Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa for the purpose of controlling the sex of offspring prior to conception, comprising the steps of: exposing the spermatozoa in a protein free diluent to an excess concentration of a first antibody that binds male determining spermatozoa; suspending said exposed spermatozoa together with a conjugate of a second antibody that binds exclusively to said first antibody and an immunoabsorbent substrate in a protein free diluent to form a conjugate/spermatozoa preparation; and recovering the female determining spermatozoa from the conjugate/spermatozoa preparation while said male determining spermatozoa are bound to said immunoabsorbent substrate.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
100 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa for the purpose of controlling the sex of offspring prior to conception, comprising the steps of: exposing the spermatozoa in a protein free diluent to an excess concentration of a first antibody that binds male determining spermatozoa; suspending said exposed spermatozoa together with a conjugate of a second antibody that binds exclusively to said first antibody and an immunoabsorbent substrate in a protein free diluent to form a conjugate/spermatozoa preparation; and recovering the female determining spermatozoa from the conjugate/spermatozoa preparation while said male determining spermatozoa are bound to said immunoabsorbent substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, including the additional step of recovering said male determining spermatozoa from said immunoabsorbent substrate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said exposing step includes the additional step of diluting said spermatozoa to a concentration of between 10×10 6 and 100×10 6 active spermatozoa per milliliter of protein free diluent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said first antibody is monoclonal antibody directed against H-Y antigen of said male determining spermatozoa.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, including the steps of recovering said exposed spermatozoa from said excess concentration of said first antibody and washing said exposed spermatozoa to remove unbound first antibody.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 5, wherein said recovering is by centrifugation.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 5, including the step of resuspending said washed, exposed spermatozoa in a protein free diluent.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, including the additional step of incubating said spermatozoa at approximately 37° C. during said exposing and suspending steps.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said immunoabsorbent substrate is agarose beads.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said second antibody is anti-immunoglobulin antibody capable of binding said first antibody.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said suspending step includes the additional step of agitating said conjugate/spermatozoa preparation to prevent the immunoabsorbent substrate from settling.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said female determining spermatozoa recovering step includes the steps of draining said protein free diluent and female determining spermatozoa from said immunoabsorbent substrate and then centrifuging said protein free diluent and female determining spermatozoa to separate said female determining spermatozoa from said diluent.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, including the additional step of filtering the separated female determining spermatozoa so as to substantially remove dead spermatozoa and increase overall efficacy.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 13, wherein said filtering step includes the step of passing the separated female determining spermatozoa through an unbound sephadex bead column.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 2, including the additional step of filtering the separated male determining spermatozoa so as to substantially remove dead spermatozoa and increase overall efficacy.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method for separating male and female spermatozoa recited in claim 2, including the additional steps of separately filtering the separated male and female determining spermatozoa so as to remove dead spermatozoa and increase overall efficacy and separately collecting said separated male and female determining spermatozoa in a protein containing media following filtering, said protein containing media serving to support the separated spermatozoa until subsequent use in artificial insemination.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method for separating male and female determining spermatozoa recited in claim 1, wherein said protein free diluent is a sodium citrate buffer.