary: Large volumes of data are necessary to train machine learning (ML) algorithms (especially for medical image analysis.) HIPAA and other privacy regulations make it difficult to obtain sufficiently large volumes of disease related images (e.g., from different medical institutions) necessary for training machine learning models used in artificial intelligence (AI) based medical applications or medical analysis purpose. Rutgers researchers have develope...

Fine-Tune Cellulose Crystals in Biocomposites

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:28 GMT

Morphology change from crystalline (I. Pure Cellulose) to amorphous (III. coagulated in water) or semi-crystalline (IV. coagulated in H2O2) Invention Summary:Natural materials such as cellulose or silk can be used in a multitude of applications such as electrolyte batteries, filters, drug delivery systems and scaffolds for tissue engineering. Transforming natural resources from their native state to a more usable form is non-trivial and is technically challenging. Rutgers Researchers and collaborators have developed a facile method to modulate the crystallinity and crystal size of cellulose. B...

Novel Process for Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetic

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:21 GMT

Summary: Sixty to seventy percent of diabetes patients suffer from the nerve disorder diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which causes pain, tingling, numbness in extremities and can lead to devastating (complications such as falls, amputations, muscle weakness, unsteady gait and foot ulcers. Current diagnostic methods for neuropathy are silent during the early stages of the disease and detect demyelination at a relatively advanced stage. Early detection allows for better disease management through optimal intervention and lifestyle changes; and has the potential to to s...

Novel Sweet Basil Resistant to Downy Mildew

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:15 GMT

Reduced downy mildew symptoms and pathogen load two weeks after Peronospora belbahrii fungus exposure. Left panel: Gene-edited sweet basil; Right panel: Non-gene- edited sweet basil Invention Summary: Rutgers University scientists have developed a gene-edited sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) line that is resistant to downy mildew by using CRISPR-editing technology. Specifically, CRISPR-gene editing was used to edit the sweet basil plants to reduce expression of homoserine kinase (HSK) and 2-oxoglutarate-Fe(II) oxygenase (2OGO). The novel basil has been tested for resistance against the ...

Compact, Transferable and Modular Scanning Probe Microscope Head

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:06 GMT

Plugged-in SPM with the new head design. Invention Summary:Current scanning probe microscope (SPM) heads are hard-wired into their base with a strong electrical connection, making it impossible to remove the SPM while leaving the cryogenic insert in situ. A SPM head with the ability to be easily removed or transferred about a system is much needed to eliminate the amount of added time it takes to warm up and then cool down both the cryogenic insert and the SPM. Researchers at Rutgers University have created a new SPM head that is compact, stable, and transferable. By implementing the electrica...

Internal Vibration Isolation for A Cryogen-free Cryostat to Operate Scanning Tunneling Microscopes

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:18:02 GMT

Invention Summary:Cryogen-free cryostats have attracted attention due to their significant reduction in cost and labor to cool systems to cryogenic temperatures. With cryogen-free cryostats helium does not need to be refilled, which allows experiments to run indefinitely without interruption. This also means that the costly drawing from the worlds scarce helium supply is avoided. However, a major disadvantage with cryogen-free cryostats is that their pulse tubes generate strong mechanical vibration (noise) which interferes with the quality of vibration sensitive measurements, such as scanning ...

Dual-Enhanced Raman Scattering-Based Nanoarray Biosensors

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:17:54 GMT

A schematic showing graphene-gold hybrid nanoarray for nucleic acid detection and cellular biosensing Invention Summary: Raman spectroscopy is a nondestructive, label-free technique that uses laser light to discriminate cell and tissue types. While Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has demonstrated great potential to analyze a variety of bio/chemical molecular interactions within cells in a highly sensitive and selective manner, the main challenge is to ensure high sensitivity and selectivity, while achieving uniform signal enhancement and high reproducibility for the quantitative...

Collision Avoidance Algorithm for Autonomous Vehicles and Robots

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:17:44 GMT

Summary: Autonomous navigation in a dynamic environment is a challenging task, especially when the motion of the elements populating the environment are unknown in advance and must be updated dynamically. An autonomous vehicle or robot must be able to follow a clear path towards its destination by anticipating the imminent behavior of moving obstacles and computing a safe driving path. Researchers at Rutgers have invented a safe, and reliable collision avoidance system for robots and autonomous vehicles, which can sense and avoid obstacles accurately....

Modified Kisspeptin Receptor Agonist as Novel Treatment of Non-Fatty Liver Disorder and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:17:32 GMT

TAK-448 protected insulin resistant, obese mice against the development of hepatic steatosis: H& E showing fatty liver.Invention Summary:Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disorder worldwide that can progress to steatohepatitis (NASH), the leading reason for liver transplants. In the U.S., there are nearly 100 million affected by the disease, which includes children and adults. Since there is no FDA approved drug for NAFLD or NASH treatment, there is an urgent need to develop a novel and effective therapy. Kisspeptins are peptides that circulate in t...

Scarlet Sunrise Bi-Color Grape Tomato

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:17:11 GMT

Invention Summary: Scarlet Sunrise bi-color grape tomato is a new and unique variety of grape tomato, which was created through traditional plant breeding. The variety has attractive grape-pear shaped bi-color (red and yellow) fruit which are firm, crack-resistant, flavorful, with good shelf life and expected good shipping qualities. The plants are vigorous, high yielding and indeterminate. After many years of development, field trials, laboratory analyses, and taste tests, the Scarlet Sunrise grape tomato has shown performing exceptionally well in m...

Single-Step Multipurpose Surface Functionalization

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:17:01 GMT

Invention Summary:Surface functionalization offers a wide array of material properties, including wettability, chemical stability, biocompatibility, catalytic activity, sensing, antifouling, anti-microbial, and cell-affinity. Despite the great interest in controlling these properties, a surface functionalization technology that is simple, robust, and also generalizable has yet to be established. Rutgers researchers have developed an easy-to-apply, highly versatile drop coating technology for surface functionalization. Proof-of-concept testing has been performed by grafting bioactive molecules ...

Improved Space Object Orbit Predictions

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:16:37 GMT

Invention Summary: Efficient, high precision orbit prediction is increasingly crucial for improved Space Situational Awareness (SSA), especially as the number of man-made objects in earth orbits continues to grow rapidly. Current orbit predictions that are solely grounded on physics-based models are not effective and robust enough to achieve the required accuracy. Scientists at Rutgers have designed a new strategy that fuses the newly developed machine learning (ML) approach with the classical orbit prediction using Extended Kalman Filters (EKF). This strategy defines the...

Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Enhanced with in situ Formation of 2D Nanoparticles for Structural Sensors and Smart Materials

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:16:24 GMT

(a) Sensor used for structural monitoring. (b) Sensor performance during 30 N cyclic loading. (c) Temperature sensor monitored by thermal imaging camera.Invention Summary:Conductive thermoplastic polymer matrix nanocomposites enhanced with conductive 2D nanoparticles have applications for structural sensors and smart materials. However, mixing pre-formed 2D nanoparticles with polymers can lead to agglomeration and poor dispersion of the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix, hindering the commercialization of the nanocomposites. Researchers from Rutgers University have developed a robust a...

Edge Assisted Real-time Object Detection

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:16:19 GMT

Image Credits: Zapp2Photo / Shutterstock Background: Most existing Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) systems understand the 3D geometry of surroundings but lack the ability to detect and classify complex objects in the real world- considered essential for these types of applications. Such capabilities can be enabled with deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), but are limited by size due to difficulties in executing large neural networks on mobile devices. Offloading object detection to the edge or cloud is also, a challenge due to st...

One-Step Exosome Isolation and Detection

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:16:09 GMT

Extract and concentrate exosomes immunomagnetically, analyze exosomal miRNA sensitively via metal-enhanced fluorescence effect. Invention Summary: Exosomes and their inner contents play critical roles in intercellular communication and signaling. The use of exosomes as next-generation biomarkers for stem cell differentiation monitoring and disease diagnosis has gained extensive interest in the biomedical research community. Current methods for exosome isolation are limited by large sample volumes and the requirement of specialized methodology (ultracentrifugation, chromatograph...

Novel Gene Therapy to Treat L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesia

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:15:14 GMT

Viral vector injections of rAAV-∆FosB shRNA significantly reduced abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) compared to control vector in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease.Invention Summary:Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, debilitating, and currently incurable neurodegenerative disease. Long-term dopamine replacement therapy in PD leads to the development of abnormal involuntary movements known as L-DOPA–induced dyskinesia (LID). Alleviating this dyskinesia can lead to significant improvements in quality of life for patients with PD. The transcription factor ∆FosB plays an i...

Small Molecule Inhibitors of MIF for Inflammatory Diseases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:15:02 GMT

Small molecules targeting to the inflammatory cytokine MIF could be a treatment for various diseases Invention Summary: A wide range of diseases can be addressed by targeting inflammatory cytokines. Although there are monoclonal antibody drugs that target, e. g., Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), no orally administrable small molecule inhibitor of inflammatory cytokines is presently available to meet medical and market needs. Rutgers scientists have identified new isoidide derivatives as inhibitors of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF). The molecules suppress TNF a...

Static and Dynamic MRI Reconstruction and Segmentation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:56 GMT

Channel-wise Attention Network Model (MICCAN) Motion Guided Dynamic Reconstruction (MODRN) Joint Reconstruction and Segmentation Summary: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology is a widely used imaging technology but has several drawbacks including: the amount of time necessary for a scan, the requirement for a breath hold when imaging the heart and post-processing that does not support reconstruction and segmentation as a single automated task, without a need for manual intervention. To better reconstruct high-quality images...

Flexible Multifunctional Elastomers Sensors Enhanced with in situ Formation of 2D Nanoparticles from Layered Materials

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:41 GMT

(a) elastomer enhanced with 2D nanoparticles is highly flexible; (b) elastomer sensor attached to arm to track the movement of fingers; (c) change in current value through the sensor due to finger motions Invention Summary: Conductive elastomeric polymer and rubber-based composites enhanced with graphene and other 2D nanoparticle fillers are capable of withstanding large strain in multiple directions, therefore they have shown tremendous promise as flexible sensors. However, conventional methods to produce 2D nanoparticles are expensive and mixing 2D nanoparticles with elastomers and r...

Detection of Permeation of Chemical Warfare Agents (CWA) Through Membranes

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:31 GMT

In-situ gas membrane permeation detection setup Invention Summary:In the design of protective barriers against chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial chemicals, reliable and rapid detection of the permeation of chemicals through the barriers is of paramount importance. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a novel method for the in-situ detection of the chemical permeation through membranes, coupled with molecular spectroscopy. It has been demonstrated that in-situ Raman Spectroscopy provides high accuracy and significantly reduces the testing time....

Synthetic Promoter-Based Azide Biosensor & Protein Induction System

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:23 GMT

(A) Escherichia coli BW25113-Wt cells with pCyn-v2-GFP plasmid were induced with varying azide concentrations and GFP fluorescence of cell lysate was measured over 24 hours. (B) E. coli BL21 contaning control pEC-GFP plasmid was induced with IPTG (isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside). (C). BW25113-Wt cells with pCyn-v2-GFP plasmid was incubated with 1-Glc-N3 vs. 2-Glc-N3 and induced GFP fluorescence of cell lysates due to azide release is shown here. Invention Summary: Azides are used as functional groups in fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals synthesis, and recently azide-function...

High-Throughput Screening of Glycosynthases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:17 GMT

Invention Summary:The ability to synthesize specific glycosidic linkages provides a way to produce designer glycans. Glycosytransferases that synthesize oligosaccharides are expressed poorly, have narrow substrate specificity and use expensive nucleotide sugars, limiting their utility in scaling-up glycan synthesis. Glycosynthases (GSs) offer an alternative biosynthetic approach to producing glycans in a facile manner. However, to date, only a limited number of GSs have been created from wild-type GHs using an inefficient empirical strategy. Rutgers researchers have implemented a directed evol...

Metallization of Plastics via Sacrificial Nanotransfer

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:04 GMT

Metalized plastic sample after demolding (left), plating up (middle) and polishing (right). Boxed area indicates that some of the initial transfer may be invisible.Invention Summary:Durable metallization of plastics has been a challenge in the manufacturing of lightweight conductive surface composites. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a scalable technique to metallize plastics via Sacrificial Nanotrasfer (SNT). The SNT process includes depositing a strike layer on a substrate, forming a nanomaterial layer with a nanotextured surface on the strike layer, embedding a polymeric ma...

Coating with Self-Limiting Electrospray Deposition

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:14:00 GMT

Invention Summary: Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a scalable technique for depositing microscale coatings of a wide variety of materials and composites onto complex 3D additive or micromachined structures. The new coating process, based on self-limiting electrospray deposition (SLED), once deposited on the surface of a target material, generates a charged film that repels incident spray and redirects it to uncoated portions of the target material. It enables to conformally coat complex 3D structures without changing the location...

Dementia Screening Tool for Home Health Care

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:13:49 GMT

Invention Summary Dementia is a common and growing public health problem in the United States and internationally. Researchers at Rutgers University have created a software integration to identify patients with significant cognitive impairment and probable dementia through the meaningful use of the standardized assessment data that is collected on all adult home health care patients using the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). Responses to routine OASIS questions are entered into a mathematical model to generate a dement...

MigraineMedPick

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:13:46 GMT

Invention Summary: Migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) are among the most common medical complaints and causes of disability, chronically afflicting up to 5% of the population. There are a wide variety of abortive and preventive medications for migraine treatment. These medications contain a variety of contra-indications depending on a patient’s medical profile – current medical problems, blood pressure, heart rate, etc. Some of these contra-indications have significant and potentially dangerous health implications. For patients with multiple medical p...

An Algorithm for Identification of Treatment-response Biomarkers to Chemotherapies

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:13:16 GMT

Invention Summary:In the last decade, several computational methods have been successfully applied to understand cancer initiation and progression through integration of genomic and epigenomic data. However, despite recent advances in discovering a wide array of novel chemotherapy agents, identification of patients with poor and favorable response prior to treatment administration remains a major challenge in clinical oncology and cancer management. Researchers at Rutgers university have developed a novel generalizable genome-wide computational framework that identifies biomarkers via gene enr...

Novel Biofertilizer for Improving Plant Growth and Tolerance to Stress

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:13:12 GMT

Improved tomato root biomass after 21 days of salinity test Invention Summary: Rutgers University scientists have identified two new bacterial strains that can express 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, and a plant growth hormone. Its efficacy has been tested to benefit maize, tomato, and creeping bentgrass, a type of turfgrass. In particular, application of this biofertilizer can increase plant growth in terms of shoot biomass and root growth under low fertility, and enhance tolerance to heat stress, drought, and salinity stress. Bacteria present in fertilizer can dec...

Novel Light-Field Messaging Captured in a Camera

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:12:57 GMT

Invention Summary: Light Field Messaging (LFM) is a process of embedding, transmitting, and receiving hidden information in video that is displayed on a screen and captured by a handheld camera. The goal of the system is to minimize perceived visual artifacts of the message embedding, while simultaneously maximizing the accuracy of message recovery on the camera side. LFM requires photographic steganography for embedding messages that can be displayed on a screen and captured by a camera. Unlike digital steganography, the embedding requirements are significantly more cha...

CAR-T and CAR-NK Immunotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:12:35 GMT

CAR-NK cells control progression of HCC in PDX modelInvention Summary:Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cell therapy has become a promising immune-therapeutic strategy for the treatment of various blood cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of cancer that starts in the liver. HCC is the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It causes 662,000 deaths worldwide per year. Currently, there is no effective CAR-based immunotherapy to treat HCC. This invention disclosed a new chimeric antigen receptor targeting a surface marker of hepatocellular ...

Solidification Material for Soil Remediation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:12:32 GMT

Comparison of triaxial CU strength for the mixture with Rutgers composition and Portland CementInvention Summary:Industrialization has led to widespread environmental pollution over the past few decades. Due to the lack of effective treatment of toxic agents, they often precipitate into soil and sometimes further elute into water streams. This contaminated soil needs to be treated and stabilized to prevent harmful contaminants from leaching into waterways and ground aquifers. Rutgers researchers and collaborators have developed a novel solidification material for soil remediation. The pozzolan...

Fluorescent Probe for Bacterial Cell Imaging and Screening of New Antibacterial Drugs

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:12:08 GMT

Visualization of the impact of FtsZ-targeting drug treatment in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains using BOFP. Bacteria were labeled with BOFP for 5 minutes just prior to visualization. Differential interference contrast (DIC) shows unstained bacteria and fluorescence shows BOFP-labeled bacteria.Invention Summary:At least 2.8 million people are infected, and more than 35,000 people die every year as a result of drug-resistant bacterial infections in the United States. There is an urgent need to develop new antibiotics against known and novel targets. FtsZ, an essential bact...

A Novel Approach for Expansion of NK and CAR-modified NK Cells

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:12:01 GMT

Fold expansion of NK cells from cord blood expanded with irradiated K562-mIL21 and RU-Feeder CellsInvention Summary:Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy (CAR-T cell therapy) requires engineering of T cells harvested from the patient. Natural killer (NK) cells are also cytotoxic immune cells, but work somewhat differently from T cell. Engineered NK cells (CAR-NK) can also be used to kill cancer cells. Compared with T-cell, NK based immunotherapy has less toxic side effects. However, it is hard to generate large quantities of expanded NK cells ex vivo since primary NK can only survive ...

Leukemia Inhibitor Factor as a Radioprotectant for Gastrointestinal Injury Following Cancer Radiotherapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:11:54 GMT

LIF protects mice from Ionizing radiation: survival is measured in control group without treatment (WT) vs. those treated with LIF (WT + LIF). Invention Summary: Currently there is no effective therapy for prevention or treatment of radiation therapy-induced gastrointestinal (GI) tract injury. Rutgers researchers have recently discovered that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a naturally occurring cytokine, is present in the intestinal stem cells and is critical in maintaining intestinal epithelial cell proliferation and regeneration. Further, Rutgers researchers demonstrated in mice...

Patient-Centered Model for Protein-Energy Wasting

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:11:48 GMT

Invention Summary: Protein-energy wasting (PEW) is a term proposed by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM), referring to the multiple nutritional and catabolic alterations that occur in patients suffering with chronic kidney disease (CKD). To increase awareness, identify research needs, and provide the basis for future work ISRNM has recommended the nomenclature of PEW and formulated a model that theorizes etiological factors which may negatively impact nutritional status and contribute to morbidity and mortality. ...

DIFFNET

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:11:39 GMT

Dr. Pengfei Zhang is a practicing physician in the Rutgers Health Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Department of Neurology. He is Board-certified for Neurology, specializing in headaches and migraines. He is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine, and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.Migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) are among the most common medical complaints and causes of disability, chronically afflicting up to 5% of the population. Coming up with a set of potential diagnoses for a clinical complaint – that is, a d...

Scaffold-Free Biological Assemblies for Tissue Modeling and Regeneration

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:11:35 GMT

Invention Summary:The evolution of in vitro-engineered scaffold-free tissues for tissue modeling and regenerative medicine has been driven by the need to recapitulate the cellular organization of endogenous tissues and to avoid undesired scaffold-related side effects upon implantation. Methods to produce scaffold-free tissue or cell assemblies have been recently explored with the use of membrane modifications, spheroid-based 3D bio-printing and thermo-responsive polymers. However, cell assemblies or tissue...

ValiDNA: Forensic DNA Software

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:11:21 GMT

Invention Summary: DNA collected from a crime scene or environment can be used to determine the likely sources that explain the data. DNA signal is complex as it contains representations of partial genomes from any number of unknown contributors, which is ultimately affected by the processing decisions made by the laboratory. As such, advanced computational systems that help laboratories choose optimal laboratory conditions and provide useful information on the number and type of contributors to the evidence are needed. Rutgers researchers have developed a computational analysis...

Synergistic use of Coffee Components to Reduce Risk of Parkinson & other Neurodegenerative Diseases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:59 GMT

Synergistic neuroprotection by two coffee components (EHT/Caffeine) to slow down progression of Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies Invention Summary:Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Both these disorders are progressive, debilitating, and currently incurable. The protein alpha-Synuclein (α-Syn) aggregates as fibrils in Lewy-bodies and Lewy-neurites in the brain in both conditions. Scientists at Rutgers and Prince...

Film Forming Foam (FFF) for Burn Wounds/Burnflex

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:56 GMT

Invention Summary: Many of the available burn dressings on the market use latex, PVC or polyurethane as means of barrier-like components to protect the patient from outside elements. The current use of these components presents a problem of waste and contamination. Other available options in the market are hydrogel-based dressings that may be coated in silver sulfadiazine, a commonly used antibiotic for large burn wounds. These coatings are of limited access to lower incomes because of their cost. There exists a need for a novel dressing that provid...

Near infrared photocatalyst based on TiO2-coated gold nanoparticles

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:42 GMT

Invention Summary:Nanoparticles such as gold nanospheres, nanorods and nanostars are a promising additive to titanium dioxide (TiO2) to increase photocatalytic efficiency. However, conventional TiO2-nanoparticles drive photocatalytic reaction only by UV light. There is a need for materials with enhanced photocatalytic capacity under visible or infrared light in addition to UV. Rutgers researchers have developed a solution method to synthesize crystalline TiO2-coated gold nanostars at low-temperature, with the preservation of the nanostars delicate morphology. Under visible-near inf...

New Biomarker to Guide Cancer Immunotherapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:33 GMT

RNA expression of ERV3-2 (for 2 different primers) is signiﬁcantly higher in tumors from responders compared with tumors from non-responders.Invention Summary:Immunotherapy has led to dramatic responses in many cancer types, but only a minority of patients has clinical benefit. In certain cancers, including renal cell carcinoma, no clear correlation exists between mutation burden and response to immune checkpoint therapy. There is a great need currently to identify markers other than tumor mutation burden and PD-L1 expression that can identify individual tumors that are sensitive to immunother...

Pyrrole-based Inhibitors of PfPKG for the Treatment of Malaria

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:27 GMT

Invention Summary: The emergence and spread of artemisinin-resistant plasmodium falciparum in Southeast Asia is a compelling reminder to develop new drugs for malaria prophylaxis and treatment. Drugs that target pre-erythrocytic stages are an essential component of the anti-malarial effort because a decrease in liver infection by sporozoites significantly reduces severity and incidence of malaria. Existing anti-malarial that target pre-erythrocytic stages, such as primaquine, tafenoquine and atovaquone, have significant side-effects or are expensive. Therefore, there is ...

Personalized and Timed Release of Biomolecules

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:18 GMT

Invention Summary:Protein/peptide-based therapeutics are powerful medications, however their use is often hampered by very short half-lives and the necessity for intravenous or subcutaneous injections. Researchers from Rutgers University and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a novel method to deliver protein/peptide-based therapeutics via viral-mediated gene delivery or transplantation of genetically engineered cells. The expression of transduced genes and thus secretion/delivery of corresponding protein/peptide therapeutics can be achieved through various ways: 1) as a respon...

Engineered GH for Improved Glycan Polymer Synthesis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:15 GMT

Invention Summary: Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides (or glycans) are complex macromolecules in living systems that serve critical structural and functional roles. In vitro synthesis of these complex biomolecules is very challenging. Glycosytransferases are naturally available enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of glycans, but have poor expression yield, narrow substrate specificity, and use expensive nucleotide sugars. Rutgers scientists have engineered a multifunctional family 5 glycosyl hydrolase (GH-5 called CelE) from Clostridium thermocellum into a transglycosidase to synthes...

A Novel, Tailor-Made MOF for Exceptionally Efficient Separation of Propane and Propylene

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:07 GMT

Invention Summary: Separating mixtures of propane and propylene is often challenging and energy intensive. In industrial settings this separation is typically performed by cryogenic distillation, requiring low temperature and/or pressure. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging as promising low-energy alternatives to energy-intensive distillations, as their performance is often comparable to industrial benchmarks with a reduced energetic cost. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a novel MOF for efficient separation of propylene and propane by size-selective exclusion. The mat...

Explainable Decisions of Algorithms Using Examples

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:10:03 GMT

Artificial Intelligence algorithms (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are used across a widening array of application domains. To trust the decisions made by these algorithms it is important for people to understand how they arrive at them.Invention Summary:Researchers at Rutgers University have created a novel solution that uses Bayesian Teaching for explaining the decisions made by AI algorithms. Bayesian Teaching is a model-agnostic system that samples data subsets to explain model inferences to a domain (but not necessarily technical) expert.This solution allows a user to ask questions o...

Image Processing Neural Network Systems and Methods with Scene Understanding

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:59 GMT

Using ScenarioNet to find high-level similarities and differences between two images Purpose: The ability for computational agents to reason about the high-level content of real-world scene images is important for many applications. For example, for many applications (e.g. robotics, human-machine teaming, surveillance, and autonomous vehicles), an agent must reason about the high-level content of real-world scene images in order to make rational, grounded decisions that can be trusted by humans. It is often also necessary to have models that can be interpreted by humans in order...

RUTGERS ASPHALT ANALYSIS TOOL PACK

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:52 GMT

Summary: Modern asphalt pavement performance testing has quickly evolved into simple physical testing procedures with intensive and complex analyses of collected data. To facilitate larger adoption of the testing protocols and associated data analysis by both the private industry and DOTs, engineers in the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) have created the Rutgers Asphalt Analysis Took Pack (RAAT-Pack). The software can provide analysis for several asphalt performance testing specifications by uploading an input file and c...

Online Instruction in Psychology Laboratory Classes: Cognition, Sensation & Perception Labs

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:33 GMT

Dr. Eileen Kowler is a Distinguished Professor in the Psychology Department in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Maryland in 1978, and joined the Psychology faculty at Rutgers in 1980 after postdoctoral work at New York University. She is also a member of the graduate faculty of Biomedical Engineering and is on the Executive Committee of the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science. She edited the reference work Eye Movements and Their Role in Visual and Cognitive Processes (published by Elsevier), and served as S...

Boron Nitride Nanotube Membranes for Giant Power Generation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:16 GMT

Fabrication method for vertically aligned BNNT membranes. Invention Summary: Rutgers scientists and collaborators have developed an innovative method to fabricate vertically aligned boron-nitride nanotube (BNNT) membranes with high nanopore density. BNNTs were aligned and concentrated in a liquid pre-polymer with an external field, and then locked in place by in-situ polymerization. The resulting membrane showed high ion selectivity even at high molarities and ultrafast cation transport. Under an osmotic concentration difference, the BNNT membranes generated electrical power at pow...

Novel Zinc Metallochaperone (ZMC) Complexes for Treatment of p53-Mutated Cancers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:10 GMT

A) Novel mechanism of action: a short exposure to ZMCs increases zinc levels in tumors enough to restore normal structure/function to mutant p53 which leads to p53 mediated cancer cell death. B) Novel formulation: Synthesizing ZMCs as a zinc-loaded complex (Zn-1) improves survival in a pancreatic cancer mouse model compared to the ZMC compound alone. Invention Summary:More than half of all cancers harbor a mutation in the p53 gene which plays an essential role as a tumor suppressor. Restoring wild type p53 function has been shown to have potent anti-cancer activity and also improves the effica...

Novel Zinc Metallochaperone (ZMC) Complexes for Treatment of p53-Mutated Cancers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:09:06 GMT

The Planck-Shannon Classifier Algorithm

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:55 GMT

There are many natural and human phenomena in the physical, biomedical, and social sciences that generate long-tailed asymmetric histograms (LTAH) that fit the Planckian Distribution Equation (PDE). It has been postulated that the Planckian process (defined as the physicochemical, socioeconomic, or cosmological processes that generate LTAH’s fitting PDE) involves a selection mechanism that can identify as special a subset of events out of all possible randomly organized events [1]. Figure 1. Some examples of long-tailed asymmetric histograms (LTAH's) that fit ...

Novel Inhibitors of Keap1-Nrf2 Protein-Protein Interaction

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:47 GMT

Novel Small Molecule Direct Inhibitors of Keap1-Nrf2 Protein-Protein Interaction Invention Summary: Nrf2 is a key transcription factor mediating anti-inflammatory and antioxidant responses in the body. Keap1 is a well-known repressor of Nrf2 that targets Nrf2 for its rapid proteasomal degradation. Dysfunctional Keap1-Nrf2 axis contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation underlying multiple disease conditions, including cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, chronic kidney diseases (CKD...

Boundless Analytics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:42 GMT

Rank the distribution plots of price by score (descending)The Problem: Data scientists take an enormous mass of messy data points (unstructured and structured) and use math, statistics and programming to clean, massage and organize them. Then they apply analytic expertise (e.g. industry knowledge, contextual understanding, skepticism of existing assumptions) to uncover hidden solutions to business challenges. This process of uncovering hidden patterns visualized as plots, takes a tremendous amount of programming, that is often quite repetitive and tedious. As a result. companies need to hire h...

An Injectable and Long-Acting Local Anesthetics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:27 GMT

Invention Summary: Local anesthetics prevent or relieve pain by interrupting nerve conduction. Even the long-acting local anesthetic agents (e.g., bupivacaine, levobupivacaine, ropivacaine) can only provide analgesia for 4-18 hours. Because of the short duration, local anesthetics often have to be given by repeated injection or continuous infusion. The inventors here developed an injectable PLGA-coated ropivacaine, which has a dose-dependent, reversible, and long-lasting analgesic effect on post-operative pain and neuropathic pain. The maximal duration of this composition's analgesia at 0.25% ...

Methods for Robust, Accurate and Real-time Localization of Needles in 2D and 3D Ultrasound

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:21 GMT

Invention Summary:Ultrasound imaging is commonly used to guide the placement of needles for tissue biopsies, catheter insertions, drainages, and anesthesia. However, visual artifacts make it difficult to locate the needle in cases of steep insertion angles (40-80 degrees) and depths (9 cm). Hence, there is a need for a method for real-time needle detection. Researchers at Rutgers University developed a novel method for automatically localizing a needle and other surgical tools using 2D/3D ultrasound in real-time. By applying deep learning-based convolution neural networks, this method addresse...

2-D Hand Hygiene Game for Healthcare Professionals

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:13 GMT

Studies have shown that healthcare workers wash their hands half the time they should. The CDC points out the importance of washing hands, not only often, but also properly with the right techniques helps insure a safe environment for patient care. With the rise of hospital acquired infections, following proper hand hygiene techniques can significantly reduce the diseases transmitted from person to person. Description: Researchers at Rut...

Ultrasound-guided Alignment and Insertion of Percutaneous Cannulating Instruments

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:09 GMT

(Left) Device prototype. (Right) Short-axis ultrasound image of segmented vessel for insertion.Invention Summary: Gaining access to blood vessels is a critical first step in a plethora of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures (see market applications). The timely delivery of these interventions can affect morbidity and mortality, yet in difficult conditions, access can be highly challenging. Difficulties are exacerbated in patients with small, tortuous, or collapsed vessels, which are common in pediatric, elderly, chronically-ill, traumatic, and hypovolemic patients. Poorly introduced needles ...

4D Printing of Microneedle Array for Enhanced Tissue Adhesion

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:05 GMT

Invention Summary:Microneedles are gaining attention because of the minimally invasive, pain-free, and easy-to-use nature. However, a major challenge for controlled long-term drug delivery or biosensing using microneedles is the low tissue adhesion. Rutgers researchers and collaborators have developed a method to fabricate microneedle array by a digital light processing 3D printing technique. Backward-facing curved barbs are created by desolvation-induced deformation utilizing cross-linking density gradient in a photocurable polymer. Barbs thickness and bending curvature are control...

Panel & Software to Predict Therapeutic Resistance in Cancer Treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:08:01 GMT

Invention Summary:According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common malignancy in men and the second-highest cancer-related cause of death in American men. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which reduces or prevents male hormones (androgens) from interacting with cancer cells, has been shown to be beneficial in treating prostate cancer in about half of all cases. However, for the remaining cases, ADT counterintuitively results in a more aggressive cancer. Therefore, knowing how a patient will respond to ADT before the start of therapy can ensure a pati...

Spatial Dopant Separation using Core-Shell Architecture For Upconversion Luminescent Enhancement in the Erbium-Doped System

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:56 GMT

Invention Summary: Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have gained increasing attention for various biomedical applications due to their high photostability, low autofluorescent background, and deep tissue penetration; however, UCNPs also suffer from low emission intensities due to undesirable energy back-transfer. Further, the use of high-power density excitations at 980 nm may cause serious overheating and thus cellular damages under continuous irradiation. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a single-crystal core–shell–shell “sandwich” structured...

Versatile CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing System

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:53 GMT

Successful gene editing in neurons differentiated from patient-derived neural stem cells. Left panel, gene editing using control guide RNA; Right panel, gene editing using MeCP2 guide RNA. Summary: CRISPR-Cas-mediated genome editing makes effective gene therapy of human disease feasible. Although viral delivery of CRISPR-Cas agent is quite efficient, the safety concern limited its clinic applications. On the other hand, the current available non-viral delivery methods can’t reach the goal for...

Novel Array Insert for One-Step 3D Cultures and Histological Processing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:45 GMT

Schematic diagram of the technology. Organoid cultures can be grown in a basket array the size of a 96-well plate. The array can be shrunk down to fit into a histology cassette without need to transfer the culture.Invention Summary:Organoids are multicellular 3D structures that faithfully mimic their in vivo organ counterparts and are valuable tools for studying aspects of an organ in an in vitro setting. However, despite their use in research for over a decade, it is still challenging to process 3D cell cultures efficiently and accurately for histological assays. Histological analysis require...

Deposition of Microscale Coatings by Self-Limiting Electrospray

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:37 GMT

a. Overview of thickness-limited electrospray deposition (ESD). Electrostatically-driven spray creates a charged film which redirects charged incident droplets. b. and c. SEM images of spray results, illustrating the wide range of morphologies and particle size which can be obtained with this method(b: nanowires, c: hollow spheres).Invention Summary: Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a scalable, cost-effective method for depositing microscale coatings of a wide variety of materials and composites compatible with complex additive manufactured or micromachined structures. The newl...

Moldable Porous Nanocomposite Resins

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:34 GMT

Nanoporous monoliths fabricated at various length scales (a) microscale pillar; (b) mm-scale cone; (c) inch-scale hand cast. Invention Summary: A key issue with a majority of the current technologies for creating porous monoliths is that they require high temperature treatments or incur significant materials shrinkage. For many applications, shape is critical and low-temperature substrates or environments are necessary. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a new method to synthesi...

Methods for Robust, Accurate and Real-time Localization of Needles in 2D and 3D Ultrasound

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:22 GMT

Invention Summary: Ultrasound imaging is commonly used to guide the placement of needles for tissue biopsies, catheter insertions, drainages, and anesthesia. However, visual artifacts make it difficult to locate the needle in cases of steep insertion angles (40-80 degrees) and depths (9 cm). Hence, there is a need for a method for real-time needle detection. Researchers at Rutgers University developed a novel method for automatically localizing a needle and other surgical tools using 2D/3D ultrasound in real-time. By applying deep learning-based convolution neural net...

Multilayer Stackable Tissue Culture Platform for 3D Co-Culture

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:14 GMT

Invention Summary: In a native tissue inside an animal, different types of cells co-exist and communicate with one another through the surrounding microenvironment using chemical and mechanical signaling. The lack of technology to recreate such a microenvironment in in vitro models results in either under or over prediction of results using conventional two-dimensional (2D) in vitro cell culture systems. Researchers at Rutgers have developed a simple device for 3D co-culture. Unlike conventional tissue culture inserts for co-culturing cell types in two or three separate compartments, t...

Power Toothbrush with Evacuation Technology for Oral Care

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:07:04 GMT

Invention Summary:This invention provides a unique multi-purpose power toothbrush integrating high-vacuum functionality into a battery powered toothbrush, providing for effective removal of saliva, debris, and fluids during brushing. The removal of these potentially harmful and infectious materials aids in the prevention of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases caused by oral bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus mutans); which can be caused or exacerbated by particulate matter aspiration (references available).The device can provide crucial health and convenience benefits for disabled, susceptible...

Finger-input Touch Authentication using Physical Vibration (VibWrite)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:57 GMT

Invention Summary:Researchers at Rutgers University have created an innovative authentication system named VibWrite. The system places an inexpensive vibration motor and receiver on a solid surface, such as wood, metal, plastic, glass (e.g., a door panel, a desk or an appliance). The motor sends vibrations to the receiver. When a user touches the surface with a finger, the vibration waves change and create a unique signature per user and per finger. This invention turns any rigid surface into a touchscreen for user authentication. The invention supports use of a user’s physiological data...

A New Method to Treat Asthma and Allergic Reaction

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:47 GMT

PBS PeptideIntranasal peptide treatment inhibits ILC2-dependent mucus productionInvention Summary:Although most patients with asthma...

Scalable, Secure, and Broad-Spectrum Mechanism for Enforcement of Protocols

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:33 GMT

Agents Interacting based on ProtocolsInvention Summary:There is a growing realization in the commercial world that trust among members of a multi-agent systems operating electronically over the Internet is needed. Trust can be accomplished by enforcing (governing) electronically, a contract, policy, or another type of protocol to govern transactions among members.Rutgers researcher, Dr. Naftaly Minsky, has developed a novel control mechanism (“COP”) that governs interactions among members of multi-agent distributed systems — which can include software processes, p...

Sigma-1 Receptor Antagonists – Non-Addictive Pain Management

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:19 GMT

Invention Summary: The sigma 1 receptor (S1R), a molecular chaperone protein located in the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membranes, plays important roles in various pathological disorders including pain. The potential commercial applications of novel S1R antagonists are twofold: 1) as stand-alone therapy for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain; 2) as combination therapy with opioids for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain but with significantly fewer and less serious adverse effects. Rutgers researchers have developed a new c...

Nutrition Focused Physical Examination & Assessment (NFPE&A)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:15 GMT

Invention Summary: Nutrition focused physical examination and assessment (NFPE&A) refers to a head to toe physical examination by a Dietitian to determine signs and symptoms of malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies and factors impacting food and fluid intake and dysphagia risk, including inspection and palpation of the head, neck, mouth, muscle and fat stores and skin and cranial nerve examination. Integration of NFPE&A training and education can increase NFPE conduct by students in supervised practice and professional clinical practice as registered dietitian nu...

Low Profile Transfer Mechanism for Controlled Environments

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:09 GMT

Invention Summary:Various scientific and manufacturing processes are performed in special controlled environments (e.g., ultra-high vacuum, high radiation, air-stable, etc.) that require special chambers that maintain the desired environment. A device such as a superconducting magnet or cryostat is housed within the chamber that requires objects to be transferred during various operations. Current transfer mechanisms are large and rigid to accommodate the forces required to move objects to and from the device, and are typically very tall, requiring specialized laboratory space with very high c...

CerebroSense: A Brain Pulsatility Measurement Device

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:06:04 GMT

Invention Summary:During craniotomy, surgeons often determine the level of brain swelling based on finger tactile sensation in order to implement compensation measurements. However, under or over compensation can lead to severe complications such as cerebral ischemia. Researchers at Rutgers University and Stevens Institute of Technology have developed a portable device, CerebroSense, that utilizes a non-invasive sensing technology to provide a non-contact, quantitative, and real-time assessment of brain volume variations (pulsatility) during open brain surgery. CerebroSense has an ultrasound s...

Novel Nanomaterial for Prolonged and Sustained Antibacterial Efficacy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:58 GMT

a) BAC release profile at pH 4.0, 5.0, 6.5, and 7.4. b) The percentage of S. aureus survival upon exposure to BAC loaded nanoparticles after 0, 3, and 6 hours.Invention Summary: Quaternary ammonium cationic (QAC) surfactants are one of the preferred choices for antibacterial applications. The compounds are water and oil soluble, and they cover a broad spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy including gram-positive and gram-negative contaminations. In applications such as bandages and surgical dressings, extended release of active compounds would be beneficial and desirable.Researchers at Rutgers Un...

Novel metal-organic frameworks for efficient separation of alkane isomers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:49 GMT

Schematic representation of two-stage MOFs absorbent bed for the separation of alkane mixtures to pure form of each isomer (straight line, mono-branched and di-branched)Invention Summary: The separation of alkane isomers represents a critical yet challenging process in the petrochemical industry to produce high-quality gasoline. As an alternative technology to energy intensive distillations, adsorptive separation by porous solids offers lower energy cost and higher efficiency.Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a series of novel metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the efficient se...

Signal Transmission Enabling Secret Communications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:46 GMT

Invention Summary: Most modern secure communications systems today use cryptography to make a message unintelligible to an eavesdropper. This process coms with a cost: it lowers the maximum data rate, and can be computationally expensive. In addition, it requires complex encryption key sharing and management systems. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a physical layer approach to secure communications. By using distributed beam forming and active feedback, the system aligns the transmitters’ phases at the target, precisely focusing energy at that point. The syst...

Improved Eastern Oysters

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:31 GMT

Triploid oysters (right, 3N) produced from improved tetraploids vs. normal diploid controls (left, 2N).Invention Summary:Rutgers University has been breeding eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin) since 1960. Rutgers oyster strains have shown strong to moderate resistance to two diseases (MSX and Dermo). Rutgers also invented tetraploid oysters (with 4 sets of chromosomes) and a new type of triploid oysters (with 3 sets of chromosomes) by crossing diploid and tetraploid oysters. Because of their sterility, superior growth, and improved summer meat quality, new triploid oysters develope...

Nanowell Array Sensor Chip for Biosensing in Blood Samples

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:13 GMT

Entire multiwell plate chip and a schematic view of the 2-μm nanowell array sensor. The sensor is comprised of an array of 25 nanowells etched on the overlapping electrode surface. Invention Summary: The current gold-standard for protein quantification in laboratory tests is enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which typically relies on optical fluorescence, and labeling of complementary molecules, resulting in lengthier and more costly testing. A team of scientists from Rutgers and U Penn has invented a nanowell array sensor system capable of performing electrochemical imped...

HCC-Memcached

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:08 GMT

Invention Summary: GPUs have evolved from fixed function 3D accelerators to fully programmable units that are starting to be in use for high-performance computing (HPC), machine-learning and data-analytics. GPUs increasingly support programmability features such as shared virtual memory and hardware cache coherence enabling them to run a wider variety of programs. However, the ability to invoke system calls, an important aspect of CPU programming continues to be ...

Cellular Reprogramming via Co-culture Bioreactor

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:05:05 GMT

Invention Summary: Co-culture systems are a popular method for engineering complex multicellular systems. Specifically, for cell therapy, where one cell population can help differentiate another therapeutic cell population. Current co-culture methods have shown benefits, though there still remains a need for a scalable, integrated system that can maintain cell viability and phenotype with downstream ease of purification of differentiated therapeutic cells. Researchers at Rutgers University developed a scalable hollow-fiber bioreactor system for co-culturing two cell types in a continuous flow ...

Polynomiography

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:04:51 GMT

The ideas for Polynomiography grew out of Dr. Bahman Kalantari’s research into polynomial root-finding, an ancient and historic subject that continues to find new applications with each generation of mathematicians and scientists. The term “polynomiography”, coined by Dr. Kalantari, is a combination of the word “polynomial” and the suffix “graphy.” A "polynomiograph" is an individual rendered image. Invention Summary: Polynomiography is a fusion of math and art, which as software gives rise to a...

Port-of-Entry Simulation System (POESS)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:04:48 GMT

Invention Summary: Fast and sustained secure flows of people and freight through a Port-of-Entry (POE) are essential to the U.S. economy. Excessive delays not only inconvenience passengers, but also disrupt supply chains downstream the POE, often causing severe economic damage. In addition, they elevate carbon footprint resulting in environmental and public health impacts. US Custom and Borders Protection (CBP)—a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—has been responsible for facilitating vehicu...

Rapid and Efficient Production of High Lysine and High Methionine Quality Protein Maize

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:04:43 GMT

Lysine and methionine content of novel Quality Protein Maize lines, the opaque high lysine line W64A o2, and non-transgenic AxB. Observe that PE5, α-γ- kernels have the highest lysine and methionine levels, but are opaque. PE5, γ- has high lysine and methionine levels and a vitreous kernel, making it the best candidate for QPM animal feed. Invention Summary: Rapid production of novel Quality Protein Maize (QPM) lines with improved protein quality and vitreous kernels, suitable for animal feed without synthetic methionine supplementation. Conversion of elite lines to QPM us...

Iridium Catalyst for Dehydrogenative Dimerization of Ethylene to Yield 1,3-Butadiene

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:04:38 GMT

Schematic diagram of the catalytic dehydrogenative dimerization of ethylene to butadieneInvention Summary: 1,3-Butadiene is a chemical building block, most notably known for the production of synthetic elastomers and polymers. Traditionally, 1,3-butadiene is produced as a byproduct of naphtha cracking for ethylene production. Due to new sources, ethylene production has shifted away from naphtha cracking towards cracking ethane-rich shale gas. This has a left an unmet demand for 1,3-butadiene.Researchers at Rutgers University developed a new method of producing 1,3-butadiene using a phebox pinc...

Metallic Nanosheets-Based Electrochemical Actuator

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:04:03 GMT

a, Scanning electron microscope image of restacked 1T phase 2D MoS2 film. b, The electrochemical system consists of a working electrode (the actuator) along with a counter electrode (Pt) and a reference electrode (standard calomel electrode, SCE) submerged in 0.5 M H2SO4. c, Images of curvature induced by charge intercalation in free-standing (that is, no Kapton beam) 1T MoS2 film on gold (scale bar, 1 cm). d, e, Diagram (d) and photograph (e) of actuation in forward and backward directions by modulation of the electrode potential between -0.3 V and + 0.3 V.Invention Summary: Actuators that co...

Value-based Information Flow Tracking for Mobile, Wearable, and IOT Sensor Devices

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:03:44 GMT

Invention Summary:Mobile devices have a variety of sensors that enable a wide range of useful applications from step tracking to point of care medical services. In addition, sensors are now in automobiles, IoT and other devices. As the use of devices with sensors increase, it becomes important that information from theses sensors does not leak to outside parties. Researchers at Rutgers university and UCLA have designed a novel Information Flow Tracking (IFT) technique and software, called METRON, that implements a value-based tracking solution to detect potential data leaks from apps on mobile...

Damage Resistant Glass-Ceramic

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:03:35 GMT

This material has better hardness and crack resistance than any commercially available glassInvention Summary: Rutgers University researchers have developed an Al2O3 rich damage resistant glasses and glass-ceramics, which exhibit Vickers hardness of >7 GPa and do not crack at loads as high as 2000 gf (19.6 N). The resistance to fracture is one of the most critical properties to define the applicability of oxide glasses in modern industries and infrastructure. In oxide glasses, surface flaws can lead to catastrophic failure, as tensile stress concentrated at the tips of the flaws. Although e...

DNA Nanodevices for Point-of-Care Testing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:03:28 GMT

DNA nanodevice can detect 0.1 nm microRNAInvention Summary: Point-of-Care (POC) testing is defined as a simple operated, easy-to-read, rapid and low-cost medical diagnosis that can be used by non-specialists at home, in the field or on an ambulance. It provides timely diagnostic results, enabling early diagnosis of diseases, protective therapy and rapid treatment of the patients. POC testing requires unique features, including: (1) a simplified operation (e.g. one-pot assay) by non-specialists at diverse locations, (2) easy-to-read signals, (3) a reliable and rapid assay and (4) low cost.This ...

Biodegradable Scaffold for Advanced Stem Cell Therapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:03:15 GMT

Schematic diagram representing the self assembly of Laminin (ECM) and the MnO2 sheet Invention Summary: While regenerative stem cell therapy has been a promising approach for transplant medicine and surgery, there have been challenges due to low transplantation survival rate and poor selectivity in differentiation. Researchers at Rutgers University developed a biodegradable manganese oxide-polymer hybrid scaffold designed to selectively guide stem cell differentiation while acting as a controlled drug delivery system. The biodegradable manganese oxide layer allows for drug loading a...

JSF-3285, A Novel KasA Inhibitor for Tuberculosis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:52 GMT

Figure 1. Summary profile of JSF-3285: A) In vitro profile. B) X-ray crystal structure andbinding constant for complex with KasA. C) In vivo profile in mouse chronic infection model.Invention Summary:New antibacterial drugs that treat multidrug resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR TB) represent an area of high medical need. The current tuberculosis treatment regimens involve multidrug combinations over an extended period and have associated side effects and toxicities. New TB drugs that reduce side effects and the total length of treatment may result in better patient outcomes. Thro...

Human Normal and Cancer Organoid Culture with Defined Components for Six Different Tissue Types

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:36 GMT

Invention Summary:An organoid is a small three-dimensional (3-D) cellular tissue structure that highly resembles the in-vivo organ from which it is originated. New technology developed at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey enables researchers to generate organoids from six different cancer types and normal tissues derived from patients suffering from glioblastoma, prostate, breast, kidney, lung, and bladder cancers.Using this new human organoid culture methodology, stem cell-derived organoids are generated from human primary tissues at 80-90% efficiency within 4 weeks. The resulting organo...

Cell Culture Scale-Up via 3D Bioactive Microcapsule

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:31 GMT

Capsules are designed to protect cells from shear, non-fouling, and customized for ease-of-use and recovery of cells. Invention Summary: Industrial cell culture scale-up is a critical unit operation in biopharmaceutical processes. Culturing adherent cells is particularly challenging, since they can’t simply be cultured in suspension but instead require surface area. Current methods culture adherent cell on the outer surface of solid, non-degradable microspheres in large bioreactors, which present challenges such as: 1. cell recovery, 2. Loss of cell viability due to exposure to fl...

Novel Bronchodilator Therapy for Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Cystic Fibrosis by Gα12 Inhibitors and Rho Inhibitors

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:18 GMT

Figure 1 Gα12 signaling and RhoA-dependent activation of the PI3K/ROCK axisFigure 2 Gα12 siRNA attenuates carbachol-induced MLC (myosin light chain) phosphorylation in vivo. Reduced MLC phosphorylation indicates human airway smooth muscle relaxation. Carbachol activates Gα12 -coupled M3 muscarinic receptors in human airway smooth muscle.Invention Summary:Airway Hyperresponsiveness (AHR), a hallmark of asthma, represents exaggerated airway narrowing in response to contractile agonists such as acetylcholine. Human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) mediate AHR by shortening in...

Biosensor for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Fungal Drugs

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:11 GMT

Aptamer-based GFET devices show a detectable threshold Dirac voltage shift between 0.1 mg/mL and 0.1 µg/mL with posconazole, but no shift with caspofungin (echinocandin).Invention Summary: To safely and effectively treat patients with anti-fungal drugs, physicians must understand the pharmacokinetics (PK) of those drugs In patients. However, the PK of azole antifungal drugs are patient dependent. If physicians can monitor levels of drug in real time, then they can better optimize dosages for an individual patient. Researchers at Rutgers have developed an aptamer-based graphene field effe...

Scalable Fabrication of Pristine Holey Graphene Nanoplatelet

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:07 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers Researchers have developed a novel and scalable approach to fabricate pristine holey graphene nanoplatelets nearly free of defects and metal residues via dry microwave irritation. The hole edges can be controlled to be rich in zigzag geometry, which is the preferred structure for catalytic and electronic applications. The researchers have tested the potentials of this invention in catalytic applications in both electrochemical and chemical reactions. Molecular oxygen can be reduced directly to water with a 4e pathway in acidic solutions, which is c...

Communication Perception Estimate Scale (CoPES)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:02:03 GMT

Invention Summary: Communication and language disorders occur in over 5% of the general population and estimates show them to be more prevalent in youth with psychiatric disorders that require psychiatric services. Early detection in young patients can improve treatment for the communication disorders (CDs) and the additional associated diagnoses. Description Comprehensive assessment of CDs is expensive, time-consuming, and is impractical in most clinical settings, particularly...

Portable Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) Analyzer for Asthma Diagnosis and Monitoring

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:59 GMT

Invention Summary: Asthma, an increasingly important global health problem that affects ~ 300 million people worldwide, is characterized by variable airway inflammation and air flow obstruction. Currently available non-invasive methods for diagnosing and monitoring asthma involve measurements of exhaled nitric oxide (NO). Apart from the transient nature of NO, these methods are limited by low sensitivity and an inability to identify the nature and extent of airway inflammation. Measurement of alternative biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) that can facilitate molecular phenotyping of...

Arkham Patients’ Psychology AP Study Resource

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:50 GMT

Invention Summary: Psychiatrists at Rutgers University have created a unique educational resource for use in promoting and teaching Psychology at a high school level. In particular, the “Arkham Patients’ (Ark) Psychology” curriculum provides a unique program that promotes participation in Advanced Placement (“AP”) Psychology courses by providing a fun and engaging means to draw students into the material while maintaining a high educational st...

Biomimetic, Bioactive Dental Implants

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:45 GMT

Left: 3D printed mold; Center: prototype bioactive implant; Right: prototype lateral incisor implant restored with acrylic temporary crown (after implantation).Invention Summary: While titanium dental implants are the current state of the art for tooth replacement, they involve an invasive surgical procedure and significant risks. Aside from intraoperative surgical risks, a high incidence of titanium implant failures has been reported after placement due to a variety of reasons including prosthetic material failures, improper surgical placement resulting in damage to adjacent teeth and v...

Novel Phosphatidylserine-Targeting Immunobiologicals for Cancer and Viral Treatment

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:33 GMT

PS-targeting biological inhibits tumor growth and virus infection Invention Summary: Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a phospholipid that is restricted to the inner plasma membrane in healthy cells but is externalized in apoptotic or stressed cells abundantly present in tumor microenvironment or in sites of virus infection. PS is also present on the surface of enveloped viruses such as influenza, corona and hepatitis B viruses, facilitating virus entry into the cells and immune evasion. Rutgers scientists have developed unique multifunctional PS-targeting immunobiological that blocks PS-mediated imm...

Liquid Membrane for Separation and Filtration

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:23 GMT

Schematic view of the liquid membrane filter, showing multiple layers of liquid columns. Each layer contains liquid columns between two parallel plates Invention Summary: Separation and filtration devices have been widely used in numerous applications. Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) systems are designed to separate biological samples and particulates of different sizes by forcing them through a periodic lattice of obstacles. DLD systems have been utilized to separate blood cells, circulating tumor cells and nanoscale particles. All obstacle lattices u...

Novel Ricin Inhibitors

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:13 GMT

(A) Model showing the interaction of Ricin toxin A (RTA) with the P stalk to access the sarcin/ricin loop (SRL) of the eukaryotic ribosome. 26S rRNA and 60S subunit are shown in light gray and dark gray, respectively. (B) The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of fragments against RTA. Invention Summary: Ricin toxin is lethal to human at small doses, yet no FDA-approved vaccine or therapeutic exists to protect against ricin poisoning. Ricin inhibits protein synthesis by binding to ribosomes through the ricin toxin A subunit (RTA). To date, developing RTA active site inhibitors as rici...

Flexible High Voltage Thin Film Transistor for Self-powered Wearable Electronics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:01:08 GMT

f-HVTFT mounted on a platform for bending test Invention Summary: Wearable systems have been emerging for broad applications. One of the major technical challenges for the technology is its power management. The self-powered wearable electronics which aim to provide users continuous, non-interrupted, and hassle-free experiences are highly desired. However, current self-powered technology faces 3 challenges: (1) unstable due to the environment variations; (2) requirement of an external bulky power management component, and (3) built on the rigid substrate. To address these issues, a res...

JobViz: User Interface for Visualization of Majors & Jobs

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:00:56 GMT

Invention Summary: University (and industry) career search portals and web-based job search engines allow users to search on many items (e.g., education, location, level, etc.) and then present a text based list of potential job opportunities. University career portals are not as conductive to exploration by job and career searchers as they could be and make it difficult for students to understand the relationship between jobs and majors. Researchers at Rutgers University have created a novel visual exploration a...

Novel Computational Tool for Understanding Protein Interactions and Generating Energy Maps

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:00:34 GMT

Generation of the interior and exterior residues, which are predominantly hot and cold, respectively (red/salmon = high, white = middle, cyan/blue = low μ-factors), in a catalytic site of an enzyme using the novel computational model. Invention Summary: Most computational models rely on large numbers of weak interactions to describe protein energetics. One challenge of folding a protein through computer modeling and simulations using quantum mechanics lies in finding the global minimum of the protein conformational energy landscape which corresponds to a region close to the global energy mi...

Novel Fusion Polypeptides as Antiviral and Cancer Therapeutics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:00:03 GMT

Antitumor and antiviral effects of the fusion IFN-β-IFN-λ in vivoInvention Summary:Type I and Type III interferons (IFNs) are well known for their potent broad-spectrum antiviral activities. In addition, these pluripotent cytokines can also regulate cell growth and differentiation, tissue homeostasis, angiogenesis, as well as immune and inflammatory responses in various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Due to their diverse functions, clinical applications for IFNs include treatment of chronic and acute viral infections, various malignancies, inflammatory and autoimm...

DataSpaces: An Extreme Scale Data Management Framework

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:59:51 GMT

Summary: High performance computing infrastructures enable large-scale scientific (and other) applications and workflows to run with increased complexity and improved accuracy. As the size of these workflows grow, they are generating massive amounts of data that must be processed and analyzed. Traditional methods of running these types of workflows do not work at this scale. Researchers at Rutgers Discover Informatics Institute have developed a software solution, DataSpaces which is a programming ...

CometCloud: Autonomic Framework for Dynamic Federated Cloud Services

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:59:48 GMT

Invention Summary: Emerging applications, from big science to the Internet of Things, increasingly involve dynamic and data driven end-to-end workflows with very large heterogeneous requirements. Such applications require dynamic and flexible platforms that combine resources across systems and data centers, e.g., to extend capacity and/or capabilities, or to integrate data stores when moving data is not an option. The CometCloud software from the Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute (RDI2) enables suc...

Computational Ultrasound for Improved Liver and Kidney Diagnosis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:59:32 GMT

Invention Summary: Transabdominal ultrasound is the one of the most widely used imaging modality for initial imaging of patients diagnosed with liver diseases such as Hepatitis C virus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, current imaging processes cannot differentiate simple steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and hepatic fibrosis. Researchers at Rutgers University developed a novel method for the extraction of local phase image features from liver and kidney ultrasound data for the enhancement of medical image data. The invention enables a high level of visual clarity allowing...

High-fidelity amplified FISH (amp-FISH) for sensitive and specific in situ detection of RNA

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:59:15 GMT

amp-FISH probes can distinguish single-nucleotide variations within single mRNA molecules and produces amplified signals in situ for both mutant and wild-type variants, each in a distinct color.Invention Summary:Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is used in clinical and research applications to detect and visualize specific nucleic acid targets within cells or tissues. Detection of rare or small nucleic acids species and distinction between targets that differ only by a single base, however, is challenging. Rutgers scientists have developed masked hairpin binary probes that accomplish t...

A Molecular Trap for Capturing Radioactive Organic Iodides from Nuclear Waste

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:59:00 GMT

Molecular trap is 340% more efficient than current processesInvention Summary: Rutgers University researchers have developed a metal-organic framework (MOF) molecular trap to remove radioactive organic iodides (ROI) from nuclear waste streams. Nuclear power provides ~11% of the world’s electricity currently. How to safely dispose nuclear waste is still a big challenge we are facing. 129I and 131I and other iodine isotopes generated from the fission reaction of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors are a suspected cause of thyroid cancer. 129I has a half-life of 15.7 million years and...

New Technique to Grow Low Defect Single Crystalline Thin Films

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:58:37 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers Researchers have developed a method to grow a large scale of high quality single crystalline In2Se3 thin film using a temporal seed of Bi2Se3. This technology can be used in fabricating high quality In2Se3-incorporated devices, such as low-defect-density Bi2Se3, an archetypical 3D topological insulator. Interfacial and bulk defects have remained the major obstacles for further progress in the field of topological insulators (TI) since their discovery. To realize the functional TI devices for application in quantum computer and spintronics, a defect-suppressed TI thin...

A Method and System for Dynamically Optimizing the Security of Persons Gathered in Bounded Spaces

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:58:30 GMT

Invention Summary: This technology provides for a modified security system that optimizes security for people gathered in a bounded or enclosed spaces. By implementing a sophisticated algorithm, the technology ensures that large numbers of persons entering a venue have been screened to an acceptable standard, while minimizing inconvenience to those persons. Furthermore, the technology achieves these goals in a way that makes it very difficult, if not impossible, for an adversary to exploit variations in the screening process. The technology integrates ...

Dewetting-Based Spatial Light Modulator for High-Power Lasers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:58:12 GMT

Invention Summary: Current spatial light modulator (SLM) technology relies on either digital mirror arrays or liquid crystal reflective and transmittive cells. However, due to the upper bounds on the maximum light intensity of those systems, the applications of SLMs in fields where high intensity is required are limited. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed dewetting-based SLMs which can cover all major laser wavelengths at similar pixel resolution and can work with high power laser so...

Efficient and Non-Genotoxic Gene Transfer System for Stem Cells

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:57:30 GMT

Comparison of efficiency and toxicity of transfection reagents carrying different amounts of DNA for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These cells are primary cells and considered hard-to-transfect. Panel A shows the transfection efficiency of “Rutgers Transfection System” in comparison to the five most widely used commercially available reagents; Panel B shows the viability of cells after transfection with “Rutgers Transfection System” in comparison to the same five commercially available ones. The most efficient vectors and their corresponding toxicities are highlighted ...

Stable phosphorescent OLEDs for lighting applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:57:25 GMT

Novel OLEDs with higher photoluminescence stability Invention Summary: Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are an emerging display and lighting technology, especially for large area and architectural lighting. Phosphorescent OLEDs are very energy efficient, besides, they don’t suffer from the “green gap” in their emitting spectra Thus, they can generate diffuse light sources that more closely resemble natural light. Rutgers researchers have invented a novel technique to employ extensive rate engineering provided by photonic and plasmonic nanostructures to increas...

Treatment for Neuropsychiatric Disorders by Intravitreal Injection of DREADD Followed by Eye Drops or Pills Containing DREADD agonist

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:57:20 GMT

Figure 1. DREADD receptor-mediated activation of retinal cells prevents the development of light deprivation-induced depression-like behavior in vivo. A. DD-hM3Dq activation prevents the relative weight loss that was induced by constant dark lighting conditions. B. DREADD receptor-mediated activation of retinal cells leads to a reduction of depression-like behavior as measured by the forced swim test (FST). Abbreviations: chronic dark rearing (DD); chronic dark rearing with a control virus expressed in retinal cells (DD-GFP); DREADD receptors-mediated activation of retinal cells during chronic...

A Platform Approach for Free Radical-Mediated Targeted Therapeutic Delivery

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:56:01 GMT

Invention Summary:Various pathological states including tissue injuries, inflammation, degenerative diseases and cancer are frequently associated with elevated free radicals, such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. These locally-generated free radicals are extremely reactive and are known to damage cells and tissues to exacerbate the pathology. Rutgers scientists have developed a novel strategy that aims to harness the reactivity of these free radicals to target and sustain the delivery of therapeutics. The therapeutic is conjugated to a biomaterial that reacts with free radicals to cros...

UAV-based Delivery of Solid Insecticide

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:55:12 GMT

Invention Summary: Mosquito borne diseases constitute more than half a billion illnesses and over a million deaths yearly. Wide-scale mosquito pesticide and larvicide dispersion (e.g., aerial dispersion) is no longer a viable option due to 1) posing public health concerns, and 2) urban area expansion into mosquito habitats, making mosquito control untenable. Hence, targeted delivery of mosquito control payloads to inaccessible areas should be used to avoid environmental contamination and adverse human effects. Rutgers researchers have developed a new mechanism for the targeted delivery of soli...

Thermo-Activated Lubricant Additives for Improving Engine Efficiency and Fuel Economy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:55:02 GMT

Controlled Release Friction Reduction over TimeInvention Summary:Friction modifiers (FMs) have been extensively studied as lubricant additives that could improve lubricity of base oil friction profiles to enhance fuel economy by the petrochemical and automobile industries. There are two classes of FMs, the ash FM (organo-molybdenum molecules) and ashless FM (sulfur-free organic molecules). The ashless modifiers such as fatty acid esters have the added advantage of being more environmentally friendly. However, current fatty acid molecules degrade too quickly and result in reduced efficacy...

Low-Cost, Flexible, Paper-Based Plasma Sanitizer

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:54:30 GMT

Low-Cost, Flexible, Paper-Based Plasma SanitizerInvention Summary: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major challenge facing disease control organizations and healthcare providers worldwide. In 2011, there were 721,800 cases of HAIs reported in the US, with 75,000 patients ultimately dying from the infections. Because a leading cause of HAIs is improper sterilization and disinfection of medical tools and facilities, improved sterilization protocols could drastically reduce the number of HAIs. In order to address this need for improved medical sterilization in hospitals and point-of-...

Biosensors for Real-Time Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:53:50 GMT

(A) A schematic of the biosensor. (B) Real time detection of the effect of antibiotics (Ampicillin) on the growth of E. coli. (C) and (D) Real time detection of the effect of antifungal agents Miconazole and Amphotericin B on the growth of yeast. Invention Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is becoming a major global-health concern. Traditional assays available for monitoring bacterial and fungal growth require time-consuming and labor-intensive efforts. There is thus an urgent need to develop rapid and highly sensitive antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) tools for diagnosis...

Detection, Diagnosis, & Prediction of Dental Periapical Diseases Using Image Processing Techniques (Digital pixel intensity software/technology)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:53:43 GMT

Overlaid pixels allow determination of issues, location, courses of treatment, progression.Invention Summary:Incorrect diagnosis of periapical lesions may lead to either progression of the disease of unnecessary surgical procedures.This new method and adapted software provides DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS, EARLY DETECTION and information not obtainable via visual (eyeball) inspection radiography for treatment of periapical pathologies.By quantifying and digitally locating changes in bony density of periapical regions, and categorization into discrete groups, more thorough diagnosis affecting treatme...

VSTEP: Balance, Mobility, and Fitness Rehabilitation Game

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:53:24 GMT

Clinician (left) working with patient (right) within the VSTEP digital health platform Invention Summary: Restoring balance is critical for patients recovering from stroke, trauma, or joint surgery, as well as patients with other neurologic conditions. Virtual reality provides an opportunity to gamify rehabilitation and improve outcomes. Researchers at Rutgers have developed VSTEP, a digital health platform that addresses balance, mobility, and fitness. Infrared (IR), motion-sensing cameras track the movement of the lower extremities, providing feedback for balance movement training. Si...

Versatile Biodegradable, Bioactive-Based Polymers for Topical, Cosmetic and Personal Care Applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:51:37 GMT

A. Structure of salicylic acid-based polymer and its degradation products. B. Polymer degradation rates with different linker molecules. C. Free ferulic acid in aqueous solution is unstable and turns brown after 10 days (left). Ferulic acid-based polymers are stable and aesthetically more pleasing in solution under the same condition (right). Invention Summary: Rutgers scientists have developed a class of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers that chemically incorporate bioactive molecules, such as antioxidants and antimicrobials, in the backbone of the polymers for sustained relea...

Lightning-fast Genome Variant Detection

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:50:49 GMT

Summary: Current human whole genome sequencing projects produce massive amounts of data, often creating significant computational challenges. Different approaches have been developed for each type of genome variant and method of detection, necessitating users to run multiple algorithms to find variants. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed the Genome Rearrangement Omni-Mapper (GROM), a novel comprehensive method of variant detection, combining mismatch, split-read, read pair, and read depth WGS evidence. GROM boasts lightning-speed runtimes ...

Rutgers Scarlet Fire® Dogwood – Cornus Kousa Rutpink

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:50:33 GMT

Rutgers first C. kousa in 45 years of breeding, featuring bright fuchsia/deep pink-red colorations during a long season.Invention Summary:This new cultivar, 'Rutpink', tradenamed Scarlet Fire® dogwood, is a consistently pink-bracted selection, with deep pink to fuchsia coloration at its peak.This new cultivar is the product of a long standing program of hybridization and selection of big-bracted dogwoods, in this instance the result of an open-pollination event of an unnamed pink-bracted Cornus kousa breeding selection held in the Rutgers University germplasm collection.The dramatic bracts...

Novel Zinc Metallochaperone (ZMC) Complexes for Treatment of p53-Mutated Cancers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:50:17 GMT

Synthesis of p-Xylene by Dehydroaromatization of 3-Methyleneheptane obtained from Ethylene

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:49:57 GMT

Invention Summary:p-Xylene is mostly produced from cracking of naphtha, but there is a need for new and cost-effective methods for the production. Indeed, conventional p-xylene synthesis requires toluene separation from refinery gasoline streams; performing a disproportionation reaction to yield a benzene fraction and a mixed xylene fraction; and finally an isomerization step over a zeolite catalyst which converts ortho- and meta- xylenes to the para isomer. p-Xylene is then separated in a costly crystallization step from the unconverted ortho and meta isomers which are recycled to the z...

Prodrugs and ADC Derivatives of Non-Camptothecin TOP1-Targeting Cancer Chemotherapeutics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:49:15 GMT

Schematic Structure of an Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) (en.wikipedia.org)Invention Summary:Topoisomerase 1 (Top1) is an essential enzyme in mammalian cells and is a validated target for the treatment of human cancers. Topotecan and irinotecan (camptothecin analogues) are two FDA approved Top1-targeted drugs. Despite being powerful anticancer drugs, camptothecin derivatives exhibit clinical limitations due to the instability of their α-hydroxylactone six-membered E-ring structure. Genz-644282 is a novel non-camptothecin topoisomerase I inhibitor developed by Rutgers scientists. Genz-6442...

Improved Nerve Conduits for Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injuries

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:48:58 GMT

Scanning electron microscope image of conduits Invention Summary: Nerve conduits are used for treatment of peripheral nerve injuries. However, the current conduits are associated with poor healing resulting from swelling and reduction of luminal volume, suture pull-out, collapse, kinking, compression, and lack of mechanical strength to withstand the traction of moving joints. Rutgers scientists have developed an improved biocompatible nerve conduit for nerve re-generation, where a porous fiber tube is coated with a bioresorbable hydrogel. The fibers ...

Small Molecule Fluorescent Probe

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:44:11 GMT

Sensitivity of detection method with ROC, comparison of NIR probe with conventionalInvention Summary: Fluorophores in the near infrared (NIR) range, where body tissue is transparent, are promising alternatives to radioactive labels. Conjugation of NIR dyes to targeting agents enables specific detection of molecules of interest. However, conventional NIR probes are bulky, resulting in interference with the activity of the targeting molecule and limited cell uptake. In response to these challenges, Rutgers researchers have developed a small, DDAO-derived, near infrared fluorophore that can be co...

New Targeted Gene Therapy for Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:43:51 GMT

Invention Summary: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy. It is a genetic disorder and patients suffering from DMD experience gradual muscle weakness in early childhood and are non-ambulant by 12 years of age. The progressive nature of this disease leads to restrictive pulmonary function, diaphragm dysfunction and cardiomyopathy. At present there is no cure for DMD. Patients can only rely on therapies that can ease symptoms. There is a constant need to identify new therapeutic targets based on disease mechanism to complement the existing st...

Fluorescent Detection of Fungal Pathogens

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:42:48 GMT

Mice infected intrastromally with three different strains of Aspergillus (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger). Labeling of infected area using caspofungin-conjugated fluorescent probe.Invention Summary: Diagnostic imaging could provide important spatial information about fungal infections, but current imaging modalities lack specificity for fungal pathogens. Imaging in the near infrared (NIR) range, where body tissue is transparent, is particularly promising, but conventional NIR probes are to large to enter cells and access fungal pathogens. In response to these challenges, Rutgers researchers...

High-throughput gene expression screening in activated T-cells using FISH-Flow

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:42:06 GMT

Induction of gene expression and subsequent detection by FISH-Flow. c-fos expression is induced in activated cells, which are readily identified by FISH-Flow. GFP: negative control, GAPDH: positive control. Invention Summary: Researchers at Rutgers have developed an assay combining the analytical power of flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH-Flow) for high-throughput identification of activated T-cells. Gene expression at the mRNA level and expression of cell surface markers can be assayed simultaneously in activated T-cell populations using this technique. The us...

Drug Candidate for the Treatment of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:38:14 GMT

Invention Summary: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of heart failure. About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure, and approximately half million new cases are diagnosed annually. Patients with DCM can lead to arrhythmias, and about half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. Current treatments for DCM are focused on symptom relief. There is a need for new drug to improve the heart condition and to treat arrhythmias and myocardial fibrosis of DCM patients. This invention provides a method to promote angiogenesis (formation...

New Cell Therapy Device for Isolating Cells and Exosomes

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:35:58 GMT

GMP-grade closed-system clinical cell therapy device for isolation and delivery of cells and exosomes. Invention Summary:Regenerative medicine research has become an important field of study due to the ability of regenerating cells to restore a wide variety of cell types. Regenerating cells can be isolated from multiple sources and can be used in a variety of applications such as cell therapy, in vitro disease modeling, genome editing, immunotherapy, and drug screening. The identification and isolation of regenerating cells and their derived exosomes are challenging, due to their rarity ...

New Cell Therapy Strategy for Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:35:53 GMT

Cell therapy strategy for spinal cord injuries and regenerative diseases. Invention Summary:Spinal cord injuries (SCI) are damages to the spinal cord neural tissues that cause sensory loss and motor paralysis. SCI patients have no options for curative therapy. Thus, a mild contusion to the spinal cord results in massive neuronal and glial cell loss, demyelination, cavitation and glial scarring, resulting in detrimental functional effects, including loss of sensory perception, distal motor paralysis and severe functional impairment. There is a need for an effective therapy that enhances a...

Rapid Molecular Assays for Fungal Infections

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:31:28 GMT

Sensitivity of real-time NASBA assay for fungi. B: pan-Candida probe, C: pan-Aspergillus probeInvention Summary: Fungal infections are as significant cause of mortality and morbidity when not rapidly diagnosed and treated. However, the current standard of care for diagnosis is blood culture, a method limited by the time to diagnosis (1-2 days), frequency of false negatives, and the difficulty in culturing certain fungi. The emergence of drug-resistant fungi adds an additional obstacle to effective treatment. While molecular assays have enabled rapid, sensitive diagnosis of bacterial and viral ...

Molecular Assays for Identification of Echinocandin Resistant Fungi

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:29:38 GMT

Representative melting profiles for C. Glabrata after amplification of clinical isolates A) FKS1 HS1 primers B) FKS2 HS1 primers. DNA sequencing was used to confirm predicted genotypes (indicated by markers)Invention Summary:Fungal infections are as significant cause of mortality and morbidity when not rapidly diagnosed and treated. Echinocandin antifungal drugs are fist-line therapy for infections due to Candida species, but the emergence of drug-resistant fungi during therapy limits the ability of physicians to effectively treat fungal infections. Rutgers researchers have developed PCR prime...

IFN-Lambda1 Polypeptides as Antiviral and Anticancer Therapeutics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:22:36 GMT

Only IFN-λ and not IFN-α protects mice from lethal high-virulence influenza A virus infection Invention Summary: Interferons (IFNs) are well known for their potent broad-spectrum antiviral activities. In addition, these pluripotent cytokines can also regulate cell growth and differentiation, tissue homeostasis and angiogenesis, and immune and inflammatory responses in various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Due to their diverse functions, clinical applications for IFNs include treatment of chronic and acute viral infections, various malignancies, inflammator...

Rutgers Scarlet™ Strawberry

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:06:47 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers Scarlet Strawberry was bred to grow well in NJ’s wide range of soils and to withstand the dramatic swings in NJ’s climate. It was produced for consumers interested in the best tasting strawberries when picked and eaten fresh from the farm. Rutgers Scarlet is sweet, balanced with just the right amount of acidity. There is no need to add sugar, an important trait in an era when grocery store strawberries often lack real taste. The Rutgers Scarlet is also a beauty. It keeps its strawberry red color throughout, with no white middle.After over a decade of devel...

A New Method of Thin Film Patterning for Electronic and Medical Devices

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:04:41 GMT

Microscopic image of engineered patterns created on Bismuth thin film Invention Summary: The need to easily pattern thin film materials is widespread among the electronic and biomedical communities. However, the main approaches currently used face challenges of adapting to rapid processing and design change of patterned films, reducing material loss and high cost, or dealing with harmful chemicals. Rutgers researchers have developed a new method of patterning thin films, which applies a relatively low powered focused beam to dewet the metal from the substra...

In Vitro Model of Liver Steatosis for Screening of Drug Compounds

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 10:03:35 GMT

The decrease in liver steatosis in hepatocytes cultured in steatosis reducing medium.Invention Summary: Donor livers are frequently rejected due to high intracellular fat content, called steatosis, which increases the risk of primary graft non-function in transplant patients. Because liver transplantation remains the only effective treatment for end-stage liver disease, the inability to use steatotic livers significantly contributes to the worldwide donor liver shortage. Though several compounds have been identified for their potential to de-fatten steatotic livers, there is a need for further...

Multifunctional ZnO and its Nanostructure -Based 1T1R and 1D1R Switching Matrices for Reconfigurable Electronics and Optoelectronics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:57:25 GMT

Invention Summary Market Application Advantages Intellectual Property & Development Status Information technology is facing increasing needs for systems-on-demand capable of task adaption on-the-fly and defect adaption in real-time at lower cost. High-performance electronic system combining the state-of-the-art processing logics, memories, and sensors on a single chip is highly desired. The challenge is in implementing an advanced reconfigurable switching matrix network that can be integrated with various functional subsystems. One...

Nanotechnology-based Method for Treatment of Primary Ovarian Cancer and Prevention of Metastases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:53:11 GMT

Two-in-one: Combined nanocarrier based targeted chemo and gene therapy1. Cellular penetration of naked siRNA (green) and siRNA delivered by nanocarrier (red), 2. Treatment of mice bearing metastatic ovarian cancer. a. Mice bearing xenografts of human metastatic cancer and histology of tumor tissue (before treatment), b. Mice bearing xenografts of human metastatic cancer and histology of tumor tissue (after treatment).Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed an ovarian tumor-targeted therapeutic delivery system that utilizes a nanocarrier delivery vehicle such as liposome or dendrime...

Doxycycline Loaded Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels for Healing Vesicant-Induced Ocular Wounds

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:51:26 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have invented a method of loading poly (ethylene glycol) hydrogels with doxycycline to treat vesicant-induced (i.e. sulfur mustard gas) ocular wounds. The effectiveness of doxycycline, an FDA approved drug in humans, was previously limited in ocular treatment due to tear washing on the eye’s surface. The new hydrogel system has increased viscosity which provides for prolonged corneal contact time and reduced drug loss from the corneal surface. The non-toxic, transparent hydrogels are easy to administer and would minimize patient discomfort. Advan...

Novel Monodisperse PEGtide Dendrons as Nanocarrier for Drug Delivery

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:51:22 GMT

Representative Structure of PEGtideInvention Summary: Dentrimers and dendrons have generated tremendous interest as nanocarriers for various drug delivery applications. Rutgers scientists have developed a series of novel monodisperse PEGtide dendrons with versatility to accommodate various drug delivery demands.PEGtide dendrons containing alternating discrete poly (ethylene glycol) (dPEG) and amino acid/peptide moieties defines a new family of dendrons with significantly improved safety, biocompatibility and purity compared to its peers. A tunable interior void size that can reaches 200nm enab...

Nanoparticle Delivery System for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Targeted Cancer Therapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:51:19 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have invented a novel treatment strategy that relates to an intravenously (“IV”) administered lung targeted nanoparticle (NP)/ gel microparticle (GMP) delivery system for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The delivery system delivers the chemotherapeutic agent camptothecin (CPT) along with a chemopotentiator. The chemopotentiator potentiates the effect of chemotherapeutic agents through stimulation of oxidative phosphorylation. Our chemopotentiation strategy confers two main advantages: (1) it induces an additive or synergisti...

Oral Delivery of Therapeutics and Diagnostics using Peptide Ligands

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:51:08 GMT

Invention Summary:Intestinal uptake and absorption of orally administered drugs has been a challenge in the field of drug development and therapeutics research. Rutgers scientists have recently invented a novel mechanism to achieve increased absorption of molecules and to enhance their bioavailability via oral delivery. This invention facilitates the delivery of drugs or drug combinations across the intestinal epithelium, with the help of chylomicrons. These chylomicrons are the products of emulsified fat droplets in the intestinal lumen. By tagging peptide ligands to the drug agent, it is now...

Biodegradable PEG Hydrogels and Methods of Use

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:46:41 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have engineered PEG hydrogels that can biodegrade - they provide novel drug delivery capabilities relative to standard PEG technologies. The technology utilizes soluble, biodegradable PEG molecules which are cross-linked in the presence of drug agents. The resulting hydrogels serve as standard depots for sustained release of the drug and then fully degrade; eliminating the need for surgical removal. Importantly, these gels can also be designed to covalently link the agent so that drug release can occur via controlled degradation in addition to passive diffu...

Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Cancer by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:44:55 GMT

Comparison of MRS analysis using three different dataset reduction schemes. The white box corresponds to the potential cancer space defined from whole-mount histological sections. Colors correspond to the classification of tissue: Red = cancerous, blue = benign, green = indeterminate. Left: z-score; Middle: Principal component analysis (PCA); Right: Nonlinear dimensionality reduction (NLDR). Invention Summary: Combining structural information from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with metabolic information from Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) can greatly improve detection of cancer. However, it i...

Electrode Compositions and Methods

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:44:14 GMT

Resolvable Spray-On Hydrogel as Wound Dressing and Drug Delivery Agent

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:44:03 GMT

Invention Summary: Hydrogel-based wound dressing is an accepted clinical practice for the promotion of wound healing and/or drug delivery. However, current hydrogel-based technologies have disadvantages including difficulty in removal, prone to gelling during packaging or storage, and requiring temperature manipulation before administration. Rutgers scientists have developed a novel and easy to use hydrogel wound dressing that gels in-situ immediately upon the mixture of two solution systems. This hydrogel can be administered by a spray and has a unique feature of reversibility, which enables ...

FileWall: Controlling Access to Network File Systems

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:43:29 GMT

Summary: Filewall describes a system architecture for extending and enhancing file system functionality in a network, without modifying the underlying file system clients and servers. FileWall is meant to interpose on a network path between file system clients and servers. It operates by using file systems extensions that transform messages as they flow between clients and servers. Advantages: FileWall provides a powerful method for controlling access to a file system using customized extensions into existing file systems. It enables tailoring existing files system in a porta...

Automated Detection and Classification of Tumors from Digitized Histological Tissue Specimens

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:40:38 GMT

Flowchart illustration of the working of the algorithm Invention Summary: Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems can automatically sort digitized medical images which can otherwise be a time-consuming process.Researchers at Rutgers have developed a CAD method to automatically distinguish between tumor and benign regions in digitized prostate histology. The image analysis is performed in a multi-resolution framework, which is similar to the method in which a pathologist would conduct diagnosis.The structure of interest is first segmented into smaller images to quickly scan and classify lower-re...

Metal Fluorides Portfolio

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:31:05 GMT

This portfolio consists of the following technologies:

Continuous Sheet Folding Machine with Microfolding Technology

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 09:30:13 GMT

Invention Summary:Folded materials are useful in packaging, sandwich structures, floor boards, car bumpers and other applications where requirements pertaining to shock, vibration, energy absorption, and/or a high strength-to-weight ratio including volume reduction must be met. Folding flat sheets of material into intricate three-dimensional structures may provide a new technology for production of cores and sandwich structures. Currentproduction methods such as stretch-drawing, forging, pressing, casting and fabrication may appear to produce cosmetically similar patterns but the mechanical pr...

A METHOD FOR SYNTHESIZING MEDICAL DATA LEARNT FROM DISTRIBUTED GAN

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 08:54:03 GMT

Innovative Use of Mobile Devices for Medical Image Capture and Diagnostics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 08:53:45 GMT

Background: There are many instances where quick and easy interpretation of a medical images, such as an x-ray, CT Scan, MRI or ultrasound is needed; for example, in a fast-paced trauma unit, or during a regional disaster or mass casualty incident. In these instances, the digital transfer of medical images, as wells as diagnosis, is difficult and time consuming due to the lack of interoperability of software protocols between imaging and diagnostic systems. Invention Description: Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a new, quick, cost-effective and accurate so...

Hazelnuts Resistant to Eastern Filbert Blight

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 08:53:38 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers University initiated a hazelnut research and breeding program in 1996 to address the fatal tree disease eastern filbert blight (EFB) caused by the naturally occurring fungus, Anisogramma anomala.Rutgers made large seed collections across Eastern Europe, the Caucuses, and Central Asia to cross and breed the collected trees for eastern US trials. The program spans over 20 years as of 2019, and Rutgers now has 25,000 trees on 20 acres in various stages of evaluation.About 2% of trees were discovered to have some resistance. Utilizing these, advanced breeding lines were ...

Novel Bioherbicides that Suppress Weeds and Promote Plant Growth

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 13:22:51 GMT

Stunted growth of invasive Japanese knotweed when inoculated (Right panel) with Micrococcus luteus. Left panel: untreated Japanese knotweed; Right panel: bioherbicide treated Japanese knotweed Invention Summary: Rutgers University scientists have identified novel compositions of endophytic yeast and bacteria that reduce aggressive growth of invasive species and promote growth of host plants. These endophytes suppress the development of seedlings of weeds such as dandelion (Taraxacum officionale), curly dock (Rumex crispus), clover (Trifolium repens), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japoni...

Novel Complexes Of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes For Transition-Metal Catalysis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 13:13:10 GMT

Invention Summary:Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are tremendously valuable in the synthesis of small molecules and are among the most important methods for the construction of diverse chemicals. In numerous Pd-catalyzed reactions, NHCs (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbenes) are advantageous as ancillary ligands due to their strong -donation and steric tuning around the metal center. Rutgers scientists have characterized and analyzed reactivity of novel Pd(II)-NHC precatalysts, that are highly active in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of amides by N–C(O) activation, Suzuki-Miyau...

Novel Ligands for Transition-Metal Catalysis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 13:05:55 GMT

Invention Summary:N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are tremendously valuable ligands in homogeneous catalysis. IPr (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) represents the most important NHC. Rutgers scientists have developed novel, sterically bulky, easily accessible NHC ligand IPr# (referred to as “hash” series) that can be utilized as ancillary ligands in a broad range of catalytic reactions. These catalysts can activate unconventional and strong bonds with broad generality, providing ligands with extreme steric hindrance around the transition metal which is critica...

A Quick Estimation of Human Arterial Stiffness Using HRV

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:40:28 GMT

Invention Summary: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths worldwide. Arterial elasticity is an important indicator of existing cardiovascular risks of developing CVDs. Reduced arterial elasticity or increased arterial stiffness is known to be associated with hypertension, myocardial infarction and stroke. Being able to measure changes in arterial elasticity is crucial to the early detection of CVDs and successful treatments of these diseases subsequently. Arterial elasticity can be estimated from pulse transit time (PTT) or pulse wave velocity (PWV) measured by ultrasou...

A Dual Cell Therapy for Wound Healing

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:40:26 GMT

Invention Summary:This method is a combinatorial therapy for chronic wound treatment. Insulin creams increase wound healing but require constant reapplication. Mesenchymal stem cells release growth factors to speed up regeneration but are incompatible with topically applied insulin. Dr. Olabisi has developed a novel therapy of coencapsulated insulin-producing cells (IPCs) and MSCs in a hydrogel dressing to expedite wound healing and decrease scar formation.Dr. Olabisi’s coencapsulated IPCs and MSCs release growth and regenerative factors including insulin, VEGF and TGF-β1 over...

An Underwater Acoustic Lens

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:40:23 GMT

Invention Summary: Sending and receiving information below the water surface is important but challenging. Techniques such as Sonar use acoustic waves in water to transmit information. Acoustic metamaterials enable Sonar devices to control, direct and manipulate sound waves for increased functionality and higher efficiency. Specifically, acoustic lens has been developed as a transmissive device designed to refract and focus sound waves. Traditional underwater acoustic lenses only operate at high frequencies greater than 300 KHz, which limits their use in secure underwater communications. Rutge...

Novel Quantitative & Objective Analytical Tool for Detecting Neurodevelopmental Delays in Infants

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:40:03 GMT

Invention Summary: Neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism) are on the rise. They are the byproduct of a lengthy maturation process that starts at conception and manifests disarray with high certainty during infancy, when dysfunction of the child’s nervous systems becomes apparent to the naked eye. By three years of age, observational diagnoses are in place; but no objective tools exist for earlier detection of risk for the improper development of the nervous systems. Pediatricians rely on charts of physical growth to sporadically track absolute changes in weight, body length and head ...

Nanoelectronic Barcoding of Microparticles for Multiplexed Molecular Analysis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:39:50 GMT

Invention Summary: Capability of detecting multiple protein and nucleic acid biomarkers is crucial to disease diagnosis and precision medicine. Barcoding of microparticles is one of the most common approaches for enabling multiplexed molecular assays. Although optical and plasmonic methods for barcoding particles have been developed, instrumentations involved are often bulky and expansive, preventing portability. Dr. Javanmard at Rutgers University has developed a novel system for portable, multiplexing biosensing applications. The multiplexing capability is achieved through the use of a newly...

Novel Quantitative Analytical Tool for Assessing Neurological Functions in Human Subjects

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:39:37 GMT

Tracking statistical signals from both mental and physical activitiesInvention Summary: Cognitive Neuroscience research uses cortical-related activity to infer various functional and anatomical aspects of the brain. However, this is done in a rather disembodied way, discounting the feedback from bodily biorhythms. In contrast, fields like Behavioral Neuroscience examine bodily biorhythms without considering brain-related activity reflecting cognitive states. As such, we have either a ‘disembodied’ notion of the brain, or a ‘headless’ notion of the body in action.Part of...

Gigantus1, A Newly Identified Gene Target for Improved Plant Growth and Yield in Agricultural Applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:38:41 GMT

Gts1- knockout plants (Gts-1) displayed faster germination and increased growth compared to wild-type (WT) plants.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists discovered a new gene Gigantus1 (Gts1) in Arabidopsis thaliana, which significantly influences seed germination, growth and biomass accumulation in plants. The protein product GIGANTUS1 (GTS1) belongs to the WD40 protein superfamily, whose members are key regulators of plant development. Under the same growth conditions, Gts1 -knockout plants germinated faster and had significantly increased growth compared to WT plants (Fig. A on top). They al...

Human Normal and Cancer Organoid Culture with Defined Components for Six Different Tissue Types

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:38:38 GMT

Invention Summary:An organoid is a small three-dimensional (3-D) cellular tissue structure that highly resembles the in-vivo organ from which it is originated. New technology developed at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey enables researchers to generate organoids from six different cancer types and normal tissues derived from patients suffering from glioblastoma, prostate, breast, kidney, lung, and bladder cancers. Using this new human organoid culture methodology, stem cell-derived organoids are generated from human primary tissues at 80-90% efficiency within 4 weeks. The resulting organ...

GOLD NANOSTAR SUBSTRATES FOR SERS SENSING IN THE FEMTOMOLAR REGIME

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:38:31 GMT

Invention Summary:Raman spectroscopy is a valuable analytical tool that employs vibration patterns for the identification of molecules. However, it is limited due to the low scattering cross section of most Raman active molecules, which leads to low sensitivity. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) increases the intensity of Raman signals by leveraging the inherent and unique properties of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) hence leading to improved detection limits. This technique can be used in fields including pharmaceuticals, material science, forensics, drug detection, and medicine. Whil...

Method for Sintering Ultrahigh Melting Temperature Covalent Non-oxide Ceramics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:32:43 GMT

Parallel plate capacitor configuration used to apply an electric field and to achieve low-temperature sintering of a non-oxide ceramic (B4C) Invention Summary: Bulk and composite structural ceramics can be fabricated by sintering, forming particulate matter into a desired shape and then subjecting the formed body to high temperatures (2/3 of the melting temperature) and high pressures (250 MPa). These fabrication conditions are costly and lead to decomposition of non-oxide ceramics. Researchers at Rutgers have devised a method of sintering ultrahigh melting temperature covalent non-...

Waveguide Array for High Density Integration with Low Crosstalk

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:32:32 GMT

Top: Average transmission of each waveguide output port (indicated by color)Invention Summary:The success of silicon photonic devices depends on high integration density. However, at the sub-wavelength scale, waveguides suffer from high crosstalk.The present technology reduces crosstalk at the sub-micron scale by using a superlattice of waveguides. Within each supercell, there is a sub-array of waveguides with different propagation constants. Differences in propagation constants may be due to differences in width, length, or materials. A creative “interlacing-recombination” scheme ...

NOCQuest: Method to Determine Number of Contributors in a DNA Mixture

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:32:28 GMT

Invention Summary: DNA collected at a crime scene can be used as evidence against and as a clue in the determination of the perpetrator(s) of the crime. Use of this biological evidence, however, can be complicated if DNA from multiple individuals is present. The reliability of the DNA sample can come into question as to whether a match is the result of a match of the individuals DNA or if the aggregate of the samples matches the suspects DNA. Rutgers scientists have developed a method for estimating the number of contributors to a DNA sample. This technology uses the ...

Polyaniline-Derived N- and O-Doped Mesoporous Carbon: Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:32:15 GMT

Invention Summary: In the face of global problems associated with the lack of sustainable and renewable energy sources and environmental pollutions caused by fossil fuels, fuel cells have long been expected to contribute to the solutions to these daunting problems by helping to produce electricity from fuels such as hydrogen. Unfortunately, the electrodes (both cathode and anode) in many conventional fuel cells are composed of expensive and less earth abundant noble metal platinum, which serves as the electrocatalyst. This remains one of the bottlenecks currently plaguing fuel cells from ...

DUAL-MODE LOW-PHASE-NOISE OSCILLATOR

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:55 GMT

Invention Summary:Oscillation is a common phenomenon to virtually all areas of science. Many products in the marketplace use oscillators as a means of keeping time such as the quartz crystal used in modern watches. These oscillators, while commonly used, exhibit a variety of instabilities resulting from aging, noise, and frequency changes caused by factors such as: temperature, acceleration, ionizing radiation, power supply voltage, shock, and vibration. These instabilities impart noise to the circuit resulting in numerous adverse effects on system performance. Researchers at Rutgers hav...

Biocompatible and Biodegradable Films for Effective Prevention of Postoperative Adhesions

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:52 GMT

Shear modulus of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) films (red) compared to soft tissue and competing materials (blue).Invention Summary:Adhesions often form after surgery, causing chronic abdominal or pelvic pain. Currently available adhesion prevention products form only a physical barrier against adhesions and have undesirable properties, such as brittleness and the inability to function in the presence of blood. Rutgers scientists have developed novel biodegradable and non-toxic polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) films with anti-adhesive and anti-inflammatory properties. These PEC-based films are st...

Smart Circuit Building Blocks for SOG and Wearable Electronics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:37 GMT

Invention Summary: Advanced information technology, such as emerging internet of things (IoT) is facing increasing needs for systems-on-demand capable of task and defect adaptation in real-time at lower cost. High-performance electronic systems combing the state-of-the-art processing logics, memories, and sensors on a single chip is highly desired. The challenge in implementing reconfigurable switching matrix network that can be integrated with various functional subsystems, such as advanced displays and wearable electronics requiring high density, high performance, low power consumption,...

Nutritional Supplement and Feed Compositions to Reduce the Incidence of Osteochondrosis Dissecans Lesions in Genetically Predisposed Foals

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:31 GMT

The dietary supplement formulation was developed based on an analysis of serum NMR data from yearling Standardbred horses with (green dots) and without (blue dots) OCD that showed the clear difference in metabolic profiles between genetically predisposed and unaffected horses.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists and collaborators at Princeton University have developed a new dietary supplement specifically formulated to reduce the incidence of Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD) in genetically predisposed young horses. The dietary supplement was developed based on the results of nuclear magnetic re...

Inorganic, Mineral-based Polymers with Ionic Crosslinks

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:21 GMT

Inorganic ionomers show characteristic behavior of polymers, including fiber formation (left) and flow (center). However, they have high thermal stability: like silicate glass (top right), inorganic ionomers (bottom right) they do not burn or produce fumes when exposed to flame.Invention Summary:Traditional, carbon-based, organic polymers have many applications, but they rely on petroleum, a limited resource. Additionally, carbon-based polymers have low thermal stability and often release harmful chemicals when they break down.Researchers at Rutgers have developed polymers with inorganic backb...

Risk Terrain Modeling Diagnostics Software (RTMDx)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:12 GMT

Invention Summary: Researchers at Rutgers who originally developed Risk Terrain Modeling, a methodology for diagnosing spatial crime vulnerabilities, have launched the Risk Terrain Modeling Diagnostics (RTMDx) Utility software. RTMDx helps to identify and communicate environmental factors associated with specific events. Reports produced can be used to anticipate places where illegal behavior and new crime incidents will emerge and/or cluster. Resources can then be developed for place-based interventions, strategically and tactically allocating resources, and prioritizing efforts t...

New Indentation Method Using Scanning Probe Microscope

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:11 GMT

Invention Summary:Accurate indentation measurement is fundamental to atomic force microscope (AFM)-based material property characterization as the force applied and the indentation generated are the two most important physical variables that must be measured in the characterization process. Large measurement errors occur when the measurement frequency range becomes large (i.e., broadband), or the indentation is measured in liquid on soft materials. Such large measurement errors are generated due to the inability of the conventional method to account for the convolution of the AFM instrument dy...

Parallel-coupled Dual Racetrack Silicon Micro-resonators for Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:31:02 GMT

Left: Schematic of parallel-coupled dual racetrack resonators. Ein and Eout are the input and output fields of the central waveguide. Right: Simulated intensity variations as the refractive index (Δn) of the waveguides in the top and bottom racetracks are modulated.Invention Summary:A parallel-coupled dual racetrack micro-resonator structure has been designed for phase-shift keying and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). This structure comprises two racetrack resonators that are symmetrically side-coupled in parallel to a through waveguide in the center. The carriers can be inje...

Multifunctional Rare Earth-Based Biophotonic Composites

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:52 GMT

Image showing use of bio-encapsulated Rare Earth (RE) doped nanoparticles targeting melanoma cells.Invention Summary:Researchers at Rutgers University have developed new rare earth (RE)-based light-emitting, multifunctional composites for use in various biomedical applications, such as non-invasive imaging, image–guided interventions, drug tracking and delivery, and photodynamic therapy applications. They found that the properties of the composites, in particular their aqueous stability, solubility, biocompatibility, and functionality, can be tailored for such applications by coating RE ...

RAILWAY PLATFORM GAP BRIDGING UNIT

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:50 GMT

Invention Summary:In a recent report sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, it was found that car/platform gap injuries accounted for 25% of all injuries on NJ TRANSIT Rail lines, including death. Similar findings have been reported by other agencies, including the Long Island Rail Road and the Metropolitan Transit Agency of New York. These results prompted the Federal Railroad Safety Advisory Committee to address the seriousness of the car/platform gap issue. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed an apparatus that dynamically fills the gap between the door sill o...

Graphene-Encapsulated Nanoparticle-Based Biosensor for Biomarker Detection and Its Use in Early Diagnosis of Cancer, HIV and Other Diseases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:40 GMT

Device SchematicInvention Summary:The detection of biomarker proteins with high sensitivity and selectivity is vital for the early diagnosis of many diseases such as cancer and HIV. Rutgers scientists have developed a reduced graphene oxide encapsulated nanoparticle (rGO-NPs)-based field effect transistor (FET) biosensor for sensitive detection of key disease biomarker proteins including cancer markers. This invention is a FET with a source electrode and a drain electrode distanced apart from each other on a semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode consisting of a uniform layer of rGO-NPs...

Scalable Multiple Inverse-Diffusion Flame Synthesis of Graphene, Syngas and Liquid Fuel & Fabrication of Diamond-Reinforced Composites

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:29 GMT

A) A schematic multiple inverse-diffusion flames burner. B) Raman spectrum of the few-layer graphene (FLG) on Ni. C) HRTEM image of the FLG. The bottom right insert shows the electron diffraction pattern of the graphene sheet. The top left insert shows resolution magnified image of the graphitic lattice. Invention Summary:Carbon-based nanostructures and films define a new class of engineered materials that display remarkable physical, photonic and electronic properties. Production methods for making carbon-based nanostructures include ultrahigh vacuum annealing of SiC, and chemical vapor depos...

Type-I Collagen Methacrylamide-Derivatized Hydrogels

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:21 GMT

Invention Summary:Natural material collagen has the benefits of bioactivity, biodegradability, and innate adhesiveness and self-assemble, which allows the material to be injected into a defect of almost any geometry with minimal invasion, and then automatically become a solid to provide a stable matrix but have the limited control of mechanical properties. Rutgers scientist Dr. David Shreiber invented a process for creating type I collagen and methacrylamide (CMA)-based hydrogel, which retains the properties of collagen such as self-assembly, biodegradability, and natural bioactivity. In addit...

FLUID FLOW ANALYSIS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DIAGNOSTICS

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:18 GMT

Invention Summary:Following a heart attack or the development of some cardiovascular diseases, the movement of the heart walls during the cardiac cycle may change, which affects the motion of blood through the heart. Currently, valvular blood flow can be monitored using imaging techniques such as Doppler ultrasound or time-series MRI, however, the spatial resolutions of such techniques are poor. In addition, it is not possible to observe the detailed interaction of the blood flow and the endocardial surface of the heart. Therefore, the formation of cardiac thrombus remains difficult to predict...

Spinel Catalysts for Water Oxidation/Water Splitting

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:30:04 GMT

Spinel compounds like LiCo2O4 catalyzes water oxidation at lower over-potental than industry standards (Ir, Ru, Pt, Pd) . The crystal structure determines the electro-catalytic performance, with other structures (layered, cubic) or compositions (AB2O4) more useful at different current densitiesInvention Summary: Development of water oxidation/ oxygen reduction catalysts to replace costly and inefficient platinum group metals in commercial electrolyzers and fuel cells has been an unmet need preventing global development of hydrogen technologies. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed ...

Formulation and Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals by Impregnation onto Porous Carriers

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:29:56 GMT

Figure 1. SEM Pictures of pure Neusilin® and impregnated with Fenofibrate at 30% loading.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a novel platform of pharmaceutical product development by utilizing fluid bed impregnation (FBI) of API solutions onto porous carriers. Impregnation of solutions into porous carriers allows extremely uniform distribution of small amounts of material, which can be used for drug dosage regulation. Currently, the method can be adjusted for drug content as low as 0.1% and as high as 10%, thus spanning the entire range of interest for poorly soluble, highl...

Anti-Diabetic Agents from Leaves of Combretum micranthum (Kinkeliba)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:29:54 GMT

At 40 and 80 min. following oral glucose challenge, the TPFA treated group had significantly lowered plasma glucose concentrations compared to the control group.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a proprietary method of extracting and purifying a novel type of piperidine flavan alkaloids from the leaves of Combretum micranthum (kinkeliba) and a procedure for the preparation of total piperidine flavan alkaloids (TPFA) that possess anti-diabetic properties.Kinkeliba is a highly regarded medicinal plant in Africa, with roots, bark, fruit and leaves being used. In its native Sub-S...

ParkNet: Vehicle Information Systems and Methods

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:29:25 GMT

Ultrasonic sensor fitted on the side of a car detects parked cars and vacant spaces.Invention Summary:ParkNet is a mobile system comprising vehicles that collect parking space occupancy information while driving by. Each ParkNet vehicle is equipped with a GPS receiver and a passenger-side-facing ultrasonic rangefinder to determine parking spot occupancy. The data is aggregated at a central server, which builds a real-time map of parking availability and could provide this information to clients that query the system in search of parking. Creating a spot-accurate map of parking availability cha...

Uses of Kombo Butter Extract and Derived Compounds as Novel Neuroprotective Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:29:21 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed novel methods to treat a variety of neurological disorders including ischemic stroke. The methods center on the use of novel neuroprotectants isolated from Kombo butter, an African nutmeg. The scientists additionally developed methods to produce and purify the Kombo butter, its extracts and derivatives. These compounds may find utility in the treatment of CNS.Market Applications:CNSStrokeParkinson’sAlzheimer’sNeuroprotectionKombo butterAdvantages:Complementary and alternative medicine.Intellectual Property & Development Status...

Kombo Butter Extract and Derivatives as Novel Anti-Inflammatory Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:26:40 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a novel process to isolate the critical bio-active compounds of Kombo butter, which can be used to effectively treat a variety of inflammatory disorders including arthritis/joint or other inflammation (including bowels, gastrointestinal, skin, and allergic), and the presence of associated free radicals. Kombo butter (African nutmeg) has been shown to have various health benefits as a food or diet supplement, with multiple purported benefits. Our scientists have isolated the 3 key functional chemicals critical to anti-inflammatory action of Ko...

R/ECON™ I-O: An Economic Impact Model

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:25 GMT

Invention Summary: The R/ECONTM Input-Output Model (I-O) shows how sectors of an economy interact. For a given industry, the model shows the “production recipe” for the goods and services the industry sells and the shares of its revenues that are consumed by other industries in the economy. The R/ECONTM I-O model’s generates estimates of interregional trade by sector that are based on those conceived by the Regional Science Research Institute. Those estimates are recognized by the academic community as the most reliable estimates available. R/ECONTM can customize model...

Inspire: Curriculum to deal with Perinatal Mood Disorder

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:24 GMT

Invention Summary: Perinatal mood disorder includes major and minor depressive episodes that occur during pregnancy or shortly after delivery and is a common medical complication affecting one in seven women. The INSPIRE project at Rutgers University has been created to help women who are suffering with this disorder. A curriculum that uses artistic expression and creative story-telling has been designed for the project that will be used in support groups of new and expecting mothers struggling with the transition to motherhood. The curriculum is designed for use in a larger project ...

Hormone Affirmation Treatment Videos for Young Transgender Patients

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:23 GMT

Invention Summary: Rutgers Universities’ Transgender Health Initiative has created a series of educational videos that can be used in the counseling of young transgender patients who are embarking on pharmacologic hormonal management with estrogen or testosterone. Videos: A typical process for educating patients about Hormone Affirmation Therapy involves jargon filled documentation that, while providing a legally and medically complete description of the material, may not successfully speak to a young patient. Such documentation is important in meeting the legal standard of &ldq...

Rutgers Room Control Software

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:22 GMT

Invention Summary:Created by the Rutgers’ Classroom Technology Service team, the Rutgers Room Control software provides faculty with state of the art technology for communicating information to a group. Rather than requiring specific technologies or restricting the types of tools presenters can use; the Room Control Software provides a wide variety of tools for use by a presenter. This gives presenters flexibility with respect to how they chose to deliver information to their audience. The Room Control Software operates on a standard computer and supports popular computer-based pre...

Luminescent Lunchbox: An Educational Kit for Teaching the Physics of Light

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:21 GMT

Invention Summary:The Luminescent Lunchbox is an educational tool kit that illuminates the physics of light through exciting experiments with glow-in-the-dark food. The tool kit includes materials and instructions for four exciting lab experiments. The experiments involve the use of light with food and make it fun for students in grades K-12 to learn and understand photophysical concepts such as the electromagnetic spectrum, absorption of light and fluorescence, use of spectrofluorometers to identify the composition of solutions and the use of absorptive filters.The Luminescent Lunchbox includ...

Autism Screener for Young Children

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:20 GMT

Invention Summary:Effective screening during the toddler period may lead to timely detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autism Screener for Young Children is a Psychological Development Questionnaire. It is a brief parent-report questionnaire designed to represent the expression of social attention, communication and reciprocity in young children and inversely to detect children at-risk for ASD.Details:Researchers at Rutgers University have created a screening instrument comprised of a ten-item parent-report questionnaire. Parents, medical or educational personnel answer questions ...

New Non-Membrane Feeding Device And Diet Formulation For Mosquito Colony Production

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 09:01:19 GMT

Efficacy of artificial diets (BSA 10% and BSA 20%) for 10 generations of Aedes albopictus mosquito. These diets were prepared with distilled water and used in the new dietary system. For the blood feeding, the live guinea pig was used as a control. Mosquito feeding status on the new dietary system. (A) unfed, (B) half fed and (C) full fed. Arrow shows abdominal bulging after feeding on new dietary system. Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed an artificial feeding system for the maintenance and growth of mosquitoes that exploits their sugar feeding behavior rathe...

High Resolution, Real-Time Flatness and Thermal Expansion Metrology

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:36:29 GMT

Schematic of surface curvature measurement and thermal expansion measurement apparatusInvention Summary:During manufacturing of thin films and semiconductors, it is critical to monitor the flatness and thermal expansion of samples to identify and manage stresses. These parameters are currently measured optically based on the deflection of multiple parallel beams, but, this approach is limited in the sample size, resolution, and the distance between the sample and the measurement apparatus.Researchers at Rutgers have developed a novel metrological apparatus to overcome these limitations. Specif...

Novel Water Purification Technology for Lead and Heavy Metals

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:36:03 GMT

Invention Summary:Polychelatogens are a class of water-soluble polymers that exhibit excellent metal ion complexation capabilities. They comprise a broad set of polymeric materials that can be used to sequester undesirable heavy metal contaminants in water. There is an urgent need for high-performance metal sequestration materials. Researchers at Rutgers University have created a novel polymer system from a commercially-available biorenewable feedstock that satisfies this need.Several limitations in current metal-binding polymer technologies exist which include cumbersome production requ...

High Voltage TFT On Glass For Solar Inverters

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:58 GMT

(a) Transfer Characteristics of MZO HVTFTs. (b) Blocking capability and ON-performance of HVTFTs Schematic diagrams of a ring structure are shown. Invention Summary: Various materials have been tried for fabricating high voltage thin film transistors (HVTFTs), including amorphous-Si, poly-Si, and organic materials. However, these TFTs all have certain limitations, ranging from low blocking voltage, low ON-current, high cost, high process temperature, poor uniformity and stability, to complex fabrication process. These issues prevent the existing technologies being used as HVTFT on...

A Novel Vaccine Candidate Against Fungal Infection

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:51 GMT

Vaccination with a heat-killed mutant strain offers cross-protection against diverse fungal infections in a mouse model, significantly improving survival. A.) Mice vaccinated at different doses show higher survival rates when challenged with a wild strain (H99) of fungus. B.) Vaccinated mice are protected from infection by C. gattii R265 and have significantly improved survival. C) Visualization of A. fumigatus infected lung tissue in GMS-stained slides. Stainable fungal tissue (black) seen in the vaccinated condition is from the heat-killed mutant strain.Invention Summary: ...

Small Molecule Extracellular Inhibitors of TAM Receptors for Cancer Therapy

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:46 GMT

Invention Summary:The TAM receptors (Tyro3, Axl, and Mertk) are a family of three homologous receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) that play important roles in tissue homeostasis, immune response, and the resolution of inflammation. Besides the intracellular catalytic kinase domain common to all kinases, the TAMs uniquely contain an extracellular domain that distinguishes them among all known kinases.TAMs are overexpressed in many human cancers, thereby promoting tumor proliferation, migration, survival, and immune escape. TAM dysregulation tracks with more aggressive cancers, poorer predicted pati...

New RNAi-mediated method for resistance to soybean cyst nematode

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:45 GMT

Homozygous siRNA-transgenic soybean plants are 40-80% (approx.) more resistant to soybean cyst nematode as compared to the wild type plants (wt). The percentage of reduction in egg number is shown above the bar for each transgenic soybean line.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a new method for inducing resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) by using root-specific RNA interference (RNAi) technology.Specifically, RNAi was used to express small RNAs targeting a critical SCN ribosomal gene under the root-specific promoter in soybean plants. Homozygous transgenic soybean plants...

A Humanized Yeast System for mTOR Kinase Inhibitor Screening and Studies

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:39 GMT

Invention Summary:mTOR kinase is a highly conserved central regulator of cell growth and metabolism, and a key cancer drug target. Numerous mTOR kinase inhibitors have been developed but have not been approved by FDA. A new screening tool for mTOR kinase inhibitors will facilitate mTOR therapeutic development and related pharmacology studies. Rutgers scientists have developed a novel humanized yeast model by engineering a yeast TOR2 kinase-human TOR kinase (yTOR2-mTOR) fusion. TOR2-mTOR fusion genes are expressed in the tor2-dg strain whose growth is dependent on an active mTOR kinase, i...

A Novel Diagnostic Assay for Predicting Patients’ Resistance to mTOR Kinase Inhibitors

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:37 GMT

Invention Summary:Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) is a highly conserved serine/thereonine protein kinase that plays a crucial role as part of two distinct kinase complexes, mTOR1C and mTOR2C, to regulate cell growth and metabolism. Abnormal activation of mTOR has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several cancers, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration. Numerous mTOR kinase inhibitors are currently in development with several currently be evaluated as anticancer therapy in clinical trials. However, given recent clinical experience with target therapeutics, acquired drug res...

A Novel Method for Diagnosing and Monitoring Brain Trauma Patients

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:30 GMT

A schematic illustrating brain traumaInvention Summary:Brain trauma encompasses both traumatic brain injury — an external penetrating or non-penetrating force to the skull that results in brain damage and swelling — and trauma associated with disease states such as brain tumors, stroke, seizures, and infections. Initial brain trauma may result in a loss of consciousness (coma) followed by a prolonged period of recovery with lingering cognitive, emotional, social, and motor impairments. Current methods for assessing the effectiveness of therapies rely primarily on subjective criteri...

Multicatalyst Polyelectrolyte Membranes for Protection against Chemical Warfare Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:29 GMT

Schematic of muticatalyst polyelectric membrane (PEM) for protection against chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Polyoxametalate nanoclusters and metal oxide nanoparticles contribute catalytic activityInvention Summary:To protect a wearer from toxic chemicals, such as chemical warfare agents (CWAs), materials must be both permeable to water vapor and impermeable to those CWAs. While developing such materials is a significant engineering challenge, those materials would provide only a physical barrier between the wearer and CWAs. Researchers at Rutgers have developed a selectively permeable polyele...

Passive Bioaerosol Sampler using Ferroelectric Polymer

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:27 GMT

Invention Summary:This is the first air sampler for airborne viruses, bacteria, mold or pollen (i.e. bioaerosol) that does not need an air mover or power source of any kind (i.e. passive). It can be easily applied anywhere in indoor and outdoor environments providing representative data on ambient levels of bioaerosols and also other particulate matter. The sampler can be used in any area and for personal applications, where it can be worn by clipping it onto a shirt collar for applications such as widespread airport bioterrorism monitoring or for asthma or allergy sufferers to det...

Three-Dimensional Pre-Vascularized Scaffold

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:23 GMT

Schematic of load-bearing scaffold: osteonal cortical section, porous trabecular section, vascularized osteon, hydroxyapatite columnsInvention Summary:This load-bearing scaffold mimics the native structure of cortical and trabecular bone to improve outcomes of orthopaedic surgeries. The biodegradable, polymeric scaffold has a porous trabecular section surrounded by a cortical section with vertically oriented channels that mimic osteons. Hydroxyapatite columns provide additional structural support to the cortical section, and the scaffold is further mineralized. The osteon-like channels are see...

Biodegradable and Biocompatible Bioactive-based Polymers - Versatile Platform Technology

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:22 GMT

Invention Summary:The Uhrich group at Rutgers University has developed various biodegradable polymers that chemically incorporate bioactive molecules, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., salicylic acid), antioxidants (e.g., ferulic acid) and antimicrobials (e.g., carvacrol). Bioactive molecules are incorporated into polymer backbones through labile linkages, enabling high bioactive loading and sustained and controlled release upon degradation (e.g., hydrolysis). The release profile is well controlled based on the polymer chemical compositions, and can be adjusted to the d...

Growth Promoting Properties of Newly Identified Root Fungi A. panicicola for Agricultural Applications

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:17 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists identified a new root endophytic fungal species, Acidomelania panicicola, which significantly increases growth and stress tolerance of different plant species. A. panicicola was identified from switchgrass and other grass roots from the New Jersey Pine Barrens, where the soil content is nutrient poor, acidic, dry and has high levels of toxic soluble aluminum. Functional studies showed that A. panicicola significantly increased the root hair growth in switchgrass, rice and lettuce seedlings under acidic and poor nutrient conditions. In addition, inoculation ...

Hybrid Unmanned Vehicle Operational in Air and Underwater

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:13 GMT

Invention Summary:Development of unmanned vehicles has soared in the last decade. Vehicles are being built and tested that can operate in air, sea or land. Some of these have made it into the commercial market.Despite the widespread interest, there are no commercial vehicles that seamlessly operate in multiple mediums.The two most difficult mediums to transition between are air and water. Vehicles able to transition seamless between these mediums have numerous applications including military, industrial and consumer. Since underwater vehicles (UUVs) and air vehicles (UAVs) already exist,...

New Class of Biofertilizer Promoting Growth and Stress Tolerance

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:12 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have identified ACC-deaminase-producing bacterial strains that have advantageous effects on overall plant growth, in particular, turfgrass. Plants infected with ACC-deaminase-producing bacteria are exposed to less ethylene, and thus exhibit better overall growth. Indeed, plants inoculated with these bacteria species and strains were found to have better growth and quality levels and exhibit enhanced resistance to environmental stressors.Market Applications:AgricultureTurfgrassHorticulture BioFertilizer Advantages: Natural biofertilizerNo known side effect/t...

Stem Cell Growth Matrices with Enhanced Homogeneity, Stemness & Proliferation and Reduced Need for Feeding

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:35:02 GMT

Invention Summary:There is currently no universal platform or widely accepted technique to efficiently and reproducibly grow stem and progenitor cells (SPCs) in vitro. Stem cells require contact with extracellular matrices as well as signals from growth factors to proliferate and to retain their stemness (preventing their differentiation towards progenitors). Rutgers researchers Dr. Steven Levison and Dr. Nolan Skop have developed a multi-functional scaffold that supports the expansion of neural stem cells and neural progenitors. This scaffold can be adhered to tissue culture plates (Stemtrix ...

Rapid Diagnostics of Tick-borne Diseases

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:34:50 GMT

Invention Summary:Tick-borne diseases are a major health problem in the United States. Among them, Lyme disease due to the Borrelia spp., Anaplasmosis due to Anaplasma spp., and Babesiosis caused by Babesia spp., account for a large number of cases occurring throughout the country. Most of these diseases are associated with significant morbidity and have also been associated with increased rates of fatality. Although treatment is readily available to combat these pathogens, a delay in initiating treatment can have deadly consequences. In many cases, treatment is started with clinical sus...

Detection of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Expression in Cancer and Normal Cells

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:34:38 GMT

Invention Summary:Approximately 8% of the human genome consists of sequences classified as Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), which are remnants of ancient retroviral integrations in the human genome. While HERV elements have degenerated over millions of years of evolution and most of them can no longer encode complete proteins, some HERV genes still have open reading frames (ORFs) and thus can potentially code for protein. HERV genes have been implicated in cancer development and linked to HIV infection, autoimmune, and other multi-factorial diseases. Although considerable advances h...

High Efficiency Isotope Enriched Protein Production Systems

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:34:32 GMT

Isotopic Enrichment of Tryptic FragmentsInvention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed two Single Protein Production (SPP)-based systems to obtain high levels of specific isotopically enriched proteins: an independently inducible system (cSPP(tet)) and an amino acid auxotroph-based dual inducible system. The proprietary SPP system, developed at Rutgers and currently licensed to Takara Bio Inc., essentially turns living E. coli cells into a bioreactor for producing a single protein of interest at high levels. The system utilizes an E. coli endoribonuclease, MazF, to selectively cleave cell...

BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-2 AND BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-4 IN THE TREATMENT AND DIAGNOSIS OF CANCER

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:34:05 GMT

Invention Summary:BMP-2 expression is linked to cancer invasion and. BMPs are synthesized as inactive proteins of variable length. The precursor BMP-2 and BMP-4 proteins are proteolytically cleaved, producing mature C-terminal proteins of a little more than 100 residues. BMP-2 and BMP-4 interact with the same binding sites: mature BMP-2 and BMP-4 protein signaling is mediated by transmembrane serine/threonine kinases called type IA, IB, and type II receptors. The receptor phosphorylates cytoplasmic targets, which include the Smad family of proteins. In addition, the same molecules including no...

Diagnostic methods for protein profiling

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:59 GMT

Invention Summary:The ubiquitin/proteasome system is the major intracellular non-lysosomal proteolytic system that catalyzes the degradation of many regulatory proteins. Ubiquitin is a highly conserved 76 amino acid residue protein present in all eukaryotes. Conjugation of ubiquitin molecules to proteins marks them for degradation via the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. Critical regulators of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis and tumor suppression are targets of this proteolytic pathway, and include p53, β-catenin, c-Jun, c-Myc, IκBα and Bcl2. The presence of ubiquitinated...

Method for modulating inflammatory responses

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:51 GMT

Invention Summary:Cholesterol is a major component of lipid rafts, which are sphingolipid-enriched planar domains of the cell membrane. Rafts play key roles in a variety of the cell signals processes including calcium entry into cells, which activates white blood cells and causes inflammation. Many inflammatory cell responses are tightly controlled by the regulated entry of Ca 2+ ions into the cells. Because innate immune cells lack voltage-gated calcium channels, their response to G-protein coupled (GPC) mediators depends in a great measure on store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) into the cell...

Erythropoietin-Derived Short Peptide and Its Mimics as Immuno/Inflammatory Modulators

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:39 GMT

Invention Summary:Erythropoeitin (Epo) is a hematopoietic growth factor widely used in the treatment of anemia and has been claimed to have direct neuroprotective effects. However, long-term Epo therapy can lead to the excessive elevation of platelets and red blood cells in non-anemic individuals. A short Epo-derived peptide has recently been shown to induce differentiation and prevent cell death in rodent and human neuronal cell lines while lacking the erythro-proliferative effects. The present invention is a method for treating inflammatory disorders and traumatic brain injury with...

Advanced Personal Electrostatic Bioaerosol Sampler (PEBS)

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:23 GMT

Invention Summary:Identification and assessment of personal exposures to airborne biological contaminants (bioaerosols) are vital in medical, security, and industrial and many other applications. Safety and security systems require the development of advanced personal devices capable of collecting and detecting aerosol agents at low levels; however today’s sampling devices are ill suited to the current challenges because they require cumbersome sampling pumps and tubing which limits their operation time and deployment. In addition, most of the personal devices operate at low flow rates w...

Catalysis of Asymmetric Reactions using Metallorganocatalysts

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:22 GMT

Schematic of the active complex during the asymmetric hydrogenation of nitroalkenes using the developed chiral biphosphine metallorganocatalystsInvention Summary:To improve the inherent limitation of transition metal catalysts and organocatalysts, researchers have combined the two for synergistic effects. Despite the efforts, compatibility between catalysis, intermediates and solvents have been a limiting factor. Research at Rutgers University have developed effective and versatile biphosphine metallorganocatalysts. The catalysts are highly efficient and compatible with several reaction condit...

Therapeutics for Tuberculosis: Novel Inhibitors of Mycobacterial RNA Polymerase

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:20 GMT

Invention Summary:Tuberculosis kills nearly 2 million persons each year. One third of the world's population currently is infected with tuberculosis, and the World Health Organization projects that there will be nearly 1 billion new infections by 2020, 200 million of which will result in serious illness, and 35 million of which will result in death. Treatment of tuberculosis infections is slow (minimum treatment period of six months), and treatment of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis infections is very slow and often ineffective (minimum ...

Therapeutics for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infections: Inhibitors of Bacterial RNA Polymerase

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:19 GMT

Invention Summary:Bacterial infectious diseases kill 100,000 persons each year in the US and 11 million persons each year worldwide, representing nearly a fifth of deaths each year worldwide. For six decades, antibiotics have been our bulwark against bacterial infectious diseases. However, now this bulwark is collapsing. For all major bacterial pathogens, strains resistant to at least one current antibiotic have arisen, and, for several bacterial pathogens, strains resistant to all current antibiotics have arisen.There is an urgent national and international need for new clas...

NanoScript – Nanoparticle-based Synthetic Transcription Factor for Therapeutic Gene Modulation

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:13 GMT

Invention Summary: Since its introduction over two decades ago, the advancement of synthetic transcription factors has faced significant challenges, including poor membrane penetration, intracellular degradation, limited nuclear localization, low gene activation, and low synthesis efficiency. Rutgers scientists have developed a novel synthetic transcription factor (STF) platform capable of efficiently regulating the central dogma of molecular biology in a safe, non-viral, and transient manner. These STFs are composed of biocompatible nanoparticle core with modular trans...

Nanotechnology Approach for Inhalation Treatment of Pulmonary (Lung) Fibrosis

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:33:04 GMT

Inhalation TreatmentInvention Summary:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), the spontaneous development of scar tissue within the lungs, is a progressive fibrotic disease which impairs the lung’s ability to get oxygen. To date, its pathogenesis remains elusive and the survival time of patients is between three and five years. Pirfenidone, an orally active small molecule drug, has been granted the Orphan Drug and Fast track designation by the FDA, and is approved and marketed in Europe as Esbriet® for mild to moderate IPF in adults. It is currently awaiting approval in the U.S. However...

Metallic and Partially-Oxidized Metallic Plasmonic Electrodes for Inverted Bulk Heterojunction Photovoltaics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:57 GMT

Invention Summary:The demand to find novel sources of clean, renewable energy has grown significantly over the past several decades. One promising source of renewable energy is in the form of photovoltaic (PV) cells - devices that convert sunlight into electricity. Traditionally, inorganic semiconducting materials are used to create the p-n junction necessary to achieve the photovoltaic effect; these types of materials, however, are rather difficult to process due to the sensitivity of inorganic semiconductors to impurities. Traditional photovoltaics are limited in the structural flexibility l...

Controlling Stem Cell Gene Expression and Behaviors by Nanotopography-Mediated siRNA/DNA Delivery

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:54 GMT

Invention Summary:Manipulation of gene expression in stem cells through siRNA/DNA transfection holds great promise for exerting an accurate control on stem cell behaviors. However, today’s most popular methods for nucleic acid delivering into stem cells are less than efficient, and involve the use of either cationic transfection agents that cause cell death or viruses which pose safety issues and require more intensive labor. Rutgers scientists have made possible the delivery of siRNA/DNA through utilizing extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as laminin, with remarkable efficiency a...

Novel Diagnostic Tool to Quantify Signatures of Movement in Subjects with Neurological Disorders, Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:48 GMT

Invention Summary:Developmental disorders such as Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease are conditions that involve both cognitive and motor impairments. Currently there is a pressing need for tools that will help to measure objectively the severity of the person’s motor deficits, relative to their normal counterparts. Scientists at Rutgers in collaboration with researchers at Indiana University have recently developed a sophisticated measurement tool and statistical metric to classify and diagnose individuals with ASD and mo...

Therapeutics for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infections - Myxopyronins

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:46 GMT

Invention Summary:There is an urgent national and international need for new classes of antibacterial agents effective against bacterial pathogens resistant to current antibacterial agents.Myxopyronin (Myx) is a microbially produced antibiotic that inhibits bacterial RNA polymerase through a novel binding site and novel mechanism. Rutgers researchers defined the binding site, mechanism, and structural basis of inhibition by Myx. Rutgers researchers then performed structure-based design of novel Myx analogs, synthesized and evaluated >600 novel proprietary Myx analogs comprising three r...

Nano-Electrokinetic Actuator Array Technology for Propulsion, and Flow Control for Underwater Vehicles

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:41 GMT

Invention Summary:Nano Electrokinetic actuators are a novel propulsion method for underwater vehicles. Of significant relevance is the ability to create faster more maneuverable underwater vehicles. These novel actuators operate on a fundamentally different principle from the traditional actuator technologies used to date. The technology takes advantage of electro-osmosis to enable fluid pumping using electric fields. The application is extensively used in micro fluidic devices. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a new class of fluid micro/nano actuators with superior performance...

Dimeric Diagnostic DNA Arrays for Pathogen Detection and Identification

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:33 GMT

A 7 times higher signal intensity was obtained for the dimeric probes D and the dimeric probes with a 10-adenine spacer DA compared to conventional monomeric probes M.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed a unique and pioneering technology for detection and identification of important pathogens in the form of a macroarray diagnostic technology with enhanced detection sensitivity and small reduction in specificity using repeat sequence probes (dimers). We continue to have positive results and improvements, and believe the next stage will focus on refinement, development of a porta...

Efficient and Easily Recyclable Heterogeneous Nanocatalysts

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:26 GMT

Invention Summary:The use of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) in catalysis has rapidly increased in recent years because of their efficient and intrinsic size dependent catalytic properties as well as their ability to catalyze a range of chemical reactions. For many MNPs to catalyze reactions and result in efficient catalysis, the reacting substrates must directly interact with the metal surface. This metal-substrate interaction could be greater if the MNPs were synthesized “naked”. Unfortunately, atoms of a “naked” MNP have a greater tendency to aggregate into a bu...

Controlling Stem Cell Differentiation by Light-Responsive Hydrogel

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:20 GMT

Invention Summary:The ability of stem cells to differentiate into specialized lineages is vital for regenerative medicine. It is known that the stem cell microenvironment plays a major role in controlling various stem cell behaviors. Rutgers scientists have developed a novel light-responsive hydrogel-based platform that employs three-dimensional micro-scale patterns to modulate microenvironment signals for the control of human stem cell differentiation. This system combines fundamental principles from chemistry, materials science and engineering to afford control over physical (i.e. pattern ge...

Autodissemination of an Insect-Growth Regulator for Mosquito Management

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:12 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed an insecticide (e.g, pyriproxyfen) autodissemination station that topically contaminates oviposition-seeking mosquitoes in such a manner that the mosquitoes then bring the active control agent back to their breeding locations for control of container-inhabiting mosquitoes in urban environments, particularly the Asian tiger mosquito. The targeted mosquito is prevalent around the world, infesting all inhabited continents and thirty states, and is a carrier of more than twenty pathogens of public and veterinary health importance, including dengu...

Tunable Quantitative Assays

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:10 GMT

Invention Summary:Scientists at Rutgers have designed a way to simultaneously quantitate target biomarkers and discriminate these biomarkers from closely related molecular entities. By making use of the thermodynamics of competitive differential hybridization, Tunable Quantitation Assays (TQAs) quantify target concentrations and substantially reduce the occurrence of false positives. This technology allows the target binding affinity to be rationally modulated to create useful signal ranges optimized for a given diagnostic platform. TQA technology is applicable to a wide variety of previ...

Rutgers University Scarlet Knight™ Cranberries

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:32:00 GMT

Invention Summary:Scarlet Knight™ is a new and distinct variety of cranberry distinguished in that it is the result of crossing two varieties (Stevens and NJS98-37), produces high yields, higher anthocyanin (red pigment) content, lower titratable acidity, and larger fruit size. Additionally, the high TAcy values that are exhibited in September allow for an earlier harvest window for processed fruit, particularly compared to the primary commercial variety, ‘Stevens’. Established test plots in NJ yielded an average of 214 barrels/acre, which is comparable to production numbers ...

Rutgers Variegated Stellar Pink Dogwood

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:59 GMT

Invention Summary:Variegated Stellar PinkTM is a stable mutation of the popular Stellar Pink® variety of dogwood tree that is the result of crossing two varieties (Cornus Kousa and Cornus Florida). Its abundant flowers almost completely cover the tree in an overlapping manner. The leaves have a white margin and dispersed green, and mottled hues of green and white in several shades. In the fall, leaves are multi-colored and are more brilliant than the Stellar Pink® variety. Besides leaf color, all other attributes are identical to the Stellar Pink® variety. Growth is very vigorous w...

ZnO-Nanostructured Quartz Crystal Microbalance-based Biosensor for Dynamic and Non-invasive Cellular Monitoring

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:58 GMT

Invention Summary:Non-invasive, real-time examination of live cell function is essential in understanding the mechanistic and dynamic progression of biological processes. Existing cell monitoring methods often require removal of cells from the culture environment followed by fixation and labeling, which can be a slow and tedious process. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a new technology to non-invasively monitor biological cell dynamics associated with cell growth and cell death. More specifically, they have developed Zinc Oxide (ZnO)-nanostructured biosensors that include Quar...

Single Sensor Radio Scene Analysis for Packet Based Radio Signals Using 2nd and 4th Order Statistics

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:50 GMT

Invention Summary:Most existing wireless systems use static allocation of the radio spectrum with each system operating in a predefined fixed frequency band. Since the allocated spectrum is not used at all locations and at all times, this static allocation leads to creation of spectrum holes, which implies inefficient utilization of the available radio spectrum. Dynamic spectrum allocation offers a much more optimal spectrum utilization scheme. However, dynamic systems must have a completely new feature embedded in them, spectrum sensing capability. Spectrum sensing can be defined as RF signal...

Hierarchical Computer-Aided Detection of Abnormal Regions in Medical Images

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:30 GMT

Receiver operator characteristic curves for detection of prostate cancer at various weights (T) in histological (top) and MRI (bottom) images. Classification is based on multiplicative weighted maximum a posteriori (MWMAP) estimation with iterated conditional modes (ICM). The regions labeled as malignant at three weights are highlighted in green (histology) or red (MRI)Invention Summary:Detection of abnormal features in medical images is a time-consuming task performed by pathologists. Although computer analysis can increase throughput, the size of the images often limits processing speeds. Th...

Electrostatic Screen Battery for Emission Control

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:29 GMT

Photograph of the ESBEC systemInvention Summary:Diesel combustion engines are widely used in heavy-duty trucks, stationary engines and for power generation. With the advent of common rail injection systems and many performance-enhancing modifications, modern diesel engines have decreased their emissions, but still emit relatively high concentrations of particulate matter within a wide range of particle sizes. To meet the emission regulations, several diesel particulate filters (DPF) have been developed and implemented earlier as viable devices to minimize diesel soot emission. However, the cur...

Methods to Produce Hepatitis C Virus E2 Protein

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:27 GMT

Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed methods to produce and purify the ectodomain of HCV E2, a critical structural protein of the virus that has potential to serve as a vaccine candidate to prevent HCV infection. Efforts to study HCV, and to develop vaccines, have been impaired in part by the inability to produce sufficient quantities of high quality protein due to the complexity of the mature form of E2. The technology developed at Rutgers has overcome this limitation and may provide the critical step towards developing a variety of therapeutic options including vaccines agains...

Rutgers Spartan Holly

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:19 GMT

Invention Summary:Spartan is a new and distinct variety of evergreen holly distinguished in that it combines from three species (Ilex rugosa, Ilex integra, and Ilex pernyi), and has desirable landscape and production traits which distinguish it from all other forms of Ilex. Plants typically attain a size to 2.13 m in height and 1.37 m in width in 10 years under conditions of minimal fertilization and supplemental irrigation. Under more optimal conditions, more vigorous growth (approximately 20 to 25 centimeters per year) can be achieved. A plant in the mature phase (flowering) can be achieved ...

Rutgers University Mullica Queen® Cranberries

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:08 GMT

Invention Summary:Mullica Queen® is a new and distinct variety of cranberry distinguished in that it is the result of crossing two varieties (Lemunyon and #35), produces significantly higher yields, higher anthocyanin (red pigment) content, higher stolon vigor, and earlier flowering phenology compared to other commercial varieties. Established test plots in NJ y ielded an average of 456 barrels/acre, which compares favorably to the ‘Stevens’ variety, which produced 270 barrels/ acre under the same conditions in the same location. The fruit size was also significantly larger tha...

Plant-derived Nutraceutical Compositions containing Phenethylisothiocyanate and their Uses as Anti-Inflammatory Agents

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:31:02 GMT

Rat paw edema anti-inflammatory assays demonstrated that treatment with PEITC essential oil (PEO) was as quick and effective as treatment with aspirin.Invention Summary:Rutgers scientists have developed proprietary and unique methods for obtaining high yields of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a natural glucosinolate derivative known for its cancer preventive and antiinflammatory properties, from plant tissues (e.g., seeds). After evaluating various plant species and tissues for their PEITC content, it was found that the seeds of Barbarea verna (also known as early winter cress or upland cre...

Novel Airborne Contaminant Collector: Very High Concentration Rate and Low Power Consumption

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:30:56 GMT

Concentration rate: a ratio of particle concentration in collection liquid versus the airborne particle concentration per time unit. Invention Summary:Airborne contaminant exposure assessment is a vital component of the protection of civil, governmental and military establishments. Safety and security applications require the development of advanced devices capable of collecting and detecting biological and non-biological agents at low levels in difficult circumstances. Today’s devices are ill suited to the current challenges because they require high concentrations of contaminants...

Rutgers Venus® Dogwood

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:30:44 GMT

Invention Summary:Venus® is a distinct variety of dogwood tree that it is the result of crossing two varieties (Cornus kousa x Cornus nuttallii hybrid and Cornus kousa). Its large, creamy white flowers almost completely cover the tree and develop bracts in excess of 6 inches in size. Attractive, strawberry-like fruit are also produced and leaf colors range from a glossy dark green in the summer months to extensive yellow, green, and red coloring during the fall months. Growth is very vigorous with dense branching low to the ground and upright branches. An average height of eighteen feet an...

ANIMAL MODEL FOR MALIGNANT MELANOMA AND USES THEREOF

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:30:40 GMT

Invention Summary: Advances in translational research are very closely linked to the rational design and selection of animal models. Patients with advanced melanoma have very low 5-year survival rates of 1%-2% and there is a critical need for clinically relevant discoveries and development of therapeutic treatment approaches. Metabotropic Glutamate receptor-1 (Grm1) has been implicated in the development of melanocytic neoplasms. Therefore developing inhibitors/antagonists against Grm1 could potentially arrest the progression of this pathway. Scientists at Rutgers have developed a n...

Rutgers Red Beauty® Holly

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:30:29 GMT

Invention Summary:Red Beauty® is a new and distinct variety of evergreen holly distinguished in that it combines from three species (Ilex aquifolium, Ilex rugosa, and Ilex pernyi), and has desirable landscape and production traits which distinguish it from all other forms of Ilex. These plants have a moderate growth rate, and will typically reach 7 to 10 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide in 7 to 9 years. Leaves do not become lighter green when bearing a heavy crop of fruit as do the leaves of many varieties of Ilex. A plant in the mature phase (flowering) can be achieved in one year from a ro...

Probiotics for Food and Health Use

christopher.perkins@rutgers.edu — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:29:31 GMT

Our major research and product development areas include: (i) probiotic-derived natural antimicrobials for human health (ii) novel probiotics for traditional and non-dairy applications. We isolated and characterized antimicrobial proteins from the known strain of Lactobacillus sporogenes (Bacillus coagulans) and from a novel strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The antimicrobial peptide subtilosin produced by B. amyloliquefaciens is active against vaginal pathogens, has spermicidal activity and kills herpes viruses 1 and 2. It also kills foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, including ...