JP2017053703A - Measuring instrument and measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a measuring instrument and a measuring method capable of simply measuring an accretion on a contact lens while keeping cost increase down.SOLUTION: In a measuring instrument 1 used when an accretion accreted to a contact lens 100 is measured by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, metal nanoparticles M for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy are formed on a contact surface in contact with the contact lens 100 in the state of holding the contact lens 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a measuring instrument and a measuring method used when measuring an adhering substance adhering to a contact lens by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

  Conventionally, in the life science field, there has been an increasing demand for more easily diagnosing the health status of subjects, and one of them is diagnosing health status based on the substances attached to contact lenses worn by subjects. Research is underway on technologies to do this.

  Further, in order to meet the demand for making a simpler diagnosis as described above, a technique for more easily measuring the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens is indispensable, and various studies are being conducted.

  For example, a measurement method using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted attention as one technique for measuring a substance adhering to a contact lens (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As another method, a measurement method in which a contact lens is provided with a circuit such as an electrode to measure glucose as an adhering substance has been proposed (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

JP2013-142546A

Yoshitaka Hiranuma and 6 others, “Contact Lens Glucose Sensor for Tear Sugar Measurement Using High-Performance Polymer Materials” Outline of the 44th Academic Lecture Meeting, Nihon University College of Production Engineering (2011-12-3), pages 815-816

  However, the prior art has the following problems.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the adhesion substance of a contact lens is measured by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, the adhesion substance of the contact lens is dissolved in a solution, and the solution is used as a metal nanoparticle for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy ( Hereinafter, after being dropped on a flat substrate on which metal nanoparticles are suitably described), measurement is performed by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. For this reason, there is a problem that the preparations up to the measurement are complicated.

  On the other hand, as disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, when an attached substance is measured using a dedicated contact lens incorporating a circuit, the measurement work becomes simple, but the manufacturing cost of the dedicated contact lens incorporating the circuit is reduced. Is very high, and this dedicated contact lens is consumed every time it is measured, so there is a problem that the cost of consumables associated with the measurement increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a measurement instrument and a measurement method capable of more easily measuring a substance attached to a contact lens while suppressing an increase in cost. Objective.

  A first feature of the present invention is a measuring instrument used when measuring an adhering substance adhering to a contact lens by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and contacts the contact lens while holding the contact lens. The gist is that metal nanoparticles for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy are formed on the contact surface.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the metal nanoparticle according to the above aspect, comprising: a first substrate on which the contact lens is disposed; and a second substrate that presses the contact lens disposed on the first substrate. Is formed on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate.

  The third feature of the present invention relates to the above feature, and one of the first substrate and the second substrate is characterized in that the contact surface is curved in a convex shape.

  A fourth feature of the present invention is related to the above feature, and is summarized in that the other of the first substrate and the second substrate has a curved contact surface.

  A fifth feature of the present invention relates to the above feature, wherein at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate transmits light having a specific wavelength in a wavelength band of 380 nm to 2000 nm. The gist is that it is made of a member having a rate of at least 50%.

  A sixth feature of the present invention includes a step of measuring an adhering substance adhering to the contact lens by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using a measurement instrument that holds the contact lens, and the measurement instrument includes: The gist is that metal nanoparticles for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy are formed on a contact surface that contacts the contact lens while holding the contact lens.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the measuring instrument and measuring method which can measure the adhesion substance of a contact lens more simply can be provided, suppressing the increase in cost.

It is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a measuring instrument concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing along the AA line of FIG. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the instrument for a measurement concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the measuring method which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the Raman spectrum measured in the Example of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the instrument for a measurement which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the instrument for a measurement which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the instrument for a measurement which concerns on this invention. (B) It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the instrument for a measurement which concerns on this invention. (C) It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the instrument for a measurement which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment of the present invention]
(Configuration of measuring instrument)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the planar direction of the measuring instrument 1 is defined as the X direction and the Y direction, and the thickness direction of the measuring instrument 1 is defined as the Z direction. The X direction and the Y direction are horizontal directions, and the Z direction is a vertical direction.

  The measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is used when measuring an adhering substance adhering to the contact lens 100 by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Note that the measuring instrument 1 has a function as a substrate when the contact lens 100 is measured.

  Specifically, the measuring instrument 1 includes a first substrate 10 on which the contact lens 100 is disposed, and a second substrate 20 that presses the contact lens 100 disposed on the first substrate 10. The measuring instrument 1 holds the contact lens 100 by being sandwiched between the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20.

  The measurement instrument 1 has surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic metal nanoparticles M (hereinafter, appropriately described as metal nanoparticles M) formed on a contact surface that contacts the contact lens 100 while holding the contact lens 100. (See FIGS. 2 to 3).

  In the measuring instrument 1, the excitation light L <b> 1 irradiated from the light emitter 40 is irradiated to the metal nanoparticles M contacting the contact lens 100 while holding the contact lens 100. The Raman scattered light L2 emitted by the excitation light L1 is received by the light receiver 50. The Raman scattered light L2 received by the light receiver 50 is analyzed as a Raman spectrum. Thereafter, the Raman spectrum is analyzed by another device (not shown) such as a spectroscope or an analysis device, and the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens 100 is identified.

  Next, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 will be specifically described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the measuring instrument 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the first substrate 10 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first substrate 10 is configured in a plate shape and has a recess 11 in which the contact lens 100 is disposed in the central portion. The second substrate 20 is configured in a spherical shape. The size of the second substrate 20 is a size that can be accommodated in the recess 11 of the first substrate 10.

  The diameter φ11 of the recess 11 of the first substrate 10 is larger than the diameter φ100 of the contact lens 100. The diameter φ20 of the second substrate 20 is smaller than the diameter φ100 of the contact lens 100. That is, the relationship of φ11> φ100> φ20 is satisfied. The diameter φ11 and the diameter φ20 may be selected according to the diameter φ100 of the contact lens 100 to be measured.

  In the first substrate 10, the surface of the recess 11 has a contact surface 11a. For this reason, the contact surface 11a curves in a concave shape. The contact surface 11 a of the concave portion 11 of the first substrate 10 is in contact with the convex surface of the contact lens 100. On the other hand, the second substrate 20 is formed in a spherical shape. For this reason, the contact surface 20a which contacts the contact lens 100 is curved in a convex shape.

  The radius of curvature R1 of the contact surface 11a of the first substrate 10 is greater than or equal to the radius of curvature R3 of the contact lens 100. For example, the curvature radius R1 may be 10 mm. The curvature radius R2 of the contact surface 20a of the second substrate 20 is equal to or less than the curvature radius R3 of the contact lens 100. That is, the relationship of R1 ≧ R3 ≧ R2 is satisfied. Note that the relationship of R1> R3> R2 may be satisfied.

  In the present embodiment, at least one of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 is made of a transparent member.

  In the present embodiment, the transparent member that is the material of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 is generally a transparent member at a wavelength used for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. For example, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may be made of glass, resin such as plastic or silicon, and other arbitrary members. In the present embodiment, “transparent” means that the transmittance is 50% or more for light of a specific wavelength in a wavelength band of 380 nm to 2000 nm. The light transmittance of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 is more preferably 80% or more. The light transmittance of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the thickness.

  The second substrate 20 is disposed above the contact lens 100 in the Z direction with the contact lens 100 disposed on the first substrate 10. The second substrate 20 presses the contact lens 100 toward the first substrate 10 by its own weight (for example, 10 g).

  In the first substrate 10, metal nanoparticles M are formed on the contact surface 11 a that contacts the contact lens 100.

  The metal which comprises the metal nanoparticle M is noble metals, such as gold | metal | money, silver, platinum, for example. As long as the metal which comprises the metal nanoparticle M is a thing which has surface enhancement Raman scattering activity, what kind of metal may be applied. Moreover, as a method for forming the metal nanoparticles M, for example, the following method can be applied.

  First, silica nanoparticles having a particle size of 50 to 500 nm are adsorbed on the contact surface 11 a of the first substrate 10. The method for adsorbing silica nanoparticles can be appropriately performed depending on the material of the first substrate 10. For example, after forming a gold thin film on the contact surface 11 a of the first substrate 10 by vacuum deposition or plating, the silica nanoparticles are adsorbed. You may let them. Thereby, silica nanoparticles can be easily adsorbed.

  Next, gold or silver having a thickness of 5 to 500 nm is coated on a part of the silica nanoparticles in a hat shape by a vacuum deposition method, thereby forming noble metal hat-like nanoparticles on the contact surface 11a of the first substrate 10.

  In the above example, the method of forming noble metal cap-shaped nanoparticles as the metal nanoparticles M is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the metal nanoparticles M may be formed by adsorbing nanoparticles made of a noble metal to the contact surface 11 a of the first substrate 10.

  In the present embodiment, the metal nanoparticles M are formed on the first substrate 10, but the metal nanoparticles M may be formed on at least one of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. Specifically, the metal nanoparticles M may be formed on at least one of the contact surface 11 a of the first substrate 10 and the contact surface 20 a of the second substrate 20.

(Measuring method)
Next, a measuring method using the measuring instrument 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the measurement method.

  In step S10, the measuring instrument 1 is prepared. Specifically, the contact lens 100 is disposed on the first substrate 10 of the measurement instrument 1, and the second substrate 20 is disposed above the contact lens 100 in the Z direction.

  In step S <b> 20, the attached substance that adheres to the contact lens 100 is measured by the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using the measuring instrument 1. Specifically, the excitation light L <b> 1 is emitted from the light emitter 40 toward the measurement instrument 1. When the excitation light L1 is applied to the metal nanoparticles M that are in contact with the contact lens 100 via the first substrate 10, the Raman scattered light L2 is detected by the light receiver 50. The Raman scattered light L2 detected by the light receiver 50 is detected as a Raman spectrum by a spectroscope (not shown). Thereafter, the substance contained in the fluid is identified by analyzing the detected Raman spectrum.

(Function and effect)
As described above, the measuring instrument 1 according to the first embodiment holds the contact lens 100 when measuring the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

  The measuring instrument 1 includes a first substrate 10 on which the contact lens 100 is disposed, and a second substrate 20 that presses the contact lens 100 disposed on the first substrate 10. In addition, metal nanoparticles M are formed on the contact surface 11 a of the first substrate 10 that contacts the contact lens 100.

  For this reason, in a state where the contact lens 100 is directly held by the measuring instrument 1, the adhered substance attached to the contact lens can be measured by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

  Therefore, unlike the prior art, the preparation work such as dissolving the adhered substance of the contact lens 100 in the solution and dropping the solution on the flat substrate is not required, so that the measurement by the surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy is simplified. . Moreover, since a dedicated contact lens incorporating a circuit such as an electrode is not required as in the prior art, the cost of consumables associated with measurement can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the measurement instrument 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to more easily measure the adhered substance on the contact lens 100 by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy while suppressing an increase in cost.

  Moreover, in the measuring instrument 1 according to the present embodiment, both the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 are made of a transparent member. For this reason, the excitation light L1 can be irradiated from the first substrate 10 side, or can be irradiated from the second substrate 20 side. Further, the Raman scattered light L2 can be received from the first substrate 10 side, or can be received from the second substrate 20 side.

  Thereby, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of the light emitter 40 which irradiates the excitation light L1, and arrangement | positioning of the light receiver 50 which light-receives the Raman scattered light L2 can be raised.

[Example]
Next, examples of the present invention will be described. In addition, this invention is not limited at all by these examples.

  First, the measurement instrument according to the comparative example and the measurement instrument according to the example were prepared. As the measurement instrument according to the comparative example, a measurement instrument in which the metal nanoparticles M were not formed was used. On the other hand, the measurement instrument 1 according to the first embodiment described above is used as the measurement instrument 1 according to the example. That is, the measuring instrument 1 on which the metal nanoparticles M were formed was used.

  Except for the presence or absence of the metal nanoparticles M, the other examples of the comparative example and the example are the same.

  And the adhesion substance adhering to the contact lens 100 was measured by the surface enhancement Raman spectroscopy using the comparative example and the Example.

  FIG. 5 shows a graph showing measurement results measured by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The vertical axis in FIG. 5 indicates the Raman signal intensity, and the horizontal axis indicates the Raman shift (cm−1).

  In FIG. 5, data X1 is data obtained by measuring the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens 100 by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using the measurement instrument according to the comparative example.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5, data X2 is data obtained by measuring the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens 100 by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using the measuring instrument 1 according to the example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, no peak is observed in the data X1, but a clear peak can be confirmed in the data X2. Thereby, it has confirmed that the adhering substance adhering to the contact lens 100 was measurable using the measuring instrument 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

[Modification]
Next, a modification of the first embodiment described above will be described.

  In the first embodiment described above, the second substrate 20 is configured to press the contact lens 100 toward the first substrate 10 by its own weight, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the measuring instrument 1 may further include a pressing unit 50 that presses the second substrate 20. In this case, the pressing means 50 may be configured to press using an elastic force such as a spring, or may be configured to press using the magnetic force generated by the two magnetic poles provided on the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20. May be.

  In the first embodiment described above, the second substrate 20 has a spherical shape. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the second substrate 20 has a cylindrical shape and the contact surface 20a is curved in a convex shape. Also good.

  In the first embodiment described above, the first substrate 10 has the recess 11, but as shown in FIG. 8A, the first substrate 10 may have a protrusion 15. In this case, the convex part 15 has the contact surface 11 a and the metal nanoparticles M are formed on the contact surface 11 a of the convex part 15. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the first substrate 10 includes the convex portion 15, the second substrate 20 preferably includes a concave portion 21 that can accommodate the convex portion 15.

  Thus, in one of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20, the contact surface 11a is preferably curved in a convex shape. In addition, when one of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 has a curved contact surface 11a, the other of the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 has a concave contact surface 11a. It is preferable to bend.

  In addition, as shown in FIG.8 (b), when the 1st board | substrate 10 is provided with the convex part 15, the 2nd board | substrate 20 may be comprised by plate shape. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8C, when the first substrate 10 includes the convex portion 15, the second substrate 20 may also include the convex portion 25.

[Other Embodiments of the Present Invention]
Although the present invention has been described in detail using the above-described embodiments, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in this specification.

  For example, in the first embodiment described above, the first substrate 10 and the second substrate 20 have been described by taking the case where both are made of transparent members as an example. However, the irradiation side of the excitation light L1 and the Raman scattered light L2 are described. Only one of the substrates on the light receiving side (for example, the first substrate 10) may be formed of a transparent member.

  In the first embodiment described above, the case where measurement is performed by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy while the measurement instrument 1 holds the contact lens 100 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. . For example, before the measurement, the measurement instrument 1 holds the contact lens 100, so that the adhesion substance of the contact lens 100 is adhered to the metal nanoparticles M formed on the contact surface 11a of the measurement instrument 1. And you may measure the measuring instrument 1 to which the adhesion substance of the contact lens 100 was made to adhere by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

  As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment.

  The measuring instrument 1 and the measuring method of the present invention can be applied when measuring an adhering substance adhering to a contact lens by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Measuring instrument 10 ... 1st board | substrate 11 ... Recessed part 11a ... Contact surface 20 ... 2nd board | substrate 20a ... Contact surface 40 ... Light emitter 50 ... Light receiver 50 ... Pressing means 100 ... Contact lens M ... Metal nanoparticle

Claims (6)

A measuring instrument used when measuring an adhesion substance adhering to a contact lens by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy,
A measuring instrument, wherein surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic metal nanoparticles are formed on a contact surface in contact with the contact lens while holding the contact lens. A first substrate on which the contact lens is disposed;
A second substrate for pressing the contact lens disposed on the first substrate,
The measurement instrument according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles are formed on at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate. The measuring instrument according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the first substrate and the second substrate has the contact surface curved in a convex shape. The measuring instrument according to claim 3, wherein the contact surface of the other of the first substrate and the second substrate is curved in a concave shape. At least one of the first substrate and the second substrate is made of a transparent member having a transmittance of 50% or more for light of a specific wavelength in a wavelength band of 380 nm to 2000 nm. The measuring instrument according to any one of claims 2 to 4. Using a measuring instrument for holding the contact lens, and measuring the adhesion substance adhering to the contact lens by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy,
The measuring instrument is characterized in that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic metal nanoparticles are formed on a contact surface in contact with the contact lens while holding the contact lens.

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