| University of the Witwatersrand Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20110212154 | Biodegradable Implantable Drug Delivery Device - The invention relates to biodegradable and implantable devices for the in situ delivery of a pharmaceutical composition to a human or animal that comprise a generally discoid body, having at least one aperture through which the body is anchorable by suture, and that are formed from biodegradable polymeric compositions. The invention relates to methods of manufacturing devices for the in situ delivery of a pharmaceutical composition to a human or animal that comprise a generally discoid body, having at least one aperture through which the body is anchorable by suture, and that are formed from biodegradable polymeric compositions. The invention relates to a therapeutic method that comprises inserting a biodegradable and implantable device that comprises a generally discoid body, having at least one aperture through which the body is anchorable by suture, and that is formed from a biodegradable polymeric composition, into a body cavity of a human or animal. | 09-01-2011 |
| 20110046335 | Supramolecular Functional Materials - The field of this invention relates to supramolecular functional materials, particularly to coordination networks, more particularly to coordination polymers, more particularly to metal based one-dimensional coordination polymers. The metal based one-dimensional coordination polymers comprises a repeat unit [L | 02-24-2011 |
| 20100184840 | PRIMARY MICRO RNA EXPRESSION CASSETTE - This invention relates to inhibition of hepatitis gene expression. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of using RNA sequences to inhibit Hepatitis B and C Virus replication. Expression cassettes that include DNA sequences derived from endogenous micro RNAs (miRs) are used in the method and are transcribed by Pol II promoters, and then processed to generate sequences that are specific to target hepatitis virus sequences (RNAi effecter sequences). The RNAi effecter sequences can target the selected hepatitis virus sequences resulting in gene silencing or transcriptional inhibition of the hepatitis virus gene. The expression cassettes may be delivered in vitro or in vivo to host cells. A pharmaceutical composition containing the expression cassettes is also claimed. | 07-22-2010 |
| 20100152282 | USE OF DOUBLE STRANDED RNA HAIRPIN DUPLEXES IN GENE SILENCING - A DNA polynucleotide is described herein having a modified sequence of a target gene, wherein any one type of nucleotide in the target gene sequence has been chemically modified to another type of nucleotide; and a complementary sequence of the unmodified target gene; wherein either one of the modified sequence or the complementary sequence is in a reverse orientation to the other sequence; and wherein the RNA sequence transcribed from the DNA polynucleotide forms a duplex between the modified sequence and the complementary sequence so that a long double stranded RNA (IdsRNA) duplex forms between the modified and complementary sequences with base pair mismatches where the nucleotides have been modified, the IdsRNA duplex being capable of inhibiting expression of the target gene. RNA polynucleotides and IdsRNA duplexes transcribed by the DNA polynucleotide are also described, as is a method for producing the IdsRNA duplexes. These IdsRNA duplexes can be used in gene silencing. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20090258347 | METHOD FOR DIAGNOSING AND MONITORING CELLULAR RESERVOIRS OF DISEASE - The invention provides an assay for diagnosing and/or monitoring a viral infection or disease in a patient, the assay including the steps of mixing a sample of leucocytes with a fluorescent cell membrane-permeable dye which stains RNA or both DNA and RNA within the leucocytes; identifying from all the leucocytes at least two of the three major sub-populations of leucoytes selected from the group consisting of monocytes, granulocytes and lymphocytes; determining the fluorescence intensity for each of the identified sub-populations; and comparing the fluorescence intensity of at least two cell sub-populations to each other to obtain at least one of the following ratios: monocytes:granulocytes, monocytes:lymphocytes, and granulocytes lymphocytes. The viral infection may be HIV and the disease may be AIDS. The invention also provides a method of monitoring the cellular viral, parasitic or bacterial reservoir of a patient with a viral or bacterial infection by the steps described above. A, kit for performing the assay or method is also provided. | 10-15-2009 |
