Pitt innovators were issued 10 patents in March 2026.
Featured patent: 12,576,344 Temperature-Assisted Solute Focusing (TASF)
Pitt innovators have developed a method to improve on Standard liquid chromatography (LC), a widely used technique for identifying and measuring substances in a sample, which becomes impractical at smaller scales because tiny columns can’t handle realistic sample sizes.
TASF solves this by briefly cooling a section of the small column during sample loading, which slows and concentrates the sample components into a manageable volume. The column is then heated to resume normal separation. This enables miniaturized LC systems that are cheaper to run and produce less hazardous waste, without sacrificing performance.
Key advantages include compatibility with existing solvent-based methods, improved detection sensitivity, and a predictive computer model to optimize the process before running experiments. This technology is available as a prototype for licensing.
Below is a listing of all patents issued to Pitt innovators in March 2026
| Patent Number |
Title | Inventor(s) | Licensing Manager | Status | |||
| 12,576,344 | Temperature-Assisted On-Column Focusing | Anthony Horner; Rachael-Anh Wilson; Stephen Weber; Stephen Groskreutz | Janice Panza | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,564,492 | Retrievable Self-Expanding Non-Thrombogenic Low-Profile Percutaneous Atrioventricular Valve Prosthesis | Antonio D’Amore; David Schwartzman; Vinay Badhwar; William Wagner; Yong Jae Chun | Janice Panza | Licensed | |||
| 12,576,268 | Conformable Neural Interface Device With Hydrogel Adhesion and Methods of Using the Same | Christopher Bettinger; Gary Fedder; Wei-Chen Hung; Xiao Chuan Ong; Charles Horn; Gutian Xiao; Lee Fisher; Robert Gaunt | Janice Panza | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,576,192 | Multi-layered Graft for Tissue Engineering Applications | Antonio D’Amore; Matteo Solazzo; William Wagner | Janice Panza | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,580,050 | Spatially Co-Registered Genomic and Imaging (SCORGI) Data Elements for Fingerprinting Microdomains | Albert Gough; Andrew Stern; Douglass Taylor; Michael Becich; Srinivas Chennubhotla | Tara Branstad | Licensed | |||
| 12,576,118 | Bacteriophages for the Treatment of Tuberculosis | Carlos Guerrero; Graham Hatfull; Rebekah Dedrick | Maria Vanegas | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,569,276 | Minimally Invasive Cell Transplant Procedure to Induce the Development of In Vivo Organogenesis | Eric Lagasse; Paulo Fontes | Janice Panza | Licensed | |||
| 12,567,268 | Automated Nanoscopy System having Integrated Artifact Minimization Modules, Including Embedded Nanometer Position Tracking Based on Phasor Analysis | Hongquiang Ma; Yang Liu | Robert Racunas | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,577,522 | System and Method for Screening Therapeutic Agents | Philip LeDuc; Carola Neumann; John Skoko; Li Wan; Mei Zhang; Jun Yin | Andrew Remes | Available for Licensing | |||
| 12,590,120 | Materials and Methods for Isolating Self-Antigen Polypeptides | Dana Ascherman; Jonathan Minden | Kate Gadacz | Available for Licensing | |||