JPH04270312A - Method for marking soft contact lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To impart characters, etc., useful for identifying a front or rear surface, etc., to a desired part and to prevent the color fading by a treatment, such as boiling disinfection, by forming a covalent bond by a specific treatment. CONSTITUTION:A dyeing material contg. a reactive dye which can form the covalent bond with the hydroxyl group, etc., in the base material of the soft contact lens is penetrated or stuck to a desired shape as a color developing component to the soft contact lens of a swollen state. The soft contact lens is thereafter immersed inn an alkaline soln. to form the covalent bond and to, insolubilize the dye. The soft contact lens in the swollen state and a screen provided with a shape of the desired character, etc., in contact with this lens are disposed in superposition and thereafter, the contact lens is printed by using the dyeing agent contg. the reactive dye which can form the covalent bond with the hydroxyl group, etc., in the base material of the soft contact lens as the color developing component. The soft contact lens is thereafter immersed in the alkaline soln. to form the covalent bond and to insolubilize the dye.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for marking soft contact lenses that is clear and has excellent durability, and a dye used therefor.

0002

[Prior art] Letters are placed on desired parts of contact lenses.
Adding symbols or the like is effective for distinguishing between the front and back of a lens, and for distinguishing between left and right lenses. Conventionally, methods for marking contact lenses include (1) Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-3
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9140, etc., a method in which a coupling component is provided in advance in a polymer constituting a contact lens, and the contact lens material itself is then colored by reaction with a diazonium salt, thereby marking the material; (2) A method of marking by forming a concave portion on the surface of a contact lens using a marking device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-2692, etc.; (3) A method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-10045, etc. A method of marking by applying photolithography involving exposure processing, as described in (4) Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 45253, etc., a marking method using a pad printing technique is used.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, the above (
Method 1) has the disadvantage that the color changes or fades after long-term use. Furthermore, since the method (2) above forms a concave portion in the contact lens, it inevitably causes a decrease in the mechanical strength of the contact lens and has the drawback that it is easily damaged. Furthermore, the method (3) has the disadvantage that the dyes that can be used are limited to vat dyes because it requires exposure treatment using ultraviolet irradiation. In addition, although the method (4) has good workability,
When printing small letters, symbols, etc., there is a problem that the ink tends to bleed and the mark becomes unclear. The present invention is intended to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and its purpose is to dye swellable soft contact lenses by dyeing a contact lens base material as a coloring component in a desired area of the lens. After penetrating or adhering a dye containing a reactive dye that can form a covalent bond with the hydroxyl group of the It is an object of the present invention to provide a marking method for soft contact lenses that has strong dyeing properties that do not cause changes such as.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the method for marking soft contact lenses of the present invention involves applying a reaction that can form a covalent bond with a hydroxyl group in a contact lens base material as a coloring component to a swollen soft contact lens. The method is characterized in that a dye containing a dye is infiltrated or adhered to a desired shape and then immersed in an alkaline solution to form a covalent bond, thereby making it insolubilized. Furthermore, after placing a swollen soft contact lens and a screen in contact with it in which desired characters, symbols, etc. are formed, a covalent bond is formed with the hydroxyl group in the lens base material as a coloring component. The method is characterized in that after printing using a dyeing agent containing the obtained reactive dye, the dye is insolubilized by immersion in an alkaline solution to form covalent bonds. Furthermore, it is characterized in that a surfactant is added as a dye in addition to the reactive dye.

[0005] The present invention will be explained in detail below. The dyeing agent includes a coloring component, a surfactant, and, if necessary, an auxiliary agent and a thickener may be added thereto. Examples of reactive dyes that are color-forming components include the Dye Handbook (edited by the Organic Synthetic Chemistry Association, Maruzen).
(1970), p. 880), examples include (1) dyes having a chlorotriazinyl group, (2) dyes having a vinyl sulfone group, and (3) dyes having an alkyl sulfate group. can. Specifically, the sea
Eye Reactive Blue 19 (C.I.Rea
active Blue 19), Sea Eye
Reactive Blue 27 (C.I.React
ive Blue 27), C.I.Reactive Blue 28 (C.I.Reactive
e Blue 28), C.I.Reactive Violet 5 (C.I.Reactive
e Violet 5), C.I.Reactive Black 5 (C.I.Reactive
Black 5), C.I.Reactive Black 14 (C.I.Reactive
Black 14), etc.

The concentration of the dye used varies depending on the type of dye, the desired dyeing concentration, etc., but is preferably 0.01.
~10.0% is good. More preferably 0.05 to 5.0
% is good. If the dye concentration is too low, the finished color will be too light and the marking will be meaningless; if the dye concentration is too high, the color will be too dark and can be recognized by others when worn, which is not aesthetically pleasing.

[0007] Surfactants are very effective in suppressing bleeding that tends to occur when marking is applied to water-containing soft contact lenses. Water-containing soft contact lenses are
Because it swells with water or physiological saline, when marking is done using a water-soluble dye, the dye will diffuse outside the marked area, causing smudging and making it clear. This means that you will not be able to obtain the desired coloring. but,
By adding an appropriate amount of surfactant to the dye, bleeding during marking was prevented and clear coloring was obtained. As the surfactant to be used, any one of hydrocarbon type, silicon type, fluorine type, etc. can be used. Examples of hydrocarbon surfactants include polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, alkyl sulfate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether acetate, and N-acylamino acid salt. , alkyl sulfocarboxylic acid salts, sucrose fatty acid esters, and the like.

[0008] The amount of surfactant added varies depending on the type of surfactant used, but is preferably 0.001.
~5.0% is good. More preferably 0.01-2.0%
Good. If the amount added is too small, the effect of the surfactant will decrease and smearing will easily occur in the mark area, and conversely, if the amount added is increased more than necessary, the effect of the surfactant will not increase, so this is preferable. do not have.

The auxiliary agent is used to help the reactive dye penetrate or adhere to the inside of the lens, and examples thereof include sodium sulfate and sodium chloride. By using this auxiliary agent, uniform coloring can be easily achieved.

The thickener is used to adjust the viscosity of the dye depending on the method of coloring the dye. Examples include sodium alginate, starch, carboxymethylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and the like.

[0011] As a method for coloring the dyeing solution, commonly used batch dyeing methods, screen printing methods, transfer methods, etc. can be used, but it is necessary to adjust the viscosity of the dyeing agent depending on each method. By adjusting this viscosity, bleeding of marking characters, symbols, etc. can be suppressed.

Examples of alkaline solutions used in the reaction of dyes include aqueous solutions of hydroxides of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and the like. The concentration varies depending on the type of dye and alkali used, but is preferably 0.01 to 10%. More preferably 0.05 to 5%. If the alkali concentration is too low, the reaction will take time, resulting in a long dyeing time and poor efficiency. On the other hand, if the concentration of alkali is too high, the alkali may adhere to the lens, requiring a long period of washing with water after marking, and causing damage to the lens such as a decrease in strength, which is not preferable.

[0013]

[Example] This will be explained in more detail with reference to the following example.
The present invention is not limited to these.

(Example 1) Marking method by screen printing Reactive dye C.I. I. Reactive Blue
19, 0.2 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate, and 0.05 g of SILWET L-7604 (silicon surfactant, manufactured by Nippon Unicar Co., Ltd.) are dispersed and dissolved in 4 g of water. Separately, 4 g of a thickener prepared by dissolving 2 g of sodium alginate in 30 g of water is added to prepare a dyeing solution. Soft contact lenses in a swollen state (e.g. 2-
Soft contact lenses made of copolymers containing hydroxyalkyl methacrylates such as hydroxyethyl methacrylate and 2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate, and soft contact lenses made of copolymers containing N,N-dimethylacrylamide, etc. ) was taken out, and after thoroughly wiping off moisture from the surface, it was pasted so as to match the symbol part of the screen provided with the desired symbol mold. The screen used for this was a polyester screen with a thickness of 64 μm, a mesh opening of 270 mesh, and an opening area of 33%.

Next, the soft contact lens was sandwiched and fixed between glass plates having a thickness of 1 mm, one drop of the staining solution was applied onto the dyed portion of the screen, and the lens was left for one minute at room temperature. Peel off the soft contact lens from the screen and apply 1% NaO.
It was immersed in H solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The soft contact lenses were stained with a clear blue symbol. The specifications of the finished product were as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, for example.

Next, the following tests were conducted on the marked soft contact lenses to confirm their dyeability. (1) Light resistance test: Transparent glass vial (content capacity 2
0cc) was filled with 0.9% physiological saline and marked lenses, and left outdoors for 30 days.

(2) Boiling resistance test: 0.9% physiological saline and a marked lens were placed in a transparent glass vial (content capacity 20 cc), and the vial was left in a 100° C. air constant temperature bath for up to 150 hours.

In all cases, comparisons were made by visual inspection using lenses before undergoing various treatments. As a result, no abnormalities such as fading, discoloration, or bleeding of the symbols were observed.

(Example 2) Reactive dye C. I. Reac
Disperse and dissolve 0.2 g of tive Black 14 and 0.2 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate in 4 g of water. Separately, 4 g of a thickener prepared by dissolving 2 g of sodium alginate in 30 g of water is added to prepare a dyeing solution. One swollen soft contact lens was taken out, the moisture on the surface was thoroughly wiped off, and the lens was pasted so as to match the character portion of a screen provided with a desired character pattern. The screen used for this was a stainless steel screen with a thickness of 55 μm, a mesh opening of 400 mesh, and an opening area of 41%.

Next, the soft contact lens was sandwiched and fixed between glass plates having a thickness of 1 mm, one drop of the staining solution was applied onto the dyed portion of the screen, and the lens was left at room temperature for 3 minutes. Peel off the soft contact lens from the screen and apply 1% NaO.
It was immersed in H solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The soft contact lenses were dyed with clear black letters.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormality such as discoloration or bleeding of characters was observed in any of them.

(Example 3) Reactive dye C. I. Reac
tive Blue28 0.2g, sodium chloride 0.1g, and NIKKOL sarcosinate
LN (hydrocarbon surfactant, Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.)
Disperse and dissolve 0.1 g of the product (manufactured by M.D.) in 5 g of water. Separately, 3 g of a thickener prepared by dissolving 2 g of sodium alginate in 30 g of water is added to prepare a dyeing solution. One swollen soft contact lens was taken out, the moisture on the surface was thoroughly wiped off, and the lens was pasted so as to match the character portion of a screen provided with a desired character pattern. The screen used for this was a stainless steel screen with a thickness of 55 μm, a mesh opening of 400 mesh, and an opening area of 41%. Next, the soft contact lens was sandwiched and fixed between glass plates having a thickness of 1 mm, and one drop of the staining solution was applied onto the dyed portion of the screen, and then left at room temperature for 2 minutes. Peel off the soft contact lens from the screen and apply 1% NaOH.
It was immersed in the solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The soft contact lenses were dyed with clear blue letters.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormality such as discoloration or bleeding of the characters was observed in any of them.

(Example 4) A staining solution was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1. 1 swollen soft contact lens
After taking out the sheet and wiping off the moisture on the surface, it is 5m thick.
It was spread out on a sized glass plate.

[0025] Next, using a jig equipped with a sponge cut into a round shape with an outer diameter of 10 mm at the tip, this sponge part was impregnated with the above-mentioned staining liquid, and after applying it by pressing it against the center of the lens, it was left at room temperature for 1 hour. Leave it for a minute. The soft contact lens was removed and immersed in a 1% NaOH solution for about 5 minutes. The lens was taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. A soft contact lens was obtained in which the central part was dyed blue and the peripheral part remained transparent. The specifications of the finished product were as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormalities such as fading of the colored parts were observed.

(Example 5) C. I. Reactive
Disperse and dissolve 0.01 g of Blue 19 and 0.5 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate in 200 cc of distilled water to obtain a dye solution, and stir in a thermostatic bath at 40°C. A swollen soft contact lens was held in a jig and immersed in this dye solution for 5 minutes. Next, the lens was taken out from the dye solution and removed from the jig, and then immersed in a 1% NaOH solution for 10 minutes, and then washed with a large amount of water to obtain a soft contact lens whose entire lens was uniformly colored.

[0028] Take out one of the colored soft contact lenses dyed by the above method while still in the swollen state, thoroughly wipe off the moisture on the surface, and then insert it so that it matches the symbol part of the screen provided with the desired symbol mold. Pasted. The screen used for this was a polyester screen with a thickness of 64 μm, a mesh opening of 270 mesh, and an opening area of 33%.

Next, the soft contact lens was sandwiched and fixed between glass plates with a thickness of 1 mm, and one drop of the staining solution prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 was applied onto the dyed part of the screen. Leave it for a minute. The soft contact lens was removed from the screen and immersed in a 1% NaOH solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The entire lens of the obtained soft contact lens was lightly colored blue, and a blue symbol was clearly dyed on the periphery of the lens. The specifications of the finished product were as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormalities such as fading of the colored parts were observed.

(Example 6) C. I. Reactive
Disperse and dissolve 0.01 g of Blue 19 and 0.5 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate in 200 cc of distilled water to obtain a dye solution, and stir in a thermostatic bath at 40°C. A swollen soft contact lens was held in a jig and immersed in this dye solution for 5 minutes. Next, the lens was taken out from the dye solution and removed from the jig, and then immersed in a 1% NaOH solution for 10 minutes, and then washed with a large amount of water to obtain a soft contact lens whose entire lens was uniformly colored.

[0032] Take out one of the colored soft contact lenses dyed in the above method while still in the swollen state, thoroughly wipe off moisture from the surface, and then insert it so that it matches the symbol on the screen provided with the desired character pattern. Pasted. The screen used for this was a stainless steel screen with a thickness of 55 μm, a mesh opening of 400 mesh, and an opening area of 41%.

Next, the soft contact lens was sandwiched and fixed between 1 mm thick glass plates, and one drop of the staining solution prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 was applied onto the dyed part of the screen, and then the lens was incubated at room temperature for 5 minutes. Leave it for a minute. The soft contact lens was removed from the screen and immersed in a 1% NaOH solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The entire lens of the obtained soft contact lens was lightly colored blue, and black letters were clearly dyed on the periphery of the lens. Since the color of the marking part is different from the color of the entire lens, Example 5
The marked area can be more clearly identified than the colored soft contact lenses obtained by the method. The specifications of the finished product were as shown in FIG. 8, for example.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormality such as fading of the colored portion was observed.

(Example 7) Marking method by pad printing Reactive dye C. I. Reactive Violet
5, 0.4 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate, and 0.1 g of NIKKOL NP-10 (hydrocarbon surfactant, manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.) are dispersed and dissolved in 3 g of water. Separately, 5 g of a thickener prepared by dissolving 2 g of sodium alginate in 30 g of water is added to prepare a dyeing solution. One swollen soft contact lens was taken out, and after thoroughly wiping off moisture on the surface, it was attached to a lens fixing jig.

Next, the silicone rubber pad on which the dyeing solution has been transferred in the desired character shape is pressed onto the soft contact lens that is fixed at the tip, and after the dyeing solution is attached to the surface of the contact lens, the pad is left at room temperature. It was left for 1 minute. Peel off the soft contact lens from the lens fixing jig 1
% NaOH solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The soft contact lenses were dyed with clear purple letters.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormality such as fading or bleeding of the characters was observed in any of them.

(Example 8) Marking method using inkjet method Reactive dye C.I. I. Reactive Black
5 0.3g, anhydrous sodium sulfate 0.5g, Fl
uorad FC-430 (fluorosurfactant, manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Ltd.) 0.2g and glycerin 10
g is dispersed and dissolved in 50 cc of distilled water to prepare a dye solution. One swollen soft contact lens was taken out, the water on the surface was thoroughly wiped off, and then it was stuck on a glass plate with a thickness of 5 mm.

[0039] Next, desired characters were drawn on the soft contact lens using an inkjet device filled with the above dyeing solution, and then left at room temperature for 3 minutes. The soft contact lens was peeled off from the glass plate and immersed in a 0.5% NaOH solution for about 10 minutes. The lenses were taken out, washed with water, and then boiled in physiological saline for 30 minutes. The soft contact lenses were dyed with clear black letters.

Further, as a result of the dyeability test, no abnormality such as fading of color or bleeding of characters was observed in any of them.

[0041]

Effects of the Invention The present invention makes it possible to clearly add letters, symbols, etc. that are effective for distinguishing between front and back surfaces of a hydrous soft contact lens at a desired part, and furthermore, it has a dyeing property that does not fade even after treatment such as boiling sterilization. This invention has the advantage of providing a marking method for soft contact lenses and a staining agent used therein.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1(a) is a plan view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 1 of the present invention. (b) is a sectional view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 1 of the present invention.

[Figure 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 7(a) is a plan view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 5 of the present invention. (b) is a sectional view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 8(a) is a plan view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 6 of the present invention. (b) is a sectional view of a soft contact lens manufactured by the method of Example 6 of the present invention.

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A dyeing agent containing a reactive dye that can form a covalent bond with hydroxyl groups in the lens base material is infiltrated into or adhered to a swollen soft contact lens in a desired shape as a coloring component, and then an alkali solution is applied to the soft contact lens. A method for marking soft contact lenses, characterized by insolubilizing a colored dye by immersing it in a solution to form a covalent bond. Claim 2: After placing a swollen soft contact lens and a screen in contact with it with desired characters, symbols, etc. molded thereon, a covalent bond is formed with a hydroxyl group, etc. in the lens base material as a coloring component. 2. The method for marking a soft contact lens according to claim 1, wherein the soft contact lens is insolubilized by printing with a dyeing agent containing a reactive dye, and then immersing it in an alkaline solution to form a covalent bond. 3. The method for marking soft contact lenses according to claim 1, wherein a surfactant is added as a dye in addition to the reactive dye.