Indiana University is a leader in Indiana’s innovation ecosystem. Faculty across the university continue into new intellectual and creative terrain, developing novel technologies that address pressing problems.

Here are the most recent patents awarded for IU discoveries in the past three months from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

• A caravanning vehicle system that improves the transportation of goods: The developers are Clayton Nicholas, director of industry partnerships at the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office and director at the IU Indianapolis Initiative for Electrified and Autonomous Mobility; and Euzeli Dos Santos and Yaobin Chen, professors of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University in Indianapolis. The caravanning vehicle system is composed of a tractor and articulated trailers in which the lead vehicle transfers power to trailing vehicles. The system improves vehicle routing problems, increases vehicle safety and improves productivity, while reducing diesel emissions and fuel usage.
• A method for creating 3D biosynthetic tissue for use in medical applications: The developers are Alexander Gumennik, an assistant professor of intelligent systems engineering at the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and director of the Intelligent Systems Engineering Fibers and Additive Manufacturing Enabled Systems Lab; Merve Gokce Kurtoglu, a graduate student in intelligent systems engineering; and Louis van der Elst, a former graduate student in intelligent systems engineering, all at IU Bloomington. The method engineers tissues and organs to provide a scaffold that enables real-time monitoring of tissue conditions, ensuring the engineered tissue develops viably. The method can provide functional tissues for medical applications such as wound infilling and limb and organ regeneration.
• An open-chamber acoustic device that improves drug screening: The developers are Luddy School associate professor Feng Guo, postdoctoral researcher Zheng Ao and graduate student Hongwei Cai, all in intelligent systems engineering at IU Bloomington. Cell-matrix adhesion, which is when a cancer cell and other proteins and molecules of surrounding tissue bind together, causes inflammation, tumor growth and cancer metastasis. This device measures single-cell binding force, cell-matrix adhesion and kinetics to improve efficiency of drug screening, and disease diagnosis and monitoring.
• Inhibitors for the treatment of neovascular diseases: The developers are Timothy Corson, former chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the IU School of Medicine; Kamakshi Sishtla, former lab manager of the Corson Lab; and outside collaborators Seung-Yong Seo and Bit Lee from Gachon University-Academic Cooperation Foundation. The ferrochelatase inhibitors, which are small-molecule compounds that can be used to treat neovascular eye diseases, can be delivered orally or as eye drops.
• A cancer diagnostic that quantifies microRNAs: The developers are Rajesh Sardar, a professor in the School of Science at IU Indianapolis; Hristos Kaimakliotis, an associate professor of urology at the IU School of Medicine; Thakshila Liyanage, a former graduate assistant at Purdue University; and Adrianna Masterson, a former Ph.D. student at IU Indianapolis. MicroRNAs, which are often overexpressed in various cancers and diseases, can be used as diagnostic markers. The diagnostic detects and quantifies microRNAs from a single cancer cell directly from patient plasma to improve tumor heterogeneity knowledge.
• Novel way to target stubborn cancer proteins: The developers are Jian-Ting Zhang, a former professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the IU School of Medicine, JingYuan Liu, a former postdoctoral researcher at the IU School of Medicine, and Mingji Dai, a chemistry professor at Emory College. The method targets various cancers by administering an inhibitor that hinders Survivin, an overexpressed protein in nearly all cancers. Survivin had been considered “undruggable,” as no previous inhibitors could bind directly to the molecule. However, this inhibitor effectively prevents tumor growth and reduces resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The inhibitor can be used to treat cancers such as breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, prostate, ovarian and leukemia.

These innovations were disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office, which transfers IU innovations from lab to market for public benefit and global impact. The office files patents to facilitate commercialization of the innovations.