JP2007159871A - Treatment method of stratum corneum - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treatment method easily applying a certain damage to the stratum corneum by a method using a blade, and a skin damaging tool for use in the treatment method. <P>SOLUTION: This treatment method of the stratum corneum fixes the skin by sticking with an adhesive tape using the skin damaging tool, which consists of at least three constitutions, a holder 2 sticking the adhesive tape 1 to the stratum corneum to be damaged and fixing the skin surface, a slider 3 installed to move in the holder in a certain direction, and the blade provided in a position on the slider facing the skin surface; and slides the blade along the holder. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a stratum corneum treatment method and a skin damage jig used in the treatment method.

  When administering a drug transdermally, it is necessary for the drug to pass through the skin. The skin is divided into three layers, epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue, and has a complex structure. In particular, the stratum corneum is on the outermost side of the epidermis and serves as a barrier that protects the body's interior from external stimuli. Although the stratum corneum is a very thin film, it is very useful as a strong barrier layer, but it has been pointed out that it is an obstacle to transdermal administration, and there is a way to damage this stratum corneum. Many have been proposed.

  Furthermore, in order to stimulate Langerhans cells, which are a large number of dendritic cells present on the skin surface, to activate killer T cells that specifically recognize and kill virus-infected cells and cancer cells It has been reported that it is better to physically or chemically destroy the epidermal stratum corneum, which is an initial barrier against the skin, and a method for damaging the epidermal stratum corneum has also been attempted in this case (Patent Document 1).

  Examples of the method for damaging the stratum corneum include a method of removing sebum that forms the stratum corneum with an organic solvent such as acetone, or a method of mechanically destroying the stratum corneum. A method of repeating the operation of peeling after the adhesion to the surface of the epidermal stratum corneum (hereinafter also referred to as “tape stripping”) is known. For example, a method of damaging the skin without pain and bleeding of the user is disclosed by comprising a tape base material and an adhesive layer, such as a tape for collecting skin epidermis, and adjusting the adhesive strength to 10 to 50 N / 25 mm (Patent Document 2). In addition, a method of holding a needle and making a certain hole in the skin, such as a stratum corneum puncture device, has been developed (Patent Document 3).

  On the other hand, skin can be easily damaged by using a blade. However, when using a blade to damage the skin, the skin is fluid, and it has been difficult to cause constant damage to the skin as in the above-described tape stripping and apparatus methods.

In addition, as a stratum corneum treatment method that damages the stratum corneum more easily by a method using a blade, a holder for fixing the skin surface, and a slider installed so as to move in a certain direction in the holder An application has already been filed for a skin damage jig comprising at least three blades provided at a position facing the skin surface of the slider (Patent Document 4). However, in this method, the fixed skin may rise, and it is difficult to move the blade at a certain depth.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-316585 JP 2001-161697 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-328168 JP 2005-323695 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a stratum corneum treatment method that easily and easily damages the stratum corneum by a method using a blade. Yet another object is to provide a skin damage jig for use in the treatment method.

  As a result of intensive research in order to achieve the above object, the present inventors first applied an adhesive tape to the stratum corneum that can provide skin damage, a holder for fixing the skin surface, and a fixed direction in the holder. Fixing the skin to which the adhesive tape has been applied using a skin damage jig comprising at least three components: a slider installed to move to the blade and a blade provided at a position facing the skin surface of the slider; It has been found that if the blade is slid along the holder, a certain amount of damage can be caused on the fixed skin under certain conditions, and the present invention has been completed.

That is, this invention consists of the following.
1. A step of applying an adhesive tape to a stratum corneum capable of providing skin damage, a holder for fixing the skin surface to which the adhesive tape is applied, a slider installed so as to move in a certain direction along the holder, and the slider A method for treating a stratum corneum comprising a step of using a skin damage jig comprising a blade provided at a position facing the skin surface.
2. 2. The processing method according to item 1, wherein a skin damage jig is used in which at least one side of the holder is linear and the slider is installed so as to move along at least one side of the holder.
3. 3. The processing method according to item 1 or 2 above, wherein a skin damage jig holder is placed on the skin to fix the skin surface, and the blade provided on the slider is moved together with the slider.
4). 4. The processing method according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein a blade provided on the slider is 200 μm or less.
5. The skin damage jig | tool of the skin used for the processing method of any one of the preceding clauses 1-4.

  Because the stratum corneum treatment method and the skin damage jig used in the treatment method can easily and consistently damage the stratum corneum, it is not necessary to perform the same operation many times like tape stripping. . In addition, the wound obtained by the method of the present invention is a linear wound having a certain length, and the damaged portion is larger than the pinpoint wound caused by puncture, and the damaged area is minimized as compared with tape stripping. It is possible to minimize the amount of treatment, and the most effective treatment such as transdermal drug administration can be performed. In addition, since the tape for fixing the skin is finally peeled off, the stratum corneum is also peeled off, which is more effective for skin damage.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. However, these drawings are examples showing the contents of the present invention symbolically, and the present invention is not limited to these.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the skin damage jig of the present invention has a holder (2) for fixing a skin surface (4) to which an adhesive tape (1) is applied, and moves in a fixed direction within the holder. The adhesive (1) for fixing the skin surface (4) is composed of at least three components: a slider (3) installed in this way and a blade (5) provided at a position facing the skin surface of the slider. It is necessary separately.

  The holder of the skin damage jig of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can planarly fix the skin to which the adhesive tape is applied, and its shape, material and size are not particularly limited. Here, fixing the skin to which the adhesive tape is applied in a plane means that the skin can be fixed in a plane obtained by the xy axis as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, for example. Therefore, the holder needs to have a planar structure with respect to the xy axis direction. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the holder may have a shape like a frame made of a rectangular shape, or may have a circular shape or other shapes. If the skin is damaged by a jig such as a cutter that cannot fix the skin flatly, the skin moves freely to some extent without being fixed, and it is difficult to cause constant damage to the skin. The holder needs to be able to move the blade along the holder while fixing the skin to which the adhesive tape is applied. In order to move the blade protruding on the lower surface of the z-axis under a certain condition, it is necessary to provide a slider that can be moved under a certain condition, not directly along the holder.

  The slider provided in the skin damage jig of the present invention may be slid along the part of the holder, for example, in the y-axis direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, such a slider can be provided inside a holder having a frame shape, or can be provided so as to be slidable along the outside of the holder. However, in order to slide the blade more reliably under certain conditions in accordance with the object of the present invention, it is preferable to have a structure that can slide the inside of the fixed frame.

  In order to easily cause constant skin damage under certain conditions, the position of the holder on which the slider slides is preferably linear. Such a linear structure may be at least one place, and may be a plurality of places. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is possible to provide a linear structure portion in parallel inside the holder, and to provide a slider between the parallel linear structures to slide the slider. For example, the size inside the framework of FIG. 2 can be determined according to the desired skin damage magnitude. To make the slider easy to slide, the holder or the slider may have a structure such as an unevenness, or the slider may have a structure like a knob.

  The material of the skin damage jig of the present invention, in particular, the material of the holder and the slider is not limited, but the fixed part in the z-axis direction is also accompanied by the blade part (5), so the user slides the blade in the y-axis direction with the user's finger. It is necessary to be able to make it happen. Specifically, for example, the maximum pressing force of a human with a finger is about 2 kgf, so the force applied to the entire skin is preferably 2 kgf, more preferably 1 to 2 kgf. This is because the force applied to the skin per unit area varies depending on the fixed area, but the smaller the area for fixing the skin and the greater the force applied to the skin, the more easily the skin is damaged.

  The material of the holder and the slider used for such a purpose is preferably a hydrophobic polymer material that can be easily molded, and for example, a synthetic resin can be used. Specifically, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene phthalate, polycarbonate or the like is preferably exemplified. Further, in order to secure the fixation of the skin, an adhesive substance or the like can be applied to a position where it contacts the support of the adhesive tape affixed to the skin of the holder. Such an adhesive substance is not particularly limited as long as the adhesive force is sufficient. Further, the blade material that damages the skin is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that can be used for the purpose of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the blade of the skin damage jig of the present invention can be provided in the z-axis direction at a position facing the skin surface of the slider. The size of the blade can be determined according to the size of the desired skin damage. The purpose of the skin damage of the present invention is to remove a stratum corneum that becomes a barrier with a desired size at a desired position in order to administer a drug percutaneously. The blade need not be sized to reach the damage. If even the stratum corneum can be injured, it can be processed efficiently without causing side effects such as pain or bleeding even if the skin is damaged. The length of the blade that does not cause such side effects is preferably 200 μm or less, and more preferably 20 μm to 150 μm.

  The number of blades (5) used in the skin damage jig of the present invention is not particularly limited. If it is desired to increase the area to be damaged, the blades may be arranged in a row in the x-axis direction, or may be arranged in a plurality of rows in the y-axis direction. However, two or more blades must not be arranged on the same y-axis. This is because the same part is damaged twice or more, the skin is seriously damaged, and the user feels pain.

  The adhesive tape used for the skin damage jig | tool of this invention is a medical tape, and if it can fix skin, it will not specifically limit. However, since the degree of skin damage differs depending on the thickness of the adhesive tape, the thickness of the adhesive tape is preferably 50 μm or less. In addition, the adhesive tape of the present invention preferably has a sufficient skin adhesive force, does not cause keratin damage by the adhesive, and does not induce skin irritation. Specifically, the medical adhesive described in Japanese Patent No. 2359330 can be used.

Using the skin damage jig of the present invention, the skin can be damaged by the following treatment method.
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the adhesive tape (1) is affixed to the position (4) of the skin where the wound is to be provided, and the skin damage jig of the present invention is placed thereon. Fix the holder (2) and apply a certain force to move the slider (3) in the y-axis direction. The blade (5) provided under the slider (3) moves in the y-axis direction together with the slider (3), has a desired length, and can provide a scratch with a desired depth.

  As explained above, the stratum corneum of the skin can be damaged very easily by the skin damage jig of the present invention. For example, when a patch containing a drug is applied to the wound given by the treatment method of the present invention, even if the drug has a molecular weight that cannot pass through the stratum corneum, a transdermal therapeutic method can be easily applied. it can. Furthermore, the stratum corneum damage treatment of the present invention can stimulate, for example, a large number of epidermal Langerhans cells residing in the skin epidermis, and can also be applied to immunological treatment methods for virus-infected cells and the like.

1 is an overall view of a skin damage jig of the present invention. It is a top view of the skin damage jig | tool of this invention. It is a side view of the skin damage jig | tool of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Adhesive Tape 2 Holder 3 Slider 4 Skin 5 Blade

Claims (5)

A step of applying an adhesive tape to a stratum corneum capable of providing skin damage, a holder for fixing the skin surface to which the adhesive tape is applied, a slider installed to move in a certain direction along the holder, and the slider A method for treating a stratum corneum comprising a step of using a skin damage jig comprising a blade provided at a position facing the skin surface. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein a skin damage jig is used in which at least one side of the inner side of the holder is linear, and the slider is installed so as to move along at least one side of the linear shape of the holder. The processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a skin damage jig holder is placed on the skin to fix the skin surface, and a blade provided on the slider is moved together with the slider. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein the blade provided on the slider is 200 μm or less. The skin damage jig | tool of the skin used for the processing method of any one of Claims 1-4.

Images