KR102369651B1 - Oral color sensor for bacterial detection - Google Patents

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention is a polymer substrate; and a coating layer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate and including a polymer binder and an indicator, wherein the coating layer provides a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use that changes color at pH 5.5 or less.

Description

Oral bacteria detection color sensor {ORAL COLOR SENSOR FOR BACTERIAL DETECTION}

The present invention relates to a color sensor for detecting bacteria in the oral cavity with excellent convenience and oral care effect.

Oral medical devices such as transparent braces, orthodontic maintenance devices, mouthpieces, and anti-snoring devices are devices that are worn during daily life or sleep to perform oral-related treatment. For example, transparent braces and orthodontic maintenance devices are therapeutic devices that correct or maintain the corrected state of interlocking between irregular teeth and abnormal upper and lower jaws, and mouthpieces and anti-snoring devices are used for oral-based teeth grinding or snoring during sleep. It is a treatment device that improves the health and quality of life of users by preventing

However, since the oral medical device is mounted in the oral cavity for a long time, bacterial propagation is easy due to the generation of a biofilm around the device, and thus, there is a problem in that it is vulnerable to oral or dental disease infections such as dental caries and gingivitis. Dental caries is an infectious bacterial disease in which a part of the calcified tissue of the tooth is dissolved and destroyed. The activity of caries caused by demineralization and loss of hemorrhoids is very diverse, and the acid produced by the metabolism of purified carbohydrates by bacteria inside the plaque dissolves the crystal structure of the hemorrhoids, causing caries lesions.

Factors affecting the occurrence of dental caries can be divided into host factors, pathogenic factors, environmental factors, and time factors. Among these, food consumed every day in daily life corresponds to an environmental factor, and carbohydrates, particularly sugar, contained in the ingested food are closely related to dental caries as a metabolite of oral bacteria. After ingestion of sugar, acid, a metabolite, is produced, and due to this, when the pH of the plaque falls below the critical pH of 5.5 or less at which the foromatous demineralization begins, the equilibrium of calcium and phosphorus ion concentrations in the formate hydroxyapatite and the formate surface is balanced. The inclination causes the dissolution of the legal mass.

Accordingly, a method of preventing the occurrence of bacteria by checking the presence or absence of bacteria by measuring the pH value in order to prevent bacterial infection of teeth by generation of bacteria is used.

As a conventional pH measurement method, the sampling/scraping method is a method of rubbing or collecting plaque and measuring it in a laboratory using a pH meter outside of the oral cavity. A method of measuring pH is typically used. However, the conventional method for measuring pH is not only cumbersome as it is measured using a separate measuring device, but also cannot immediately check whether or not bacteria are generated, so that the preventive effect may be insignificant. In addition, the user may be burdened with costs by purchasing a separate measuring device or paying a fee for each measurement.

Therefore, there is a need for research and development on a bacterial detection sensor for oral use that is simple and convenient to measure pH, and can prevent bacterial infection in the oral cavity by checking whether or not bacteria are generated within a short period of time in daily life.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1785085 (2017.10.12.)

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use that is convenient and reusable by conveniently detecting the occurrence of bacteria within a short time even while wearing a medical device. .

One aspect of the present invention is a polymer substrate; and a coating layer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate and including a polymer binder and an indicator, wherein the coating layer provides a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use that changes color at pH 5.5 or less.

In one embodiment, the polymer substrate may be one selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and mixtures of two or more thereof.

In one embodiment, the polymer binder is carboxymethyl cellulose, carboxypropyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl chitosan, chitosan, It may be one selected from the group consisting of polyacrylic acid, alginate, and a mixture of two or more thereof.

In one embodiment, the indicator may be one selected from the group consisting of litmus, bromthymol blue (BTB), methyl orange, methylene blue, and a mixture of two or more thereof.

In one embodiment, the indicator may be included in 0.5 to 10% (w/v) with respect to the polymer binder.

In one embodiment, the thickness of the coating layer may be 0.1 ~ 0.7㎛.

In an embodiment, the color sensor for detecting bacteria may be washed and reused more than once.

In one embodiment, the polymer substrate may be a transparent brace, an orthodontic maintenance device, a mouthpiece, an anti-snoring device, or other oral medical devices.

The color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use according to an aspect of the present invention includes a coating layer comprising a polymer binder and an indicator formed on at least a portion of the surface of a polymer substrate, so that when bacteria occur while a user wears an oral medical device, the color of the coating layer changes Bacterial occurrence can be detected within a short period of time, and thus, oral bacterial infection can be prevented in advance. In addition, since the color-changed coating layer has reversibility by washing, it can be reused for a predetermined number of times, so that the device can be easily managed and used, and the oral environment can be kept clean.

It should be understood that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described effects, and include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the detailed description or claims of the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram of the mechanism of the color sensor for detecting bacteria of the present invention.
2 is a result of evaluating the physical properties of the coating layer of the bacterial detection color sensor of the present invention.
3 is a graph for evaluating the reversibility of the color sensor for detecting bacteria of the present invention.
4 is a graph of absorbance measurement of the color sensor for detecting bacteria of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be embodied in several different forms, and thus is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" with another part, this includes not only the case where it is "directly connected" but also the case where it is "indirectly connected" with another member interposed therebetween. . In addition, when a part "includes" a certain component, this means that other components may be further provided without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

One aspect of the present invention is a polymer substrate; and a coating layer formed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate and including a polymer binder and an indicator, wherein the coating layer provides a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use that changes color at pH 5.5 or less.

Since oral medical devices are kept worn by users for a long time in daily life or during sleep, contamination of the apertures such as biofilm formation around the device may easily occur, and there is concern about bacterial infection. The occurrence of bacteria can be confirmed by measuring the pH concentration, which is due to a metabolic process in which bacteria break down sugar and secrete acid when sugar is ingested. Therefore, whether or not bacterial infection can be confirmed by measuring the pH to determine whether bacteria is generated and infected. However, since the conventional pH measurement has to be performed using a separate measuring device, the confirmation of bacterial production may be delayed due to restrictions of place and time, and oral and dental diseases may progress.

The oral bacterial detection color sensor of the present invention forms a coating layer containing a polymer binder and an indicator on at least a portion of the surface of a polymer substrate constituting an oral medical device, and based on a pH of 5.5, which is the point at which the tooth quality is demineralized, When a user wears an environment with a pH of 5.5 or less due to the generation of acid due to the metabolism of bacteria in the oral cavity, the color of the coating layer changes, thereby confirming whether or not bacteria are generated. The oral bacteria detection color sensor can detect the occurrence of bacteria due to the color change of the coating layer formed on the oral medical device without a separate measuring device. You can take care of your dental health.

1 is a schematic diagram of the mechanism of the color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use of the present invention. The indicator includes a litmus solution, and if the type of indicator is changed, the color may be different depending on the pH value. The litmus solution may have a purple color when the pH value is neutral, blue when basic, and red when acidic.

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 ( a ) schematically illustrates a method of forming a coating layer including a polymer binder and an indicator on a portion of the surface of a polymer substrate. 1(a) shows that the pH value is a neutral environment, so the color of the coating layer may be purple. 1(b) shows that bacterial growth such as a biofilm occurred on the coating layer, and the acidification of the oral environment below pH 5.5 due to the formation of acid due to the metabolism of bacteria proceeded to confirm that the bacterial breeding site was discolored red. there is. 1(c) shows that the contaminated area is washed and returned to the neutral environment of FIG. 1(a), thereby confirming that reversibility exists.

The polymer substrate may be one suitable as a material for oral medical devices, for example, polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and a group consisting of a mixture of two or more thereof. It may be one selected from, but is not limited thereto.

The polymer binder may serve to bind between the components constituting the coating layer, and the types thereof include carboxymethyl cellulose, carboxypropyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and hydroxyethyl cellulose. It may be one selected from the group consisting of hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl chitosan, chitosan, polyacrylic acid, alginate, and a mixture of two or more thereof.

As a non-limiting example of the present invention, the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of the polymer binder may be 500,000 to 4,000,000, for example, 500,000 or more, 600,000 or more, 700,000 or more, 800,000 or more, 900,000 or more, 1,000,000 or more, 1,300,000 or more or 1,500,000 or more, and 4,000,000 or less, 3,700,000 or less, 3,300,000 or less, 3,000,000 or less, 2,700,000 or less, 2,300,000 or less, or 2,000,000 or less, but is not limited thereto.

The indicator may be one selected from the group consisting of litmus, bromthymol blue (BTB), methyl orange, methylene blue, and a mixture of two or more thereof, but is not limited thereto, and other compounds that change color depending on pH It can be used as the indicator. The indicator may form a coating layer together with the polymer binder, and when the pH value in the oral cavity falls below 5.5, it induces a color change of the coating layer within 30 seconds to 1 minute to detect the occurrence of bacteria. .

The litmus is a pigment extracted from lichens. Commonly known litmus paper is dried by dipped in a solution of litmus alcohol solution with hydrochloric acid and ammonia water, respectively. The litmus indicator is purple in neutral, blue in basic, and red in acid. The bromthymol blue (BTB) is green in neutral, blue in basic, and yellow in acid. The methyl orange is yellow in neutral and basic, and red in acid. The methylene blue is a redox indicator and has blue color when oxidized and colorless when reduced, and the methylene blue itself is a basic compound and becomes blue when reacted with an acidic substance. The indicator serves to detect bacteria in the oral cavity and may be an indicator having a discoloration range capable of determining detection of bacteria in the oral cavity, and the type is not limited to the above-described examples.

On the other hand, the indicator may be included in 0.5 to 10% (w / v) with respect to the polymer binder, for example, 0.5% or more, 0.6% or more, 0.7% or more, 0.8% or more, 0.9% or more, 1.0% or more , 2.0% or more, 3.0% or more, 4.0% or more, or 5.0% or more, and 10% or less, 9.5% or less, 9.0% or less, 8.5% or less, 8.0% or less, 7.5% or less, 7.0% or less, 6.5% or less, or , may be 6.0% or less, but is not limited thereto. If the indicator is less than 0.5% (w / v) with respect to the polymer binder, the accuracy of the measurement of bacterial detection may be reduced, and if it exceeds 10% (w / v), the content of the indicator is higher than necessary, resulting in tooth discoloration, etc. Usability may be reduced.

Meanwhile, the thickness of the coating layer may be 0.1 to 0.7 μm, for example, 0.1 μm, 0.2 μm, 0.3 μm, 0.4 μm, 0.5 μm, 0.6 μm, or 0.7 μm, but is not limited thereto. If the thickness of the coating layer is less than 0.1 μm, the accuracy of the measurement of bacteria detection may be reduced or the durability of the coating layer may be reduced, and if it exceeds 0.7 μm, the coating layer becomes thicker than necessary, reducing the feeling of use, and the coating layer is not formed uniformly or the color Measuring change can be difficult.

On the other hand, the color sensor for detecting bacteria is washed and reused 1 or more times, 2 times or more, 3 times or more, 4 times or more, 5 times or more, 6 times or more, 7 times or more, 8 times or more, 9 times or more, or 10 times or more. This may be possible. The color sensor for detecting bacteria may cause oral contamination due to the generation of biofilm while the user is wearing it, and accordingly, the color change of the coating layer may occur to detect the occurrence of bacteria, and it may be washed immediately after detection. It can effectively prevent dental disease. The color sensor for detecting bacteria has reversibility of returning to its original color by removing bacteria after washing, so that the user can reuse it after washing and re-wearing it. For example, the color sensor for detecting bacteria is washed 1 to 11 times, that is, 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times, 5 times, 6 times, 7 times, 8 times, 9 times, 10 times or 11 times. and reuse, but is not limited thereto.

The polymer substrate may be a transparent brace, an orthodontic maintenance device, a mouthpiece, an anti-snoring device, or other oral medical devices. Since the color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use according to an aspect of the present invention can be manufactured by forming a coating layer on the surface of various oral medical devices, a user can simply detect bacterial growth.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

Example 1

A composition obtained by adding 5% (w/v) methyl orange solution to carboxymethyl cellulose having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 on a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet is coated to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 μm to light yellow A color sensor for detecting bacteria in the oral cavity with a prominent coating layer was prepared.

Example 2

On a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) sheet, a composition obtained by adding a 5% (w/v) litmus solution to carboxymethylcellulose having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 was coated to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 μm to obtain a pale purple color. A color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use with a prominent coating layer was prepared.

Example 3

A composition obtained by adding 5% (w/v) BTB solution to polyethylene glycol having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 on a transparent glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet is coated to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 μm to light green A color sensor for detecting bacteria in the oral cavity with a prominent coating layer was prepared.

Example 4

A composition obtained by adding 5% (w/v) methylene blue solution to polyethylene glycol having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 on a transparent glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet is coated to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 μm and is colorless A color sensor for detecting bacteria in the oral cavity with a prominent coating layer was prepared.

Example 5

On a transparent polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, a composition obtained by adding 5% (w/v) BTB solution to chitosan having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 was coated to a thickness of 0.1 to 0.7 μm, and a light green coating layer was formed. The formed oral bacteria detection color sensor was manufactured.

Comparative Example 1

Except for coating the coating layer with a thickness of 0.01 to 0.05 μm, a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1, but an orange peel phenomenon was observed and the appearance was somewhat poor.

Comparative Example 2

Except that the coating layer was coated with a thickness of 0.8 to 1.0 μm, a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1, but the thickness of the coating layer was non-uniform and cracks occurred.

Experimental Example 1: Evaluation of bacterial detection properties

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the bacterial detection properties of the oral bacterial detection color sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a test method, a specimen was prepared by cutting the color sensor for detecting bacteria prepared according to Example 1 to 20 cm in width and 10 cm in length, and distilled water (A-1) and distilled water in which mutans bacteria were cultured on the specimen (B) -1) was dropped, respectively, and the color change was observed, and for accuracy, distilled water (A-2) and distilled water in which mutans bacteria were cultured (B-2) were dropped to different parts of the substrate to observe the color change, The results are shown in FIG. 2 .

Referring to Figure 2, the specimen of Example 1 contains methyl orange as an indicator, and the parts (A-1, A-2) to which distilled water was dropped were pale yellow and there was no color change, and mutans bacteria were cultured. The areas where the solution was dropped (B-1, B-2) turned red after 30 seconds from immediately after dropping. Accordingly, it can be confirmed that the coating layer of the embodiment is formed evenly, and it can be confirmed that the detection effect of bacterial generation is excellent.

Experimental Example 2: Evaluation of reversibility

The reversibility evaluation of the color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use according to an embodiment of the present invention was performed. After coating the surface of the plastic UV cuvette (UV QUARTZ UVETTE) with the composition constituting the coating layer of Example 1, the reversibility evaluation was performed by repeatedly adding and washing the mutans culture solution, and the results are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 it was

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , it can be seen that the coating layer of the UV cuvette shows a change in color by culturing mutans and a change in absorbance according to repeated washing. In detail, the UV cuvette including the coating layer, which was originally close to transparent, changed the color of the coating layer according to the occurrence of mutans, and the absorbance increased accordingly. 3, the reversible number of times is shown to be a maximum of 11 times, so that it can be confirmed that the number of reuses is a maximum of 11 times. In addition, referring to FIG. 4 , it can be seen that the reversibility decreases as the number of washing increases.

The specimen of Comparative Example 1 was not reusable because the color change of the coating layer was very slight after washing once.

The description of the present invention described above is for illustration, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a dispersed form, and likewise components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

polymer substrate; and
In the oral bacterial detection color sensor comprising a; is formed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate, the coating layer comprising a polymer binder and an indicator,
The polymer substrate is a surface portion of the oral medical device,
The coating layer is formed by combining the polymer binder with each other,
At least a portion of the polymer binder is bonded to the surface of the polymer substrate,
The coating layer changes color at pH 5.5 or less,
The thickness of the coating layer is 0.1 ~ 0.7㎛,
The color sensor for detecting bacteria is a color sensor for detecting bacteria for oral use that can be washed and reused more than once. The method of claim 1,
The polymer substrate is one selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane, glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polytetrafluoroethylene, and mixtures of two or more thereof. The method of claim 1,
The polymer binder is carboxymethyl cellulose, carboxypropyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, carboxymethyl chitosan, chitosan, polyacrylic acid, alginate and these Bacterial detection color sensor for oral use, which is one selected from the group consisting of a mixture of two or more. The method of claim 1,
The indicator is one selected from the group consisting of litmus, bromthymol blue (BTB), methyl orange, methylene blue, and a mixture of two or more thereof. The method of claim 1,
The indicator is a color sensor for detecting bacteria in the oral cavity that is contained in 0.5 to 10% (w/v) with respect to the polymer binder. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The oral medical device is a transparent brace, an orthodontic maintenance device, a mouthpiece, a snoring prevention device, or other oral bacterial detection color sensor.

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