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SAN
DIEGO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nanogen,
Inc. (NASDAQ:NGEN) , 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 www.nanogen.com.
Source: Nanogen, Inc.
CONTACT: Robert Saltmarsh,
VP Corporate Development of Nanogen, Inc.,
+1-858-410-4600, rsaltmarsh@nanogen.com; or Pam Lord,
Media and Investor
Relations, +1-858-527-3494, plord@irpr.com, for Nanogen,
Inc.
Web site: http://www.nanogen.com/
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