Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Designated organic active ingredient containing – C-o-group doai
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-23
2003-02-04
Hartley, Michael G. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Designated organic active ingredient containing
C-o-group doai
C424S402000, C424S443000, C424S445000, C424S446000, C424S447000, C514S060000, C514S463000, C514S715000, C514S722000, C514S723000, C514S724000, C514S772000, C514S778000, C514S969000, C604S358000, C604S363000, C604S364000, C604S378000, C604S385010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06515029
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to absorbent articles for absorbing body fluids and exudates, such as urine and fecal material. More particularly, the present invention relates to absorbent garments, such as disposable diapers and adult incontinence garments, which include a hydrophilic lotionized bodyside liner for improved skin health benefits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional absorbent articles, such as disposable diapers, employ absorbent materials located between a liquid pervious bodyside liner and a liquid impermeable outer cover to absorb body exudates. Such conventional absorbent articles have typically included elasticized waistbands and leg cuffs to help reduce the leakage of body exudates. Some conventional absorbent articles have also included elasticized containment or barrier flaps at the leg or waist sections of the article to further reduce leaks.
Typically, the liquid pervious bodyside liners have been constructed of nonwoven materials such as spunbond polyolefin materials. Unfortunately, such materials do not always provide a soft, nonabrasive contact with the skin. In particular, during continuous use of absorbent articles containing such liners, the wearer's skin can become quite irritated and red particularly in the presence of urine and feces. The abrasion resulting from such liners and the presence of urine and feces can undesirably lead to the onset of diaper dermatitis (diaper rash). Diaper dermatitis can afflict almost every infant at some time during the diaper wearing years. Although other factors influence the onset of diaper dermatitis, critical factors include the abrasiveness of the bodyside liner and the hydration level of the wearer's skin.
To prevent body exudates from contacting the wearer's skin, the caregiver often applies skin protective products directly to the skin of the wearer before positioning the article on the wearer. Such products have included petrolatum, mineral oil, talc, corn starch, or various other commercially available rash creams or hydrophilic lotions. This procedure typically involves the caregiver applying the products to their hand and then transferring the products to the wearer's skin.
To eliminate the caregiver from contacting the products and to reduce skin abrasion and improve skin health, hydrophilic lotion formulations can be applied to the bodyside liners such that, in use, the hydrophilic lotion formulation either transfers to the skin or provides lubricity thereby reducing the friction between the liner and the skin. However, conventional lotion formulations have typically been hydrophobic liquids, hydrophobic semi solids, or hydrophobic solids based formulations at room temperature. However, since these lotion formulations are hydrophobic, they have sometimes adversely affected the ability of the absorbent article to accept body exudates and, in particular, urine discharges, from the wearer. As a result, the add-on amount and total surface area covered by such hydrophobic hydrophilic lotions has been limited. Moreover, the hydrophobic nature of these formulations has made it difficult to incorporate hydrophilic, cosmetic and active ingredients into the formulation
Further, such formulations have been unstable and tended to migrate away from the surface of the liner into the liner and absorbent core of the absorbent articles leaving less on the surface to transfer to the skin or provide the reduced abrasion. This migration problem is particularly evident at higher temperatures such as those at the skin surface in use or those in typical storage conditions in warm climates.
Thus, conventional absorbent articles, such as those described above, have not been completely satisfactory. For example, hydrophobic lotions which have been incorporated on the liners of such articles have adversely affected the absorbency of the articles and have migrated such that a less effective amount has been applied to the wearer's skin or been located between the skin and the liner in use. As a result, the wearer's skin has remained susceptible to rashes, abrasion and irritation. Accordingly, there remains a need for absorbent articles which provide improved skin health. In particular, there remains a need for absorbent articles which include a hydrophilic lotion on the bodyside liner which does not adversely affect absorbency, which exhibits reduced migration, and in which other ingredients are readily incorporated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In response to the difficulties and problems discussed above, a new disposable absorbent article which has an improved hydrophilic lotionized bodyside liner has been discovered. In particular, it has been discovered that a superior hydrophilic lotion treated bodyside liner for an absorbent article can be made by (1) applying to the outer bodyfacing surface of the bodyside liner, a melted moisturizing/protective/healing hydrophilic lotion formulation comprising a hydrophilic solvent, a polyethylene glycol having as molecular weight of at least about 720 and a fatty alcohol; and (2) resolidifying the formulation to form a distribution, preferably a uniform distribution, of solid deposits on the bodyfacing surface of the liner. Because the formulation is a solid at room temperature and rapidly solidifies after deposition, it has less tendency to penetrate and migrate into the liner and absorbent body of the article during processing and at elevated storage temperatures. Compared to liners treated with liquid or semi-solid hydrophobic formulations, the hydrophilic lotion formulations of the present invention have a reduced adverse affect on absorbency and leave a greater percentage of the added formulation on the bodyfacing surface of the liner where it can contact and transfer to the wearer's skin to provide a benefit.
When employed in the present disclosure, the terms “comprises”, “comprising” and other derivatives from the root term “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify the presence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof.
As used herein, the term “viscosity” refers to the viscosity in centipoises determined according to ASTM D3236, entitled “Standard Test Method for Apparent Viscosity of Hot Melt Adhesives and Coating Materials.”
As used herein, the phrase “melting point” refers to the temperature at which the majority of the melting occurs, it being recognized that melting actually occurs over a range of temperatures.
As used herein, the phrase “melt point viscosity” refers to the viscosity of the formulation at the temperature at which the majority of the melting occurs, it being recognized that melting actually occurs over a range of temperatures.
As used herein, the phrase “penetration hardness” refers to the needle penetration in millimeters according to ASTM D 1321, “Needle Penetration of Petroleum High molecular weight polyethylene glycoles.” Lower needle penetration hardness values correspond to harder materials.
As used herein, the term “z-direction migration loss” refers to the value obtained when subjecting an absorbent article having a hydrophilic lotion formulation on the bodyfacing surface thereof to the Z-Direction Lotion Migration Test set forth below.
As used herein, the term “cd-direction migration loss” refers to the value obtained when subjecting an absorbent article having a lotion formulation on the bodyfacing surface thereof to the CD-Direction Lotion Migration Test set forth below.
In one aspect, the present invention resides in an absorbent article having a bodyside liner which includes a hydrophilic lotion formulation on the outer bodyfacing surface thereof. The hydrophilic lotion formulation comprises from about 10 to about 90 weight percent of a hydrophilic solvent, from about 5 to about 90 weight percent of a high molecular weight polyethylene glycol, and from about 0 to about 60 weigh
Hockersmith Jeffrey Michael
Krzysik Duane Gerard
Musil David Charles
Rosch, III Frank Andrew
Shaw Gordon Allen
Choi Frank
Curtin Jeffrey B
Dudkowski Alysse A
Hartley Michael G.
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
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