SAN DIEGO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nanogen, Inc. , developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced today that it was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,821,729, "Device for Molecular Biological Analysis and Diagnostics Including Waveguides," by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The '729 patent covers methods and technologies for coupling optical waveguides with a DNA microarray used for performing biological operations and illuminating it at an angle that allows the size and complexity of the diagnostic instrument to be reduced. Nanogen continues to build its patent portfolio with the '729 patent marking the company's 78th patent issued in the U.S.
Common fluorescent detection systems utilize excitation light that arrives at the face of a DNA chip at an angle, which requires a greater working distance. This patent allows for new positioning of a chip's components, including the substrate, top and edges, so that light is delivered via integrated waveguides, thus enabling a smaller and more compact device design. This technology also improves fluorescent detection by reducing the amount of excitation light that is reflected back into the sensor array.
"Nanogen continues to develop technologies that allow us to reduce the complexity and shrink the footprints of molecular diagnostic systems," said Howard C. Birndorf, Nanogen chairman and chief executive officer. "This intellectual property asset can be leveraged by Nanogen for potential product development or by other innovators who, for example, are creating optical waveguides using DNA chips and microscope slides for molecular analysis."
About Nanogen, Inc.
Nanogen's advanced diagnostics provide physicians and patients worldwide with sophisticated information to predict, diagnose and treat disease. Research and clinical reference labs use the highly accurate and reliable NanoChip(R) Molecular Biology Workstation, NanoChip(R) Electronic Microarrays and analyte specific reagents to develop tests to detect mutations associated with genetic diseases. The next generation instrument system, the NanoChip(R) 400, is expected to be available in 2005. Nanogen's subsidiary SynX offers a line of point-of-care diagnostic tests and is building expertise in cardiac related health conditions. Nanogen's ten years of pioneering research involving nanotechnology may also have future applications in medical diagnostics, biowarfare and other industries. For additional information please visit Nanogen's website at http://www.nanogen.com/.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, including whether patents owned or licensed by Nanogen will be developed into products, whether the patents owned by Nanogen offer any protection against competitors with competing technologies, whether Nanogen's NanoChip(R) System can be successfully further commercialized, whether other products under development can be successfully developed and commercialized, whether results reported by our customers or partners can be identically replicated, whether ASRs currently sold by Nanogen will become FDA-approved molecular diagnostic test kits, whether Nanogen will be successful in developing additional ASRs and protocols utilizing the NanoChip(R) System, and other risks and uncertainties discussed under the caption "Factors That May Affect Results" and elsewhere in Nanogen's Form 10-K or Form 10-Q most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Nanogen disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Nanogen, Inc.CONTACT: Robert Saltmarsh, VP Corporate Development of Nanogen, Inc.,+1-858-410-4600, rsaltmarsh@nanogen.com; or Pam Lord, Media and InvestorRelations, +1-858-527-3494, plord@irpr.com, for Nanogen, Inc.
Web site: http://www.nanogen.com/