Cleaning and liquid contact with solids – Processes – Miscellaneous
Patent
1996-10-03
1998-07-28
Fries, Kery A.
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids
Processes
Miscellaneous
510112, 510113, 510114, 510115, 510392, 510530, 510475, C11D 3386, C11D 320, C11D 344, B08B 300
Patent
active
057857679
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Art
The present invention relates to a cleaning and disinfecting solution for a contact lens and a method of cleaning and disinfecting the contact lens using the solution.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a contact lens is classified into a non-water contained contact lens, and a water-contained contact lens called as a soft contact lens. These contact lenses are likely to be soiled with deposits such as protein and lipid during wearing of the contact lenses on the eyes of the user, which deposits derive from tear fluid or lipid included in the tear fluid. These deposits adhering to the contact lenses deteriorate the wearing comfort of the contact lenses as felt by the user, and lower the eye sight of the user. In view of this, it is required to regularly clean the contact lens to remove the deposits therefrom for comfortable and proper wearing of the contact lenses on the user's eyes.
In a conventional method of cleaning the contact lens for removal of the deposits adhering to the contact lens, the lipid deposit is removed from the contact lens by rubbing the contact lens with a cleaning solution which includes a surface active agent, while the protein deposit is removed by immersing the contact lens in a cleaning solution which includes a proteolytic enzyme.
In general, bacteria or germs tend to adhere to, and proliferate on, the surfaces of the contact lens, especially the surfaces of the soft contact lens. In view of this, it is necessary to disinfect the contact lens on a regular basis for preventing the eyes of the lens wearer from being infected with the bacteria or germs.
For disinfecting the contact lens, there are conventionally known a heat disinfecting method in which the contact lens is heated, and a chemical disinfecting method which utilizes a chemical disinfectant such as hydrogen peroxide. In the heat disinfecting method, the contact lens is heated at a temperature higher than 80.degree. C. by using a suitable boiling and disinfecting device, so that the contact lens is sterilized. This method requires one hour or more, including time required for elevating the temperature and cooling the contact lens. Thus, it takes a relatively long period of time to complete the disinfection of the contact lens. In the chemical disinfecting method using hydrogen peroxide, the contact lens is soaked in an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide so as to disinfect the contact lens. This chemical disinfecting method requires an additional treatment of neutralization after the disinfection of the contact lens, undesirably making the disinfecting method cumbersome and difficult. To solve this drawback, the disinfection and the neutralization may be effected in a single step using a catalyst, for example. However, this method is inconvenient since it also requires a relatively long period of time for the disinfection and neutralization. In the chemical disinfecting method, the chemical disinfectant exhibits only a small degree of sterilizing effect (disinfecting effect). Thus, the method inevitably requires four or more hours for the disinfection of the contact lens. In addition, the user may suffer from side effects such as allergy.
Generally, the contact lens is cleaned and disinfected in different steps. However, it would be more convenient to the contact lens user if the contact lens is cleaned and disinfected simultaneously in a simplified manner. Thus, there has been a demand for a method of simultaneously cleaning and disinfecting the contact lens. Laid-open Publication No. 2-289255 of unexamined Japanese patent application (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,607 to Mowrey-McKee et al.) discloses one example of such a method of simultaneously cleaning and disinfecting the contact lens wherein the contact lens is simultaneously cleaned and sterilized by immersing the contact lens in a composition which comprises a proteolytic enzyme and an antimicrobial agent and whose osmotic pressure is held at a level adjacent to a physiological state. This method was develo
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Kimura Norio
Nakagawa Akira
Fries Kery A.
Tomey Technology Corporation
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