JPS62127063A - Eyedropper container - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an eye drop container, and in particular, to completely prevent bacteria from entering the container even when the container is opened, and to maintain the eye drop solution in the container in a sterile state. This invention relates to an eye drop container that can be used as an eye drop container.

(Prior art and its problems) A conventional eye drop container has a container body containing a predetermined eye drop solution, and an opening provided with a liquid outlet for dripping the eye drop solution in the container body. A body is attached to the container body, and the inside of the container body is communicated with the outside through a liquid outlet hole of the mouth body.

Therefore, when the container is unsealed, the stored drug solution is directly exposed to the atmosphere through the liquid outlet hole, so the sterile state can be maintained before the container is opened, but after opening (middle), it is unavoidable that bacteria in the atmosphere will enter through the drainage hole, and in addition, the eyes and the area around the eyes are particularly rich in bacteria, so when instilling the eye, there is a possibility that the mouth of the container, Furthermore, due to contact between the liquid outlet and the container, these bacteria can easily enter the container, making it impossible to maintain the medicinal solution contained in the conventional container in a sterile state. It is.

To this end, in the past, large amounts of preservatives and bactericidal agents have been added to eye drops, and the amount of medicine contained has been reduced to prevent the growth of bacteria as described above. things are being done.

However, even with such methods, it is not possible to completely prevent the proliferation of bacteria, and such preservatives and bactericides have an adverse effect on the eyes, such as irritation, and are particularly harmful to soft contact lens wearers. For some people, soft contact lenses have the inherent problem of being difficult to use because they themselves absorb preservatives and the like.

(Solution Means) Here, the present invention has been made against the background of the above, and does not require the adoption of an expensive or complicated structure, and even in the unsealed state, the present invention does not require the adoption of an expensive or complicated structure. To provide an eye drop container that can prevent the invasion of bacteria and maintain the eye drop solution in the container in a sterile state.

That is, the eye drop container according to the present invention is characterized by (a) an elastic material that can be compressed and that can be compressed and can return to its original shape when released from the compressed pressure; (b) a mouthpiece attached to the opening of the container body and having a drainage hole for dripping the eye drops in the container body; (c) a mouthpiece of the mouthpiece. A porous membrane module in the form of a flat membrane or hollow fiber having pores with a pore size that allows the ophthalmic solution in the container body to pass through but prevents the passage of bacteria; Accordingly, the eye drop solution in the container body is allowed to drip from the liquid exit hole of the mouth body through the porous membrane module.

(Effects) In other words, in the eye drop container according to the present invention, the inside of the container is brought into contact with the outside air through a porous membrane module, and the porous membrane module allows the eye drop solution in the container to pass through. Since the pores have a pore size that can prevent bacteria from passing through, it is possible to completely prevent external bacteria from entering the container. The sterile state can be well maintained even under the conditions of

Therefore, if the eye drop container according to the present invention is used, there is no need to add preservatives or contagious agents to the drug solution as in the past, so it can be used satisfactorily even by soft contact lens wearers, and its efficacy is extremely high. Excellent eye drops can be easily provided, and these eye drops can be used very safely for a long period of time.

(Example) Hereinafter, in order to clarify the present invention more specifically,
Some embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an eye drop container IO according to an example of the present invention. In this figure, 12 is a container main body having a substantially rectangular shape, the upper part of which is a cylindrical outflow passage portion 1.
It is said to be 6. The upper end of the outflow passage section 16 is a cylindrical attachment section 18.
Inside, a mortar body 22 with a porous membrane module 20 is attached, while a cover cap 24 covers the mortar body 22.

More specifically, the container body 12 is made of an elastic material that can be squeezed with fingers or the like and that can easily return to its original shape when released from such pinching pressure, and is generally made of a suitable resin material, For example, it is formed using various polymeric materials having elasticity such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride. As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 12 is provided with an opening 14 at its upper end, and during manufacture, a predetermined eye drop solution 2 is passed through the opening 14.
6 is accommodated in the container body 12.

Further, a mouth body 22 which is a resin molded product is attached to a cylindrical attachment part 18 that forms an opening 14 of the container body 12, and closes the opening 14. More specifically, as shown in FIG.
It protrudes outward in its center, and its inside is the liquid draining hole 2.
It has a tapered cylindrical medicinal solution discharge part 28 with a diameter of 7, and an outflow port of a predetermined size of 3° is provided at the tip of this medicinal solution discharge part 28. Due to the presence of the formed ring-shaped liquid leakage prevention piece 32, when this mortar body 22 is attached to the attachment part I8 of the container main body 12, the attachment part 18 can be held in a liquid-tight manner. .

Further, inside the mortar body 22, the liquid leakage prevention piece 3 is provided.
In a state where the porous membrane module 20 is fitted into the inner circumferential portion of the die 2, the porous membrane module 20 is attached and integrally formed with the die body 22. This porous membrane module 20 is made by bundling a plurality of hollow fibers 34 into a loop shape (U-shape) and bonding and fixing the ends with a suitable adhesive such as polyurethane resin to form a hollow fiber holding part 36. and this holding part 3
6, it is fitted onto the inner peripheral surface of the liquid leakage prevention piece 32 of the mortar body 22, and is fixedly or removably attached. Furthermore, as is clear from Figures 2 and 3,
Both ends of each hollow fiber 34 are connected to a liquid passage 38 inside the mouth body 22.
The opening 40 of each hollow fiber is formed by the holding portion 36.
and the liquid leakage prevention piece 32 are kept liquid-tight and gas-tight.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, each of the plurality of porous hollow fibers 34 constituting the porous membrane module 20 has hydrophobic portions 42 and hydrophilic portions 44 alternately in the fiber length direction. It is composed of hollow fibers that coexist in a certain position.

The hollow fiber 34 has a hydrophilic portion 44.
The container body L2 has a pore size that allows the eye drops 26 stored in the container body L2 to pass through, but does not allow bacteria to pass through, in other words, a membrane pore size that allows bacteria to be removed, and has low filtration resistance. It needs to be something. The membrane pore size that allows removal of bacteria is desirably one that can inhibit Pseudomonas deminuta ATCC 19146, and is preferably one that can inhibit standard particles of 0.2 to 0.3 μm. On the other hand, its hydrophobic portion 42
must have a membrane pore size that allows air to pass through but not bacteria in the air. However, since bacteria that exist in the air are usually bound to fine particles, If the membrane pore diameter is about 0.45 μm or less, invasion of bacteria can be effectively prevented.

In addition, as a method for manufacturing the porous hollow fiber 34 in which the hydrophobic portion 42 and the hydrophilic portion 44 coexist, a known method can be appropriately adopted, but in the present invention, the following method is used. Such a method will be suitably adopted.

That is, it is a method of partially making hydrophobic porous hollow fibers obtained from hydrophobic polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters, and polytetrafluoroethylenes hydrophilic,
A specific example of this is to use an apparatus as shown in FIG. 10, in which a surfactant 82 that is sparingly soluble in water, such as propylene glycol monostearate, is heated and melted. When the melt 82 is applied to the polyolefin porous hollow fiber as a hydrophobic hollow fiber through the roller 84, a notch 86 is provided in the roller 84 to prevent the hollow fiber 88 from contacting the roller 84 unevenly. By applying the surfactant non-uniformly, the desired hydrophobic portion 36 and hydrophilic portion 38 are formed.
This results in a porous hollow fiber 28 in which both of the above coexist.

In addition, when obtaining the polyolefin porous hollow fibers as described above, known methods can be appropriately adopted, but in particular, those made porous by a stretching method have slit-like pores. It is preferably used in the present invention because it can inhibit bacteria and have high water permeability at the same time.

However, contrary to the above, polyvinyl alcohol,
By applying a non-uniform hydrophobic treatment to a hydrophilic porous hollow fiber made of polysulfone, cellulose acetate, polyamide, etc., a porous fiber in which the desired hydrophobic portion 42 and hydrophilic portion 44 coexist is created. Hollow fiber 34
It is also possible to obtain

Further, the dimensions of the hollow fibers 34 are not particularly limited, but usually have an inner diameter of 50 to 200 (lumen).
, the film thickness is selected within the range of 10 to 200 μm.

Then, the mouth body 22 having such a porous membrane module 20 therein is inserted into the container body 12, which is fitted into the opening 14 of the container body 12.
4 is screwed onto the outer circumferential surface of the outflow passage section 16 to cover the mouth body 22 .

By the way, when using the eye drop container 10 according to the embodiments described above, after removing the cover cap 24, the body of the container body 12 cannot be touched with fingers while the container is tilted or overturned. When the predetermined eye drop solution 26 contained in the container body 12 is compressed with a pressure filter, etc., the predetermined eye drop solution 26 contained in the container body 12 becomes hydrophilic in the coexisting hollow fibers 34 constituting the porous membrane module 20 due to the increase in pressure in the container body 12. The liquid is allowed to pass through the hole in the hollow fiber wall of the liquid part 44, is led to the liquid passage 38 from the opening 40 at the end thereof, and flows out from the outlet 30 through the liquid outlet 27 of the spout 22 ( dripping).

After the eye drop solution 2G in the container body I2 is dripped from the outlet 30 of the mouth body 22, when the squeezing action on the body of the container body 12 is released, the container body 12 is restored to its original shape. The pressure inside the container is reduced, and the container (main body 12) is in a deformed state, but such deformation is resolved as follows. That is, the external air guided through the outflow port 30, the liquid exit hole 27, and the fluid passage 38 flows through the coexistence type hollow fibers 3 constituting the porous membrane module 20.
4 into the container body 12 through the hole in the hollow fiber wall of the hydrophobic portion 42, thereby returning the inside of the container to atmospheric pressure and restoring the volume n (main body 12) to its original shape.

At this time, since the membrane pore diameter of the wall of the hydrophobic portion 42 of the hollow fiber 34 is such that bacteria in the air can be removed, there are no bacteria in the air supplied into the container body 12. Therefore, it can be supplied as clean air.

Furthermore, since the hydrophilic portions 44 of the hollow fibers 34 have membrane pores that do not allow bacteria to pass through, it is possible to completely prevent bacteria from entering the container body 12 from the outside. be.

Therefore, in the eye drop container 2310 in this embodiment,
Once the inside of the container is made sterile, for example at the time of manufacture, it will remain sterile for a long period of time and can be used extremely safely. , there is no need to mix it up.

In addition, since hollow fibers having these functions are used as a filtration medium for chemical liquids and air, a large filtration area can be easily obtained, and a member equipped with such a filtration medium can be made significantly more compact. In addition, the container can be easily used without requiring a relatively large force to press the container during use, and the container can be quickly restored.

Furthermore, the porous membrane module 20 in this example is
It has a structure manufactured by bundling a plurality of hollow fibers 34 and bonding the ends with adhesive etc.
Since the hollow fibers 34 function not only as drug solution passages but also as air passages, the structure of the porous membrane module 20 is very simple, and the intended eye drop container 10 can be easily and easily assembled. It can be manufactured economically.

Next, FIGS. 5 to 7 show another embodiment of an eye drop container 50 constructed in accordance with the present invention.

As is clear from these figures, in this example,
A spout 56 is attached to the mounting portion 62 of the container main body 54 as in the above embodiment in which a predetermined eye drop solution 52 is accommodated, and a cover camp 58 is provided to cover the spout 56. There is.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a mouth body 56 which is a resin molded product is attached to a cylindrical attachment part 62 that forms an opening 60 of the container body 54.
This opening 60 is closed. The mouth body 56 has a tapered cylindrical liquid medicine discharge part 64 that protrudes outward at the center thereof and has a liquid discharge hole 63 formed therein, and has a predetermined size at the tip of this medicine liquid discharge part 64. Sano outlet 66
On the other hand, a cylindrical portion with a relatively large diameter located on the other end side is fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the mounting portion 62 to hold the mounting portion 62 liquid-tight. I'm starting to get it.

In addition, a disc-shaped porous flat membrane 68 as a porous membrane module is attached to the mouth body 56, and the upper end surface of the mounting portion 62 is brought into contact with the inner side of the cylindrical portion that is fitted into the mounting portion 62. The inner space of the container is connected to the fluid passage 74 inside the body 56 and the outer space at the opening 60 of the container body 54. isolated from.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the porous flat membrane 68 is composed of a single porous flat membrane, the center of which is a hydrophilic portion 70. On the other hand, the peripheral portion is a hydrophobic portion 72. Such a porous flat membrane 68 has a pore size in its hydrophilic portion 70 that allows the eye drops 52 contained in the container body 54 to pass through, but does not allow bacteria to pass through. υL in the hollow fiber 34 in the above embodiment
An aqueous portion 44 that blocks standard particles of 0.2 to 0.3 μm is applied. Similarly, as the hydrophobic portion 72, a membrane having a pore diameter of about 0.45 μm or less can be suitably used.

Note that as a method for manufacturing the porous flat membrane 68 in which the hydrophobic portion 72 and the hydrophilic portion 70 coexist, a known method may be appropriately adopted. The yarn 34 can be manufactured according to the various methods mentioned above.

Then, a container body 54 has a mouth body 56 having such a porous flat membrane 68 fitted into its opening 60.
On the other hand, a cover cap 58 having a cylindrical shape with a bottom is screwed onto the outer periphery of a cylindrical outlet located at the upper part of the container main body 54, so as to cover the mouth body 56.

That is, the eye drop container 50 in this embodiment as described above
In this case, the eye drop container 10 can be used in the same manner as the eye drop container 10 in the above embodiment, and the inner space and the outer space of the container are separated by a porous flat membrane 68, and the hydrophilic property of the porous flat membrane 68 is Portion 70 and hydrophobic portion 72
As a result, the intrusion of bacteria from the outside into the container body 12 can be completely prevented, and the effects of the present invention, such as safety in use and economy in manufacturing, can be effectively achieved.

Furthermore, in such an eye drop container, for example, as shown in FIG. If the eye drop container 80 can be configured as a reusable container, the eye drop container 80 can be formed as a reusable container. In addition, an eye drop container with such a structure (8
0), there is a risk that bacteria, etc. may enter the container when the chemical solution is supplied, but such bacteria in the container can be effectively prevented by the porous membrane module 68 (20) when the liquid comes out. Therefore, the effects of the present invention can be effectively expressed.

Note that the eye drop container (1
0, 50, 80), the porous membrane module (2
It is desirable to form a space as small as possible from the upper surface of the liquid passage section (38, 74) and the liquid outlet (27, 63) to the outlet (30, 66). However, by having such a structure,
■) It is possible to minimize the risk of contamination by airborne bacteria, etc. to the residual drug solution in the night passage and the space after drug solution extraction, and the container body (12,
54) The chemical solution can immediately flow out based on the pinching pressure,
This is because its usability can be further improved.

Although several embodiments according to the present invention have been described in detail above, these are literal illustrations, and the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to these specific examples.

For example, the porous membrane module 20 (68) may be provided at a position that isolates the inside of the container body from the external space, and its position, shape, and number are not particularly limited. For example, in the eye drop container 10 in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to attach the liquid by fitting it into the liquid discharge hole 27 inside the chemical liquid discharge part 28 of the body 22, and with such a structure, the liquid discharge port can be connected from the opening of the porous membrane module 46. The space leading to the eye drop container can be effectively reduced, and the safety and usability of such an eye drop container can be further improved as described above.

Further, the hollow fibers 34 constituting the porous membrane module 20 in the above embodiments do not need to be formed so that the hydrophobic portions 42 and the hydrophilic portions 44 are alternately located in the fiber length direction; In the hollow fiber 34, as long as such a hydrophobic portion and a hydrophilic portion are allowed to coexist, various methods may be used, such as the hydrophobic portion 42 and the hydrophilic portion 44 being arranged side by side in the fiber length direction. Needless to say, it is possible for the two to coexist.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the porous membrane module 20
Although all of the hollow fibers 34 constituting the structure were hollow fibers in which the hydrophobic portion 42 and the hydrophilic portion 44 coexist, it is only necessary that a portion of the hollow fibers 34 be a coexistence type hollow fiber 34 . However, if a part of the porous membrane module 20 is composed of such coexisting hollow fibers 34, all other hollow fibers should be composed of hydrophilic hollow fibers. is desirable. However, in the case of a hollow fiber whose entire surface is hydrophobic, if the inside of the hollow fiber is filled with a drug solution, even if the pressure inside the container body 12 is reduced, the drug solution inside the hollow fiber will not be absorbed by the hollow fiber. This is because air cannot easily pass through the walls of the hydrophobic hollow fibers, which may make it difficult for air to flow in from the outside through the hydrophobic hollow fibers.

Furthermore, in the case of using a flat membrane as the porous membrane module, in order to protect the porous bamboo shoots 851 and prevent damage thereof, a protective member has a shape that can ensure a sufficient water flow area. are appropriately provided with the porous flat membrane sandwiched therebetween.

Further, the porous membrane module 20 has a structure in which the hollow fibers 34 are bundled in a loop shape, and both ends are made into openings 40 to open into the liquid passage 38. However, instead of this, one end of the hollow fibers is It is also possible to have a structure in which the other end is sealed and the other end is bonded with an adhesive to form a holding portion, and the liquid passage 38 is opened.

Furthermore, the porous membrane module in the eye drop container 50 in the above embodiment has a hydrophilic portion 70 and a hydrophobic portion 7.
2, but it is also possible to form a plurality of porous flat membranes, and even a combination of a hydrophilic flat membrane and a hydrophobic flat membrane. It is also possible to form it by

Further, in the above embodiment, the porous membrane module 20 (68) provided inside the zero body 22 (56) is formed only of a hydrophilic porous membrane, and the porous membrane module 20' (68) Separately from, for example, the container body 12
In (54), it is also possible to provide a hydrophobic flat membrane-like or hollow fiber-like porous membrane member.

Furthermore, in the eye drop container according to the present invention, the hydrophobic porous membrane is not necessarily necessary;
It is also possible to form the porous membrane module only from a hydrophilic porous membrane without providing any. Of course, in an eye drop container with such a structure, air cannot be supplied even after the drug solution has been released, but the initial amount of the drug solution can be adjusted (preferably, the volume of the drug solution in the container is equal to or less than that of gas). By setting the restoring force of the container during use to be greater than the pressure caused by the pressure difference with the outside, air can flow into the container. Even if the container is not deformed, the deformation of the container can be easily recovered, the use of the container is not hindered, and the effects according to the present invention can be fully achieved. In this way, even if the contained drug solution contains a surfactant that may make the hydrophobic porous membrane hydrophilic, the problem of the function of the eye drop container being inhibited by the surfactant can be avoided. This means that it can be done.

Furthermore, a cover cap 24 (
58) effectively prevents the outlet 30 (66) portion from being contaminated by bacteria or the like, but such a cover cap 24 (58) is not necessarily required.

Although others are not listed, it goes without saying that the present invention can be practiced with various changes, improvements, modifications, etc., without departing from the spirit thereof.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing an embodiment of an eye drop container according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part thereof, and FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along This is an explanatory diagram, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory diagram showing the hollow fibers used in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part, and FIG.
-rV cross-sectional explanatory diagram. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing still another embodiment of the present invention. . Moreover, FIG. 10 is a structural explanatory diagram of an apparatus suitably used in manufacturing the hollow fibers used in FIG. 1. to, so: Eye drop container 12.54: Container body 20.46.68: Porous membrane module 22.56: Mouth body 27.63: Output hole 26.527 Eye drop solution 30.66: Outlet 34: Hollow fiber 42.72: Hydrophobic portion 44.70: Hydrophilic portion Applicant Tomey Sangyo Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A container body that contains a predetermined eye drop solution and is made of an elastic material that can be compressed and can return to its original shape when released from the clamping pressure, and an opening of the container body. An attached spout having a drain hole for dripping the eye drops in the container body, and a spout provided inside the mouth that allows the eye drops inside the container body to pass through but prevents bacteria from passing through. A porous membrane module in the form of a flat membrane or hollow fiber having pores of a suitable pore size, and the ophthalmic solution in the container body is forced to exit the mouth body through the porous membrane module by the squeezing pressure of the container body. An eye drop container characterized in that the liquid can be dropped from the hole. (2) The scope of the claim that the porous membrane module is constituted by a hydrophilic porous flat membrane or hollow fiber that allows the eye drop solution in the container body to pass through but does not allow air and bacteria in the air to pass through. The eye drop container according to item 1. (3) Separately from the porous membrane module, a flat membrane or hollow fiber porous membrane member is provided that allows air to pass through but does not allow bacteria in the air or the eye drops in the container body to pass through. An eye drop container according to claim 1 or 2. (4) The porous membrane module includes a hydrophilic porous flat membrane or hollow fiber that allows the ophthalmic solution in the container body to pass through but not bacteria in the air or air, and a hydrophilic porous flat membrane or hollow fiber that allows air to pass through but does not allow air to pass through. 2. The eye drop container according to claim 1, comprising a hydrophobic porous flat membrane or hollow fiber through which the bacteria and the eye drop solution in the container body cannot pass. (5) A part or all of the flat membrane or hollow fiber constituting the porous membrane module has a hydrophilic portion that allows the eye drop solution in the main body to pass through but does not allow bacteria or air in the air to pass through; Claim 1, wherein the container is made of a porous flat membrane or a hollow fiber in which a hydrophobic part coexists that allows bacteria in the air to pass through, but does not allow bacteria in the air to pass through, and a hydrophobic part that does not allow bacteria in the air to pass through. Eye drop container.