Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Preparations characterized by special physical form – Biocides; animal or insect repellents or attractants
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-22
2001-05-08
Levy, Neil S. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Preparations characterized by special physical form
Biocides; animal or insect repellents or attractants
C424S405000, C424S406000, C424S407000, C514S531000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06228384
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a composition for capturing and detecting mites, as well as methods of capturing and detecting mites using the composition. More particularly, the invention relates to methods of capturing and detecting mites using a composition containing 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate.
BACKGROUND ART
Increasing damage is being caused by mites in house dust and this is attributable to various factors including the recent tendency of ensuring insulation of the residential environment from the ambient atmosphere and the westernization of the life style of Japanese people. While many mites are problematic, Dermatophagoides are worth particular attention since they are held as the most important allergen for infantile asthma and a topic dermatitis. Methods for controlling mites in house dust range from massive ones such as installing wooden floors, removal sofas and drying tatami mats, rugs and carpets to the treatment with chemicals which is relatively easy to perform. Conventionally applied chemicals include fenthion, fenitrothion, DDVP and permethrin, as well as 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate which is used as an active ingredient in the present invention. Another control means that is gaining popularity these days is the use of mite-proof bed spreads made of microfine fibers. However, the effectiveness of these conventional mite control means is not completely reliable since they are influenced by various factors of the residential environment. To ensure effective mite control, a certain ancillary means is necessary for checking the effectiveness of the treatment applied or determining whether it is truly necessary to perform the mite control or deciding upon the area that needs intensive control. In fact, however, the very small size of mites makes it generally difficult to know whether a certain area is infested with mites. Conventionally, the existence or density of mites in a house has been detected by the color reaction between the mite residue in house dust and an aromatic diazo compound (Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 135844/1985), or using a compound that develops a color upon reaction with the body fluid of a mite (Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 83624/1994) or by using a monoclonal antibody (Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 207892/1993). However, these and other conventional methods of mite control have various problems such as reacting not only with a living mite but also with a dead mite, reacting with both mites and other organisms, requiring special equipment or involving cumbersome operations. Thus, there has been no convenient and positive method that allows for specific reaction with living mites.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Under these circumstances, the present inventors made intensive studies to develop a convenient and positive method of capturing mites, as well as a method of detecting mites using said method. As a result, they found that treating a mite-infested indoor environment with a composition containing 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate provided a positive and rapid way to have mites crawl out to the surface of that environment. The inventors also found that these methods enabled mites to be captured and detected in a convenient and positive manner. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of these findings.
Briefly, the present invention provides a composition for capturing and detecting mites characterized by containing 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate as an active ingredient. The invention also provides a method of capturing mites characterized by treating a mite-infested indoor environment with a composition containing 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate and trapping the mites that have moved to the surface of that environment. The invention also provides a method of detecting mites characterized by checking for the existence of mites and determining their density after capturing them by the aforementioned method.
As already mentioned, 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate to be used in the invention is known as an active ingredient of mite control agents. However, its use has been exclusively based on its ability to kill, control the population growth of or repel mites and it has never been used with a view to capturing mites alive as accomplished by the present invention. As will be verified in the Example to be given later in this specification, the effectiveness in causing mites to crawl out to the surface area so that they can be captured alive is exhibited by the 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate of the invention in a much more salient way than other known mite control agents and, hence, is unique to this 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate.
The effectiveness of the present invention in having mites crawl out to the surface area is entirely different from the mite repelling effect. Under the repelling effect, mites will get around or move away from the chemical-treated areas of mite-favored environments such as tatami mats, rugs, carpets and futon. In the present invention, mites are forced to crawl out of the chemical-treated areas of mite-infested environments such as tatami mats, rugs, carpets and futon so that they appear on the surface. It should also be noted that the population growth control effect of the existing mite control agents develops in several days to several weeks after treatment with such agents; on the other hand, the effectiveness of the present invention in having mites crawl out to the surface area develops in only a few minutes after treatment (see Table 1 to be given later in this specification.)
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
When the composition of the invention is to be applied in practice for capturing mites, the active ingredient 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate may be dusted on its own without addition of any other ingredients. If desired, it may be mixed appropriately with various vehicles and adjuvants commonly used in either a solid, liquid or gaseous form in formulating chemicals, as well as feeds, thereby preparing oil sprays, emulsifiable concentrates, dusts, granules, wettable powders, aerosols, sheets, and so forth. While 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate occurs in a plurality of isomers, all of them and any mixtures of them are included within the scope of the present invention.
The mites crawling out to the surface area can be trapped by suction, picking up, adhesion and any other known trapping techniques. However, considering the need to detect the existence and density of mites in the subsequent step, the use of an adhesive material is preferred.
If the composition of the invention is preliminarily combined with an adhesive substrate or if an adhesive material is preliminarily incorporated in the composition of the invention, mites can be forced to crawl out to the surface and captured at the same time. In this case, 3-phenoxybenzyl chrysanthemate and an adhesive material may be applied to a substrate to form a sheet, paper, film or the like that have an adhesive layer. Alternatively, the composition of the invention may be sprayed or coated onto the substrate just prior to use so that the mites crawling out to the surface can be captured. The adhesive material that can be used in the invention is not limited to any particular type and any materials to which mites get stuck to be captured may be employed.
A broader spectrum of effects can be achieved by using the composition of the invention in admixture with various kinds of attractant, acaricide, insecticide, flavors and so forth.
After capturing mites with the composition of the invention, one can check for their existence and determine their density in a convenient and positive way by examination with a magnifying glass, an optical microscope or some other suitable detecting means. Detection can also be made by combining this method with known mite detecting techniques such as a color reaction.
All mites living in house dust can be captured and detected by the methods of the invention and they will exhibit an outstanding effect on
D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, T. putrescentiae, Cheyletus malaccensis, Ch
Kamezaki Hiroki
Kamezawa Tatsuya
Browdy and Neimark
Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha
Levy Neil S.
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