John, 
Bravo! Bravo! I couldn't have said it better.

Marsha Price

On Thu, 18 May 2000 11:07:10 -0400 (EDT) "J. A. Kiernan"
<jkiernan@julian.uwo.ca> writes:
> On Tue, 16 May 2000, Sherring, Yoshika wrote:
> 
> > I understand that there are publications stating how to make your 
> own tyramide. 
> 
> > ... these publications are infringing upon NEN's patents ...
> 
>   This has to be complete rot. The first publication I know of that
>   gives instructions for doing tyramine conjugation is in 1989, long
>   before the publication of histochemical applications of these
>   reagents, and surely also before anyone thought of trying to
>   patent the simple benchtop procedure. The authors of the 1989 
> paper 
>   (which may not be the first) must have got their chemical know-how 
> 
>   from somewhere, too. The use of succinimide esters to join 
> molecules 
>   together has been common knowledge and standard practice for many 
>   years. It's in the textbooks. Also, just look at any catalogue of 
>   the Pierce company (just one example) during the last 25 years. 
>   They have been selling all kinds of reagents (and kits) for 
> linking 
>   biotin and other compounds to amines and proteins.
> 
>   To say that it's illegal for anyone to make tagged tyrosine is
>   equivalent to saying you can't to make your own wallpaper
>   glue out of flour and water when more expensive patented 
>   adhesives are available in the shops. 
> 
>   The only effect of these aggressively protective messages will be 
>   to discourage scientists from buying anything at all from NEN. 
>   We'll spend our money with companies that don't threaten to sue 
>   their potential customers.
> 
>  John A. Kiernan, MB, ChB, PhD, DSc,
>  Professor, Dept of Anatomy & Cell Biology,
>  The University of Western Ontario,
>  LONDON,  Canada  N6A 5C1
>    FAX (Department): (519) 661-3936
>    E-mail: kiernan@uwo.ca
> 
> 
> 

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