University of Delaware
AGRICULTURE
PLANT & SOIL SCIENCE
ANIMAL SCIENCE
EARTH, OCEAN & ENVIRONMENT
University of Delaware
Office of Economic Innovation
& Partnerships
1 Innovation Way, Suite 500
Delaware Technology Park
Newark, DE 19711
Ph: (302) 831-4005
techtransfer@udel.edu
Version: 14.2
List of Technologies
Page No.
Title
Case
No
1
Rapid and Effective Method of Microencapsulating
Materials
UD96-14
2
Underwater Position Determining Device
UD10-25
3
Method for High Rate Underwater Acoustic
Communication
UD10-30
4
Method for the Detoxification of Nitric Oxide
UD10-54
5
Fast and Cheap Plume Fluid Detection
UD11-30
6
Transfer of Nitrogen to Non-Legumes Crops
UD12-01
7
Method to Restore Salivary Glands
UD12-39
8
Improved Laryngotracheitis Vaccines for Avian Species
UD14-01
9
Regulatory Non-Coding RNAs as Determinants of Male
Sterility in Grasses and Other Monocotyledonous Plants
UD14-18
Rapid and Effective Method of Microencapsulating Materials
(UD96-14)
THIS TECHNOLOGY IS AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING NON-EXCLUSIVELY
Technology Description:
The present invention comprises a method for microencapsulating a core material comprising the steps
of a) mixing a core material with an encapsulating polymer, b) supplying a supercritical fluid capable of
swelling the polymer to the mixture under a temperature and a pressure sufficient to maintain the fluid
in a supercritical state, c) allowing the supercritical fluid to penetrate and liquefy the polymer while
maintaining temperature and pressure sufficient to maintain the fluid in a supercritical state, and d)
rapidly releasing the pressure to solidify the polymer around the core material to form a microcapsule.
Fig. F Receiving vessel Piston
Heater (2A) Lamp Borescope
View cell sleeve I(5) Magnet
motor Temperature
controller Video monitor
Polycarbonate box High
pressure nitrogen WO
98/15348 WO
9815348PCT/US97/17509
2/2 `
Benefits:
 Neither the polymer nor the core materials must be soluble in the supercritical fluid
 Can be used to rapidly and efficiently microencapsulate a variety of materials for a variety of
applications
Patent Status:
The technology is patented with fully preserved U.S. patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
• U.S. Issued Patent (5,766,637)
1
Underwater Position Determining Device
(UD10-25)
Technology Description:
This technology provides a method and a system for determining the position and velocity of an object
moving under the surface of water in coastal areas using low frequency acoustical signals. Unlike
electromagnetic waves, sound signals can propagate in water with relatively small attenuation,
depending on the frequency, and are therefore an effective means of carrying information in this
environment. The proposed technology operates effectively over a wide range in shallow water, with the
potential for transmission over 2500 square kilometers and more. A prototype has been developed and
tested for accurate underwater position information.
Benefits:
Fig. Approximate Scheme of Positioning
 Accurate position and velocity information of underwater moving objects
 Wide range of effective operation (2500 square kilometers and more)
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved U.S. patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
• U.S. Published (US-2012-0092964)
2
Method for High Rate Underwater Acoustic Communication
(UD10-30)
Technology Description:
This technology provides a method and an apparatus for high data rate communication between
underwater platforms using acoustical signals. Sound waves have proved to be the most effective
method of underwater data transmission due to a resistance to attenuation. Unlike electromagnetic and
optical waves which suffer high attenuation in water due to the scattering physics of the environment,
sound waves propagate very effectively. The method of the invention uses a multiple-element source and
multiple-element receiver to transmit more data simultaneously, effectively increasing the data rate.
Algorithms are provided for techniques to improve the accuracy of the transmission, and a prototype has
been developed and tested in a coastal water environment. Potential uses/users of the technology
include:
 Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)
 High data rate digital communications among underwater platforms
 Underwater defense system
 Coastal surveying
Fig. Schematic of Apparatus
Benefits:
 Higher data rates, range, and reliability than single element transmitter and receiver systems
 Acoustic waves superior for underwater transmission than electromagnetic or optical methods due
to attenuation and scattering of the latter in sea water
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved U.S. patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
• Published U.S. (No 2014-0098841)
3
Method for the Detoxification of Nitric Oxide
(UD10-54)
Technology Description:
The invention discloses a full gene sequence for the novel nitrate reductase NR2, and identifies the
composition of its gene variants. The mechanism of action of NR2 is shown to be a novel method for the
detoxification of nitric oxide. This process is done with greater efficiency and in a more environmentally
friendly manner than previous methods for nitric oxide removal, and can function in more favorable
temperature and oxygen concentration conditions. Moreover, the technology makes possible drastic cost
improvements to algal biofuel production. Once nitric oxide has been removed from a flue gas, for
example, the carbon dioxide still remaining can be used as a carbon source for algal biomass growth, and
the nitrate and nitrite byproducts can be supplied to the biomass as a free nitrogen source.
Fig. illustrates a proposed mechanism for
dual nitric oxide dioxygenase
Benefits:
 Identifies full gene sequence of hitherto unknown reductase NR2
 Provides method for the removal of toxic nitric oxide in environmentally friendly, efficient manner
 Through cultivation of algae, provides various commercially useable products in a bioremediation
and/or biofuel production process
Patent Status:
The technology is patented with fully preserved U.S. patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
 U.S. Issued Patent (No. 8,409,827)
4
Fast and Cheap Plume Fluid Detection
(UD11-30)
Technology Description:
This invention relates to a novel method to detect and track in time the boundary of a fluid of different
acoustic index of refraction, within another fluid in large scales. The method is based on refraction and
interferometric techniques that have been used in the past in the field of optics. The variation of the
index of refraction of the propagation waves can be captured by acoustical sounding using source and
vertical and/or horizontal hydrophone arrays. Due to the sound field reflection (or refraction) from the
internal wave front, a mode number and frequency dependent horizontal multipath interference is
produced (Lloyd’s mirror effect in optics). This method describes the interference between the direct
light signal, the source and receiver, and the refracted signal from a surface.
Fig. Re-constructed internal
wave packet for event 50
overlaid by the ship’s radar
images of R/V Sharp and R/V
Oceanus at 21:30 GMT when
the internal wave front is
approaching the acoustic
track
Benefits:
 Appropriate for fluids in large scales
 Does not alter properties of the fluids
 Low cost
Uses/Users:
 3-D reconstruction of a fluid within another fluid in large scale
 Treatment of oil spills in the ocean where tracking of oil spread is essential
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved U.S. patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
• U.S. Published (2012-0197604)
5
Transfer of Nitrogen to Non-Legumes Crops
(UD12-01)
Technology Description:
To modulate defense responses to microbes, particularly in the case of symbiotic interactions with
beneficial microbes, the inventors believe that to permit interactions with beneficial microbes, plants
might need to suppress their defenses which would normally prevent the microbes from interacting
directly with plant cells. This could be done via the small number of miRNAs that have been identified in
this invention, which can trigger phased small RNAs that create a highly interwoven silencing network
that suppresses defense gene expression. This invention could potentially be used to transfer nitrogenfixing properties to non-leguminous crops such as maize, rice, etc.
Fig. miRNAs have
regulatory roles in
development, stress
responses & other
pathways
Benefits:
 Alleviates many billions of dollars spent each year to manufacture nitrogen for application to such
non-legumes
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved U.S patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
6
Method to Restore Salivary Glands
(UD12-39)
Technology Description:
We present a novel modular approach for the creation of functional salivary cell assemblies (cellMMs) that can be co-assembled into a larger 3D-ST (3D salivary neo-tissue) hydrogel for direct
implantation into patients (Fig 1). Specifically, biomimetic matrices providing defined biological
cues can be constructed from these building blocks: (1) chemically modified hyaluronic acid (HA)
with reactive handles; (2) multiblock copolymer crosslinkers, and (3) microscale densely
crosslinked HA hydrogel particles (HGPs), which serve as depots for growth factors (GF). We can
co-encapsulate HGPs (pre-loaded with selected GFs) and salivary cells within an HA hydrogel
network to form cell-laden microgel modules (cell-MM). Cell-MMs are the primary modular
building blocks for this device. Additional complexity is built by gelling multiple cell-MMs into a
secondary HA network, yielding a larger, macroscopic 3D-ST for final implantation. The modular
building blocks, when combined with the salivary cellular components, create a new solution for
patients suffering from xerostomia.
Fig. Strategy for creating salivary cell modules. GF-loaded HGPs will be
co-encapsulated within an HA matrix, crosslinked by a PlnDIV-PEG
copolymer to produce microscale Cell-MMs. Multiple Cell-MMs will then be
gelled with angiogenic HGPs to produce a 3D-ST implant.
Benefits:
 Will restore salivary function in patients suffering from xerostomia
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved worldwide patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
7
Improved Laryngotracheitis Vaccine for Avian Species
(UD14-01)
Technology Description:
Modified live vaccines of two types have been available for many years to control the infectious
laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV); 1) chick embryo origin (CEO) and 2) tissue culture origin (TCO). The
CEO products have negative side effects, as they cause disease and reduce growth rates and feed
efficiency. Thus, poultry producers do not like to use them unless they absolutely have to, which
is not a good situation because many flocks go unvaccinated and eventually succumb to the
disease. The TCO product is mild in nature but must be administered via the ocular route, which
severely limits it practical use by commercial chicken producers because the vaccine must be
instilled into the conjunctiva of each individual bird of a flock.
Recently, recombinant ILTV vaccines have been commercialized. There has been much hope for
these products to solve the ILTV vaccine dilemma because recombinant products carry
immunogenic genes, not the complete virus and thus do not produce side effects. However, the
new recombinant vaccines are very expensive to purchase compared to live vaccines, and only
partially effective. The development of a safer and effective live vaccine would dramatically
reduce vaccine related costs for ILTV, which is exactly what this invention aims to accomplish.
The invented vaccine was developed by serial passage (growth) of a TCO vaccine up to 40 times
in successive cultures of chicken kidney cells (CKC) in tissue culture maintained at 30°C, a
reduced incubation temperature from the conventional 37°C. The virus was then cloned in CKC
culture at 30°C by limiting dilution to obtain a purer population that should theoretically produce
more consistent vaccine characteristics in chickens. The resulting experimental vaccine has been
tested in chickens in our laboratory and found to be safe and efficacious by the ocular/eyedrop
and oral routes of administration.
Figure. Mucosal membrane of chicken trachea
necrosis (death) due to ILTV is evidenced by
large gaps in membrane space.
Benefits:
•
•
•
Lower cost of vaccine for same effectiveness
Higher efficiency for vaccination process
More lucrative production as a result of healthier flocks
Patent Status:
The technologies are patent pending with fully preserved U.S and worldwide patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
8
Regulatory Non-Coding RNAs as Determinants of Male Sterility
in Grasses and Other Monocotyledonous Plants
(UD14-18)
Technology Description:
This invention is a breakthrough in the field of agriculture. It provides a genetic mechanism to
control male fertility and sterility and facilitates the production of hybrid seeds. Genetic methods
may eventually not be needed to trigger male sterility in plants with this new discovery. The
Ribonucleic Acids could be exogenously applied to enhance the sterility. The only other invention
of this sort cam from a Chinese patent however that patent failed to identify the small RNAs that
are vital factors of male sterility. The novelty of this invention lies in the fact that the small, noncoding RNAs in plants have not been previously implicated in male sterility and this invention
solves this deficiency. This male sterility can be used as a genetic tool to promote outcrossing in
grasses including maize, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum, etc. or even other non-grass monocots
such as asparagus, banana, palm, etc. Such outcrossing is fundamental to the production of
hybrid seed, which often exhibit hybrid vigor and are the major type of seed sold for many grass
crops. More specifically, we have characterized two unusual classes of “phased” secondary small
RNAs (“phasiRNAs”) that are highly enriched in grass anthers.
Fig. 1 :
W23 = Wildtype
msca1, mac1, oc14 are
mutants of the W23 wildtype
from 0.4mm and 0.7mm
anthers
Benefits:
•
•
•
Improved male sterility in plants
Versatile genetic tool that can be applied to many different types of plants
No other invention has achieved these results
Patent Status:
The technology is patent pending with fully preserved U.S and worldwide patent rights available for
licensing opportunities.
9
For Further Information
Please Contact:
Contact Information
Denise M. Bierlein
Telephone: (302) 831-4005
Email: techtransfer@udel.edu
Mailing Address
University of Delaware
Office of Economic Innovation & Partnerships
1, Innovation Way, Suite 500
Delaware Technology Park
Newark, DE 19711