JP2001214326A - FIBER OR FIBER PRODUCT HAVING pH ADJUSTING FUNCTION - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a fiber or a fiber product which can control proliferation of bacteria producing acid or alkali, suppress occurrence of acidic or alkali substance on the skin or in the vicinity of the skin and keep pH constant, has pH approximately in a neutral range in an ordinary state and a slight influence on the skin. SOLUTION: A polymer is kneaded with an inhibitor against proliferation of bacterial such as silver/zinc-containing zeolite and made into a fiber or the inhibitor is attached to the surface of the fiber by using a binder. Consequently, a fiber or a fiber product which suppresses proliferation of bacteria decomposing sweat, urine or feces discharged from the human body, controls occurrence of an acidic or alkali substance produced in the decomposition and has pH adjustment function for keeping pH on the surface of the skin in an approximately neutral range is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fiber or a fiber product which is less irritating to the skin during use and has the ability to constantly maintain a constant pH.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various studies and tests have shown that the skin of the human body is maintained in a weakly acidic state and is considered to be in the best condition for health. However, the human body sweats during normal life due to sweating or the like. There are countless bacteria on the surface of the human skin and on the clothes worn, which turn the waste products in the sweat into nutrients and multiply by breaking them down. And these bacteria decompose the waste products of sweat and proliferate,
As a by-product, an alkaline substance such as ammonia or an acidic substance such as acetic acid is produced. As a result, the skin surface and its vicinity become acidic or alkaline. This is also true for urination and defecation. As a result, the optimal pH balance for the human body is lost, which may cause "rash" or "eczema" on the skin. Such problems are significant for infants, bedridden elderly people, or patients with atopic dermatitis.

Conventionally, as such a measure, a method of maintaining a pH by utilizing a neutralization reaction with respect to an acid or an alkali has been used. In other words, in applications where the generation of highly alkaline substances is a concern, the surface of the textile is treated with an acidic substance in advance, so that when an alkaline substance is generated, the pH is maintained by a neutralization reaction. Met. In the case of acidity, the opposite process is performed.

[0004] In this method, the pH is maintained at a constant level. However, considering that no sweat is taken, the fiber surface is kept more acidic or alkaline than the skin surface. There is a concern that the drug may affect the skin.
These substances are effective only when acids and alkalis are produced by the activity of bacteria and the like. Otherwise, they do not necessarily adversely affect the skin.
In addition, when an acidic substance and an alkaline substance coexist, there is a problem that it is difficult to cope with the problem.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention suppresses the growth of bacteria that produce acids and alkalis, and suppresses the generation of acidic and alkaline substances in and near the skin. By doing so, it is intended to maintain the pH constant, and in a normal state, to provide a fiber or a fiber product in which the pH is substantially in a neutral range and has little effect on the skin.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the fiber or the fiber product having a pH adjusting function of the present invention suppresses the growth of bacteria, which decompose sweat, urine or stool generated from the human body, and degrade it. It is characterized in that the pH of the skin surface is maintained in a substantially neutral range by suppressing the generation of an acid or an alkaline substance sometimes produced.

In the above method, a fiber or a fiber product provided with a certain concentration of an agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is placed in a phosphate buffer, and the initial number of bacteria (A) is added.
(B) is always (A)>
It is preferable that the relationship of (B) be established.

[0008] In the above, it is preferable that the agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is kneaded in the fiber at a constant concentration.

In the above, it is preferable that an agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is attached to the fiber surface with a binder resin.

In the above, it is preferable that the agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight based on the weight of the fiber.

[0011] These agents are used in an amount of 0.1% based on the fiber weight.
It is desirable to use it by adding 1 to 10% by weight, more preferably 0.5 to 3% by weight. If the amount is less than 0.1% by weight, the effect of suppressing growth is small and the object cannot be achieved.
On the other hand, if the content exceeds 10% by weight, the cost of the drug becomes large and there is a risk of various adverse effects of the drug, which is not preferable.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION On the surface of skin, there are countless "skins resident on the skin" such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These fungi use their many wastes and other substances released from the human body as nutrients to grow and die. Typical of this waste are sweat and urine. These are representatives of waste products that are released outside the human body in the course of living by humans not suffering from a specific disease. "Skin-resident fungi" decompose these wastes and use them as nutrients for growth, at which time substances such as ammonia and acetic acid are produced as by-products. This is absorbed by the water present in the vicinity and becomes an acid or alkali, which affects the pH of the surface of the skin in contact. As a result, the skin may show symptoms of skin diseases such as "rash" and "eczema". Waste products released from the human body are in the range of pH = 6.5 to 7.5 as judged from pH, and are almost neutral. The surface of the human body has a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 in the case of a healthy person.
The range is slightly acidic. Therefore, even when ordinary waste products adhere to the skin, the pH does not significantly change.
The problem is acidification or alkalinization due to the growth of bacteria that decompose waste products contained in sweat and urine.

The present inventor has proposed a method for preventing this,
We considered whether it would be better to suppress the growth of bacteria and studied. As a result, by applying a process to suppress the growth of bacteria to textiles that come into contact with sweat and urine, the pH hardly changes, and in this method, since there is no substance produced, the surface of the textiles is Because it is not necessary to consider the acid and alkali substances produced by bacteria, the surface of the textile is maintained in a nearly neutral state, and there is no significant effect on the skin even in the absence of sweat or urine. Can be used with less.

Examples of the substance used to suppress the growth of bacteria used herein include inorganic substances such as metal-containing ceramics (silver zeolite, silver zirconium phosphate, silver silica gel, etc.) and fine metal powders. Examples of such substances include biguanite-based polyhexamethylene biguanite hydrochloride, imidazole-based thiazol, benzothiazole, and the like.
Hinokitiol and catechin. Since there are so many kinds of these substances, all of the drugs meeting the following criteria are included as drugs meeting the purpose of the present invention.
(1) Test method: Phosphate buffer solution (34 g of potassium phosphate was dissolved in 500 ml of purified water, and
175 ml of an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution was added to adjust the pH to 7.
2) and 800 ml of purified water
Was added to the culture solution, and bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, etc.) cultured in another medium were 1.5 to 3 × 10 ⁵
Add 5 ml of pieces / ml. The teaching of bacteria at this time is defined as (A). Six such flasks were prepared, and a dough processed for suppressing bacterial growth and an untreated dough were each 1 cm × 1 cm.
After being collected and thrown into three pieces, the mixture is stirred for 1 hour. Then, each solution is collected, and the bacteria are measured on a pour plate. The teaching of bacteria at this time is (B). (2) Judgment;
It is important that "the number of bacteria does not increase". That is, "the bacteria do not grow". To do this,
The result of the above test must always be (A)> (B), and a drug that meets this condition satisfies this formula.

The drug selected in this manner may be kneaded into the vertebrae, or may be kneaded with a binder resin having a strong adhesive effect with the fiber material and subjected to an adhesion treatment. Furthermore, as the fiber material used, natural fibers such as cotton and wool,
Synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, rayon,
It can also be applied to semi-synthetic fibers such as acetate. The use form is used as a fiber itself, or as a form of a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or the like. Of course, it may be processed after forming into a woven or knitted fabric.

[0016] The fiber or fiber product of the present invention comprises a diaper,
Diaper covers, pads (sanitary products), underwear, shirts, pants, sports clothing, towels, pajamas, negligees,
The present invention can be applied to uses that come into direct or indirect contact with the skin, such as sleepwear, sheets, pillowcases, futon covers, and socks.

[0017]

The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the following examples.

A silver / zinc-containing zeolite (trade name: "Zeomic" manufactured by Shinagawa Fuel Co., Ltd.) is used as a bacterial growth inhibitor. , Spin-draw-heat-treat, cut and cut into short fibers (fineness: 1.7 dtx, fiber length: 38 m)
m). After 100% of the fiber was used and opened through a card, a web was prepared, and then a nonwoven fabric was trial-produced by the needle punch method (100 g / m ² ).

A needle-punched nonwoven fabric (same standard) using a polyester fiber (same standard) containing no bacterial growth inhibitor was produced as a comparative example. The results of the above-described growth inhibition test of each nonwoven fabric were as shown in Table 1 below.

[0020]

[Table 1]

Test bacteria <Proteus m.
irabilis)>, on which each nonwoven was placed in contact with the medium. Then store at 35 ° C.
At 0, 2, 6, 24, and 48 hours, the pH of the urea medium was measured. The results were as shown in Table 2 below.

[0022]

[Table 2]

From the above, it is judged that urea is decomposed by the urea-decomposing bacterium to produce ammonia in the fiber containing no bacterial growth inhibitor, and this ammonia is dissolved in the culture medium and becomes alkaline. However, it is judged that the fiber containing the bacterial growth inhibitor did not generate ammonia and did not change the pH in order to suppress the growth of bacteria. In this way, a pH-controlling fiber product was obtained.

[0024]

As described above, the present invention suppresses the growth of bacteria that decompose sweat, urine or stool generated from the human body, suppresses the generation of acids or alkaline substances produced during decomposition, By using fibers or textiles that have a pH adjusting function to keep the pH of the surface almost in the neutral range, the growth of bacteria that produce acids and alkalis can be suppressed, and acidic and alkaline substances can be suppressed in the skin and near the skin. Generation can be suppressed and the pH can be kept constant. In a normal state, the pH is almost in the neutral range, and has little effect on the skin.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C01B 39/06 C01B 39/06 4L048 D06M 11/79 D03D 15/00 A // D03D 15/00 D06M 11 / 12 D04H 1/42 TF term (reference) 4G073 BA49 BA52 BB71 BD19 CZ01 DZ05 FD01 UB22 UB33 4H011 AA02 BA01 BB18 BC19 BC23 DA10 DC05 DC10 DC11 DG01 DH04 4L031 AB01 BA04 BA09 CA08 DA00 DA12 DA13 4L0 EB04A20 BA03 CC01 CC04 CC05 CC06 4L048 AA20 AA42 AA56 AB01 AC00 CA00 DA01 EB00

Claims (5)

[Claims] The present invention suppresses the growth of bacteria that decompose sweat, urine, or stool generated from the human body, and suppresses the generation of acids or alkaline substances produced during decomposition, thereby making the pH of the skin surface substantially neutral. A fiber or a fiber product having a pH adjusting function, characterized in that the fiber or the fiber product is maintained in the range of 2. A fiber or fiber product provided with a certain concentration of an agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is placed in a phosphate buffer, and the initial number of bacteria (A) is added, followed by culturing at 35 ° C. for 18 hours. 2. The fiber or fiber product according to claim 1, wherein the number of bacteria (B) of the fibers always satisfies the relationship of (A)> (B). 3. The fiber or fiber product according to claim 1, wherein the agent for suppressing the growth of bacteria is kneaded in a fiber having a constant concentration. 4. The fiber or fiber product according to claim 1, wherein the agent for suppressing bacterial growth is attached to the fiber surface with a binder resin. 5. The fiber or fiber product according to claim 1, wherein the agent for suppressing bacterial growth is present in an amount of 0.1 to 10% by weight based on the weight of the fiber.