JP2001206454A - Antibacterial container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an antibacterial container capable of preventing contamination by microorganism without deteriorating quality of liquid when the liquid in a container is discharged through a nozzle and further provide an antibacterial container capable of decreasing a blending amount of an antiseptic substance into liquid to be stored in the container and more preferably capable of eliminating any antiseptic substance. SOLUTION: There is provided a container 1 comprising a container main body 2 having a nozzle 4 therein and a cap 7 removably mounted so as to cover the nozzle 4. The cap 7 is provided with a contact part 8 getting into contacted with an outer surface around a fluid hole of the nozzle 4 and then an antibacterial material is adhered to at least the contact part 8. In addition, setting a diameter of the fluid hole of the nozzle 4 less than 100 μm prevents microorganism from entering the container main body 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container for storing a liquid which is likely to be contaminated with microorganisms, and more particularly to an antibacterial container which can prevent a liquid to be discharged from being contaminated by microorganisms.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various containers are used as containers for storing liquid medicines, cosmetics, foods, and the like. For example, an ophthalmic solution container for a medicine includes an elastically deformable resin container main body, a nozzle provided at an upper portion of the container main body, and a cap attached to the container main body so as to cover the nozzle. A squeeze bottle type container in which an eye drop of a sterile preparation is contained in a container body is used. To perform eye drops using such an eye drop container, first, remove the cap, expose the nozzle, hold it downward, press and deform the outer wall of the container body, pressurize the accommodation room, and apply the ophthalmic solution from the nozzle. It is performed by letting it flow out and dripping.

In such a container, the nozzle is
At the time of use, the microorganisms are exposed to the outside air in which a large number of microorganisms are present, and may come into contact with the patient's hand or conjunctiva, so that the microorganisms easily adhere to the outer surface. When used repeatedly, microorganisms attached to the nozzle often propagate. Therefore, when the ophthalmic solution comes into contact with the nozzle at the time of outflow, there is a risk that the microorganisms in the nozzle migrate to the ophthalmic solution and are contaminated by the microorganisms. After the end of the instillation, the container wall is restored by the elasticity, so that the ophthalmic solution and the outside air remaining on the nozzle are sucked into the container. Since this residual liquid comes into contact with the nozzle, there is a risk of being contaminated by microorganisms. Microorganisms are also present in the drawn outside air. Therefore, at the time of restoration, microorganisms are taken into the accommodation room, and there is a very high risk that the ophthalmic solution contained in the container body itself will be contaminated with microorganisms.

[0004] Conventionally, various preservatives have been added to the liquid in order to prevent the liquid contained in the container from being contaminated by microorganisms. In the case of eye drops, preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride and parabens are usually compounded except for eye drops used only once. However, since preservatives generally have cytotoxicity, various adverse effects are caused by the preservatives incorporated therein. In the case of eye drops, it may damage the cornea and conjunctiva due to the preservatives that were added,
Many serious side effects such as causing an allergic reaction with long-term use have been reported. Therefore, it is desired to use the preservative as little as possible.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-302418 proposes a technique for preventing microbial contamination on the surface of a resin product that is touched by an unspecified number of people. Here, some antibacterial properties are imparted to the surface by diffusing silver ions on the surface of the product, thereby preventing the growth of mold and algae on the surface. However, although this proposal is suitable for products that do not come into contact with liquid, it is difficult to apply it to members that come into direct contact with liquid. That is, since it is diffused in the state of silver ions, it is easily eluted when it comes into contact with the liquid, the concentration of silver ions in the liquid increases, the quality of the liquid deteriorates, and the effect of preventing microbial contamination over time is also reduced. There is a problem that it is easily lowered.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to prevent microbial contamination without deteriorating the quality of a liquid in a container when the liquid is discharged from a nozzle. To provide a possible antimicrobial container. Another object of the present invention is to provide an antibacterial container that can reduce the amount of a preservative to be contained in a contained liquid, and more preferably can eliminate the need for a preservative. I do.

[0007]

The antibacterial container of the present invention comprises:
In order to achieve the above object, in a container having a container main body having a nozzle and a cap detachably mounted so as to cover the nozzle, the cap comes into contact with an outer surface around a flow hole of the nozzle. A contact portion is provided, and an antimicrobial material is attached to at least the contact portion.

According to the antibacterial container of the present invention, since the antibacterial material is attached to the contact portion of the cap with the nozzle, by attaching the cap, the antibacterial material is placed around the flow hole on the outer surface of the nozzle. The nozzle can be brought into contact, thereby obtaining a bacteriostatic or sterilizing effect on the outer surface of the nozzle. Therefore, even if microorganisms adhere to the outer surface of the nozzle during use, they do not propagate. Therefore, even if the fluid flows out from the nozzle, it is possible to prevent the fluid from being contaminated by microorganisms. At the same time, even if the fluid adhering to the nozzle after use is sucked into the container, microorganisms do not propagate in the nozzle, so the sucked fluid is not contaminated with microorganisms, and the microorganisms are taken into the container together with the fluid. There is no. In addition, since the contact portion is removed together with the cap at the time of use, the discharged fluid does not directly contact the antibacterial material, and it is possible to prevent the antibacterial material from being eluted into the fluid and deteriorating the quality.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the flow hole diameter is 100
When using a nozzle having a diameter of 50 μm or less, particularly 50 μm or less, the passage of microorganisms can be prevented when the outside air is sucked from the nozzle because microorganisms in the outside air are present in a form attached to the aggregate or suspended matter, and Microorganisms that enter the interior of the container from the flow holes can be reduced or eliminated, and preservatives incorporated in the liquid can be reduced or eliminated. Moreover, the blocked microorganisms can be bacteriostatic or sterilized by the antibacterial material at the contact portion by attaching the cap, and do not propagate.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. First, in the present invention, the liquid to be stored in the antibacterial container is a liquid that is likely to be contaminated by microorganisms present in the outside air, for example, a medical solution such as an infusion or an ophthalmic solution that requires a sterile condition, Liquid foods such as drinking water and liquid cosmetics such as lotions. Next, in the antibacterial container of the present invention, the contact portion provided on the cap that covers the nozzle of the container body is a member that comes into contact with the outer surface around the nozzle hole when the cap is attached so as to cover the nozzle. It is. This contact portion may be formed integrally with the cap, or may be formed separately from the cap. When it is formed separately, it is preferable that it is integrally attached to the cap. This is because it is easy to handle when attaching and detaching the cap.

The material for forming the contact portion may be a hard material such as a hard plastic, a metal, a sintered body of a resin or a metal, a ceramic, a ceramic, or the like. , And a material that can be elastically deformed is particularly preferable. Specific examples include urethane, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, other soft plastics, resins such as foamed plastics, woven fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, cotton, and rubber.

The antibacterial material attached to the contact portion is a substance capable of exhibiting a bacteriostatic or bactericidal effect on microorganisms existing in the outside air. Since this antibacterial material comes into contact with the nozzle together with the contact portion, a material that is less toxic to the human body even if it adheres to the nozzle and is dissolved in a liquid is preferable. Specifically, gold, silver, copper, platinum,
Organic compounds such as heavy metals such as zinc and mercury, compounds containing heavy metals such as silver chloride, silver nitrate, mercuric chloride, and organic mercury (hereinafter referred to as heavy metals), biguanite derivatives, and organosilicon quaternary ammonium salts. Any substance can be used as long as it is not a substance such as a compound that is easily soluble in the liquid contained in the container body. Here, the term “easy dissolving” means that the amount of liquid necessary to dissolve 1 g of a solid of an antibacterial material is 30%.
It means having a solubility of less than about ml.

Among the above antibacterial materials, heavy metals themselves can exert bacteriostatic or bactericidal action, and heavy metal ions generated by elution of a very small amount of several ppb to several tens of ppb from the heavy metals are converted into proteins of microorganisms. It has a strong affinity with, can kill microorganisms, and is suitable as the antibacterial material of the present invention.

Among heavy metals, gold, silver, copper, zinc and / or
Alternatively, these compounds, particularly silver / silver compounds, are particularly preferred because of their low toxicity to the human body. As the silver,
For example, metallic silver, colloidal silver, and the like, and examples of the silver compound include silver chloride, silver bromide, and silver halides such as silver iodide.
Examples include silver sulfate, silver phosphate, silver sulfide, silver chlorate, silver silicate, and silver oxide.

In order to adhere the antibacterial material to the contact portion, for example, the contact portion may be formed beforehand integrally or separately from the cap, and then coated with the antibacterial material. The antimicrobial material may be mixed with the material and then applied by molding. In order to coat the contact portion with heavy metals, ion plating is applied to the contact portion formed in advance, and the contact portion formed is immersed in an aqueous solution of a heavy metal salt, added with an alkali solution, heated, and reduced. Then, coating can be performed by a method of depositing on the surface, a method of plating a heavy metal on a contact portion formed in advance, or the like.

In order to mix and form a heavy metal in the material of the contact portion, for example, the material of the contact portion is mixed with a powder of the heavy metal and molded, or further sintered. Is possible. The attached amount of the antibacterial material is not particularly limited as long as at least a bacteriostatic effect can be obtained.

In the antibacterial container of the present invention, the nozzle has at least one or two or more flow holes through which a liquid can pass, and can discharge the liquid from the flow holes. Mean flow pore size
In the case of (1), it is preferable to use a filter having a large number of flow holes in order to secure the flow rate of the fluid.

The flow hole diameter of the nozzle is not particularly limited, but is preferably 100 μm or less, particularly preferably 50 μm, when used for the purpose of preventing the passage of microorganisms.
m or less are preferred. The flow hole diameter can be measured, for example, by a liquid permeation method, a bubble point method, a method of measuring the diameter of a passing fine particle by passing through a fine particle suspension, or the like. This flow hole diameter may be measured by the average flow hole diameter,
When the distribution width of the flow hole diameter is large, it is preferable to measure the maximum flow hole diameter.

Although the size of the microorganisms is usually smaller than 100 μm, since the microorganisms are present in the open air in a state of being attached to the aggregates or suspended matter such as dust which floats in the external air, the flow hole diameter may be 100 μm or less. For example, when the outside air is sucked through the nozzle, a part of the aggregate or suspended matter of the microorganisms in the outside air can be captured. In particular, when the flow hole diameter is 50 μm or less, the aggregate or suspended matter of the microorganisms in the outside air can be almost completely captured. Therefore, in a nozzle having a flow hole diameter of 100 μm or less, even if it invades by natural convection, or sucks outside air after discharging a liquid, etc., it is possible to reduce microbial invasion from the flow hole and suppress microbial contamination, Preservatives to be incorporated into the liquid can be reduced. Further, in a nozzle having a flow hole diameter of 50 μm or less, since microorganisms do not enter from the outside air, once the accommodation room is sterilized, the accommodation room can be maintained in an aseptic state.
Eliminates the need to mix preservatives into the liquid in the containment chamber.

In the case where the liquid is discharged by manually pressing the container wall, such as a container used for medical liquid medicines such as eye drops or liquid cosmetics, the range in which the liquid can pass at a low differential pressure. It is preferable to mount a filter having a flow hole diameter of, for example, 1 μm to 50 μm.

The shape of the nozzle is not particularly limited as long as the outer surface around the flow hole that comes into contact with the fluid can come into contact with the contact portion. The shape of the nozzle is film-like, cloth-like, sheet-like, or plate-like. , Or a solid such as a column, a cone or a polygonal pyramid,
Any of them may be used. The material is, for example, glass fiber,
There is no particular limitation on metals, ceramics, ceramics, natural or synthetic polymers, etc., for example, metal sintered bodies such as brass and stainless steel, ceramic sintered bodies, resin sintered bodies such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, etc. Woven or non-woven fabrics of natural fibers or synthetic fibers, and membrane filters of polycarbonate, polytetrafluoroethylene, cellulose mixed ester, cellulose acetate, and the like. Among them, a sintered body is preferable from the viewpoint of easy production. In addition, even if it is a hydrophilic material, it may be a water-repellent material, but if it is made of a water-repellent material, it is difficult for the liquid to adhere to the nozzle and remain there,
Microorganisms in the outside air can be prevented from migrating to the liquid and passing through the flow path.

When the nozzle is made of a filter substrate through which a liquid can pass, an antibacterial material that is hardly soluble in the liquid is adhered in a solid state, thereby improving the bacteriostatic or sterilizing effect on the nozzle surface. Yes, it is. The antibacterial material that is hardly soluble in liquid is a material that does not dissolve at all or dissolves in a very small amount when it comes into contact with the liquid in a solid state, among the antibacterial materials that can be attached to the contact portion. Specifically, for example,
A material having a solubility such that 1 g of a solid antibacterial material does not dissolve in 10,000 ml or more of the liquid is used.

Next, an embodiment of the antibacterial container of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ophthalmic solution container showing one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ophthalmic solution container, which is a container body 2 made of an elastically deformable material such as polypropylene or polycarbonate, a filter 4 as a nozzle having a plurality of flow holes fixed by a caulking ring 3, and a filter 4 And a cap 7 screwed to the container body 2 so as to cover the container. A rubber contact portion 8 is fitted inside the cap 7 and elastically deforms and contacts the entire outer surface 4a of the filter 4.
Metal silver is adhered to the inner wall surface of the contact portion 8. The contact portion is immersed in an aqueous solution of silver nitrate, and an alkali solution is added thereto to reduce silver ions, thereby depositing silver as a solid.

The filter 4 is formed by adhering metallic silver to the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene sintered body in the same manner as described above. The pore size is 50 μm or less.
The filter 4 has one end 4e inserted into the opening 2a of the container main body 2 and is air-tightly fixed to the container main body 2 in a state where the flange 4f is in air-tight contact with the seal member 2s. Further, the storage chamber 5 of the container main body 2 is filled with an eye drop 6 sterilized by filtration after the container main body 2 and the filter 4 are sterilized by an electron beam. This eye drop 6 does not contain a preservative. In such an ophthalmic solution container 1, the eye drops can be performed in the same manner as in the related art. The container 1 is turned downward, and the container wall is pressed to elastically deform the container 5 so that the container 5 is pressurized. It can be performed by flowing out the ophthalmic solution 6 inside.

When used for eye drops, the filter 4 covered by the cap in a sterilized state is exposed to the outside air.
Furthermore, the microorganism may adhere to the surface of the filter 4 due to contact with the patient's hand or the conjunctiva. However, according to this ophthalmic solution container, since the silver adheres to the contact portion 8 attached to the cap 7, the cap 4 is removed after use.
When the filter 4 is attached to the filter 4, the silver can be brought into contact with the outer surface of the filter 4. At this time, the contact portion 8
Is made of rubber, which is an elastic body, so that the elastic force of the silver makes good contact with the entire outer surface of the filter 4. Therefore, the outer surface of the filter 4 can be bacteriostatic or sterilized by the silver solid and the silver ions eluted in a trace amount. Moreover, in this ophthalmic solution container, silver is also present in the filter 4, so that a more bacteriostatic or sterilizing action can be obtained. Therefore, the microorganisms adhering to the outer surface of the filter 4 during use do not propagate, and are not contaminated by the microorganisms even if the eye drop comes into contact with the outer surface of the filter 4 at the time of eye drops.

After the instillation is completed and before the cap 7 is attached,
When the container body 2 is restored by the elastic force, the ophthalmic solution 6 remaining on the tip of the filter 4 at the time of instillation is sucked and taken into the storage chamber 5. 4 Ophthalmic solution in contact with the outer surface 6
Room for containing microorganisms along with eye drops remaining after
It does not take in 5.

Further, when the container body 2 is restored, the outside air is also sucked. However, since the flow hole diameter of the filter 4 is 50 μm or less, the microorganisms adhering to the suspended matter in the outside air are captured and removed by the filter 4. And microorganisms are hardly taken into the accommodation room 5 together with the air.
Therefore, the container and eye drops 6 are sterilized during manufacture,
Moreover, since the microorganisms are not taken into the container even after opening, even if the preservative is not added to the ophthalmic solution 6, there is no possibility that the ophthalmic solution in the container body 2 is contaminated by the microorganisms. It can be used repeatedly for a long period of time when microorganisms can reproduce. In addition, since no preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride and parabens are blended, the ophthalmic solution 6 does not cause any side effects due to the conventional preservative.

Since the contact portion 8 is removed together with the cap 7 at the time of instillation, even if a substance having some solubility in an ophthalmic solution is used instead of silver as the antibacterial material of the contact portion 7, the ophthalmic solution is used. Since there is no direct contact with the liquid, there is no possibility that the antibacterial material is eluted in the dropped ophthalmic solution to deteriorate the quality.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an ophthalmic solution container according to another embodiment. This container is the same as FIG. 1 except that a nozzle 9 having one large-diameter flow hole 9a is used instead of using a porous filter as a nozzle. Even in the eyedropper having such a configuration, the contact portion 8 can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the flow hole 9a of the nozzle 9 by attaching the cap 7, so that the bacteriostatic or sterilizing effect of this outer surface by silver is provided. Is obtained. Therefore, at the time of use, even if bacteria adhere to the outer surface of the nozzle, it does not propagate, and even if the ophthalmic solution comes into contact with the outer surface of the nozzle and flows out, there is no contamination by microorganisms.

[0030]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Examples Three antimicrobial containers using a filter having a pore size of 50 μm to which silver was not adhered as shown in FIG. 1 were used in common, and three example containers (container 1) having silver adhered to the contact portion were used.
3) and the comparative container to which silver was not adhered, the bacteriostatic or sterilizing effect of the contact portion was measured. The container was used after being sterilized by an autoclave at 120 ° C. for 30 minutes. First, 5
Contains normal broth diluted 1:00, E. coli concentration 10
^The cells were brought into contact with a bacterial solution prepared at ⁵ cfu / ml, lightly removed of water, fitted with a cap, and stored at a temperature of 35 ° C. for 24 hours. Next, the outer surface of the filter was stamped on an agar medium, cultured at 35 ° C. for 5 hours, and the number of viable bacteria on the outer surface of the filter after storage was measured. Table 1 shows the results.

[0031]

[Table 1]

[0032]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, in a container provided with a container body having a nozzle and a cap detachably mounted so as to cover the nozzle, the cap is provided with the nozzle The contact portion that comes into contact with the outer surface around the flow hole is provided, and the antibacterial material is attached to at least the contact portion. It is possible,
As a result, a bacteriostatic or sterilizing effect on the outer surface of the nozzle is obtained, so that propagation of microorganisms can be prevented, and microbial contamination of the fluid to be discharged can be prevented. Further, according to the present invention, when a nozzle having a flow hole diameter capable of preventing passage of microorganisms is used, the passage of microorganisms when suctioning outside air from the nozzles can be prevented, and the number of microorganisms entering the container can be reduced or eliminated. Can,
Preservatives incorporated into the liquid can be reduced or eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ophthalmic solution container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an ophthalmic solution container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ophthalmic solution container 2 Container main body 3 Caulking ring 4 Antibacterial filter 5 Storage room 6 Ophthalmic solution 7 Cap 8 Contact part

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A container comprising: a container main body having a nozzle; and a cap detachably mounted so as to cover the nozzle, wherein a contact portion for contacting the cap with an outer surface around a flow hole of the nozzle. Wherein an antimicrobial material is adhered to at least the contact portion. 2. The antibacterial container according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle comprises a filter having a large number of flow holes. 3. The antibacterial according to claim 1, wherein the filter is formed by attaching an antibacterial material that is hardly soluble in the liquid in a solid state to a filter base through which the liquid can pass. Sex container. 4. The antibacterial container according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a flow hole diameter of 100 μm or less. 5. The antibacterial container according to claim 4, wherein a flow hole diameter of the nozzle is 50 μm or less. 6. The antimicrobial container according to claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial material is a heavy metal and / or a heavy metal compound. 7. The antibacterial container according to claim 6, wherein the heavy metal and / or heavy metal compound is silver and / or a silver compound. 8. The antibacterial container according to claim 1, wherein a contact portion in contact with the nozzle is deformed into a shape corresponding to an outer surface of the nozzle. 9. The antibacterial container according to claim 1, wherein the container body has an elastically deformable container wall. 10. The antimicrobial container according to claim 1, wherein the antimicrobial container is an ophthalmic solution container or a cosmetic container.