JPH05329196A - Method for preserving contact lens - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely prevent contact lenses from contamination due to miscellane ous germs in a route from a maker to a retailer by using ozoniferous water of specified concentration as contact lens preserving liquid and putting the contact lenses in a preserving container together with the preserving liquid to seal hermetically the container. CONSTITUTION:When contact lenses are put in a preserving container together with a preserving liquid for preservation of contact lenses in a routine from a contact lens maker to a retailer, ozoniferous water of 2.5-10.0ppm concentration is used for the contact lenses preserving liquid, which is prepared to have predetermined concentration by blowing ozone gas or adding the ozoniferous water having high concentration into tap water, ion exchange water, distilled water, etc. Usually, the preserving liquid can become completely aseptic by being stationarily placed for 20-90 minutes after hermetically sealing the ozoniferous water. The preservation temperature may be the room temperature without being limited particularly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for storing contact lenses, and more specifically, it is free from contamination by germs and the like, and can be safely deformed or discolored during the period from contact lens makers to retail stores. How to store contact lenses without.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of contact lenses, various measures have been taken to keep the manufactured contact lenses clean. Furthermore, in order to keep the contact lens clean after the contact lens is manufactured and before it is sold at a retail store (distribution process), the contact lens is stored in a storage container together with a contact lens storage solution. As described above, although various measures are taken for the preservation of contact lenses, various bacteria (microorganisms) are sometimes mixed and propagate. When the germs propagate in this manner, there is a problem that the storage solution becomes cloudy and the lens is contaminated, and the lens becomes unclean and the transparency decreases.

Therefore, distilled water or ion-exchanged water is used as a preservative in order to keep the contact lens clean not only in the manufacturing process of the contact lens but also after it is manufactured and before it is sold at a retail store. A method has been proposed. However, when distilled water or ion-exchanged water is used as a preservation solution, it is impossible to suppress the growth of once-proliferated miscellaneous bacteria. In addition, a method of sterilizing the contact lens itself by heat or sterilizing with a drug is adopted. However, for example, the sterilization by heat has a problem that the plastic which is the lens material is deformed and the sterilizing power cannot be sufficiently retained, so that various bacteria are often propagated. Next, the method of sterilizing using a drug has excellent sterilizing power, but there are doubts about the safety to the eyes, and the contact lens itself and its container may be altered or deformed. There is a problem. Furthermore, in these methods, the contact lens, the contact lens storage container and the storage solution cannot be washed at once and stored in a clean state.
When all of these bacteria propagate, there is a problem in that processing takes time.

[0004]

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies to solve such problems. As a result, ozone water of a specific concentration was used as a contact lens storage solution, and this was poured into a contact lens storage container,
By contacting the contact lens, sealing it, and letting it stand, it is not only simple, reliable, and eye-safe, but also in a clean state without the possibility of altering or deforming the contact lens itself or its container. They have found that they can be stored, and have completed the present invention based on this finding.

That is, according to the present invention, when a contact lens is stored together with a contact lens storage solution in a contact lens storage container, ozone water having a concentration of 2.5 to 10.0 ppm is used as the contact lens storage solution, and the contact lens is used as the contact lens. The present invention provides a method for storing a contact lens, which is characterized in that the lens is stored in a contact lens storage container together with the lens storage solution and sealed.

Contact lenses are high-performance products that require various properties such as chemical resistance, flexibility, water retention and oxygen permeability in addition to high transparency and mechanical strength. As materials for contact lenses, materials such as siloxanylmethacrylate and methylmethacrylate are usually used. However, new materials are being developed one after another due to the requirement of the above-mentioned high properties. There is. The method of the present invention is a simple and reliable method for manufacturing contact lenses, which are made of such various materials and are expensive and highly functional products, from the time they are shipped from the lens manufacturer to the time they are sold at retail stores. In addition, it is an effective method for keeping the contact lens itself and its container in a clean state without any danger to the eyes and without damaging or deforming the contact lens itself or its container.

[0007] Normally, the contact lens is stored in a contact lens storage container together with the contact lens storage solution from the time of manufacture to the time of sale. As described above, the present invention is characterized by using ozone water having a specific concentration as the contact lens storage solution. This contact lens storage container is usually
It is made of plastic, the main body is made of polymethylpentene, polycarbonate, etc., the lens holder is made of materials such as polyester elastomer, polyethylene, etc., and the cap is made of polymethylpentene. , Polypropylene and other materials. The method of the present invention is suitable for any material forming these contact lenses and contact lens storage containers, and does not significantly deform or discolor them.

As a preservative solution for contact lenses, tap water, ion-exchanged water, distilled water, etc. are usually used. However, since various bacteria and the like are mixed and propagate, the above-mentioned various problems occur. .. The method of the present invention is characterized by using ozone water of a specific concentration as these preservation liquids. Specifically, for example, not only the ozone water of a specific concentration is used as the preservation liquid itself, The ozone of the preservation solution is prepared by directly blowing ozone gas into the prepared preservation solution (consisting of tap water, ion-exchanged water, distilled water, etc. as described above) or adding highly concentrated ozone water. The concentration may be adjusted. Usually tap water,
Ozone gas is blown into water such as ion-exchanged water and distilled water to prepare ozone water having a predetermined concentration.

In the method of the present invention, the ozone concentration is 2.5 to 1
Ozone water of 0.0 ppm, preferably 4 to 8 ppm is used. The optimum ozone concentration for sterilization depends on the type of bacteria, the storage period, the material of the contact lens itself, the material of the storage container, etc., as described below, but the ozone concentration of the storage solution is generally less than 2.5 ppm. And the bactericidal power is not enough. On the other hand, the bactericidal power does not change even if it exceeds 10.0 ppm. In addition, ozone gas has an oxidizing action and a sterilizing action,
It is known that it self-decomposes after the action and does not remain for a long period of time, and is highly safe.

To generate ozone, there are methods such as reaction and decomposition of chemicals, but it is preferable to use methods such as electric discharge and electrolysis. It is sufficient to inject ozone gas into a container containing the contact lens preservative solution to prepare ozone water having a intended concentration and then inject this ozone water into the preservative solution and seal it.

In the method of the present invention, the contact lens solution comprising the ozone water having the above-mentioned specific concentration may be poured into the contact lens storage container, the contact lens may be put therein, and then the container may be sealed. After sealing, usually, if it is allowed to stand for 20 to 90 minutes, it can be completely sterilized. Furthermore, the temperature of this storage solution is not particularly limited and may be room temperature. When the temperature is raised, the decomposition of ozone is accelerated and the contact lens or the container may be deformed or colored, which is not preferable.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of examples. Example (1) Ozone resistance test The effect of ozone on contact lenses and their storage containers was investigated as follows. As the high oxygen permeable contact lens, one made of siloxanyl methacrylate was used. As the contact lens storage container, a container whose main body part was polypropylene, whose cap part was polymethylpentene, and whose lens holder was made of Hytrel was used. Prior to the test, the inner surface R and the diameter of the contact lens were measured. Next, store contact lenses in a contact lens storage container and use a preservative solution containing only ozone-free tap water as a control, and use preservative solutions with ozone concentrations of 2.5 ppm and 8.0 ppm for various periods. The change of shape and the change of color were investigated. That is, after the lapse of a predetermined period, the inner surface R and diameter of the contact lens, the change in the lens color, and the ozone odor were compared with the control. The difference from the control is shown in Table 1. The radius of curvature of the inner surface of the lens was measured by an optical curvature measuring device, the diameter of the lens was measured by a 20 × projector, the lens power was measured by a lens meter, and the lens center thickness was measured by a contact thickness meter. ..

[0013]

[Table 1]

Even after the lapse of 3 months from the filling, there was no special odor (offensive odor), and there was no particular change in the storage container even after 3 months. In addition, it can be seen from the results in Table 1 above that there is no change in the shape or color of the lens. From these, it is understood that ozone water is suitable as a preservative for contact lenses.

(2) Sterilization test I The sterilizing power of ozone was investigated as follows. Cladosporium (Cladosporium) from the spore-forming bacteria and Nocardia (Nocardia) from the bacteria, respectively,
Cladosporium was cultivated and grown on Sabouraud agar, and Nocardia was cultivated on tryptosoy agar. Next, the inoculum was used to adjust the concentration of each to a predetermined concentration, and a predetermined amount was inoculated into a storage container equipped with a contact lens of 3.8 ml. Next, ozone water was prepared so as to have a predetermined ozone concentration, poured into a container, and then sealed. Then, after mixing for about 1 hour at room temperature, use the entire amount of the test solution as a test solution and
Culture was carried out for a day. The results are shown in Tables 2 and 3.
In addition, the control is a case of only tap water containing no ozone water.

[0016]

[Table 2]

[0017]

[Table 3]

From Tables 2 and 3, it can be seen that Nocardia can be completely sterilized at an ozone concentration of 2.8 ppm.

(3) Sterilization test II Further, the sterilization effect of Cladosporium bacteria was tested by changing the ozone concentration. The results are shown in Table 4.

[0020]

[Table 4]

According to Table 4, the ozone concentration is 4.0 to 8.0 pp.
It can be seen that the bactericidal effect is extremely high in the range of m.

[0022]

According to the method of the present invention, in the distribution process, the contact lens itself or its container is altered,
It can be stored in a clean state without any fear of being deformed and without being contaminated by various bacteria. Further, according to the method of the present invention, the contact lens can be stored simply, reliably, and safely without danger to the eyes or the human body.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ryo Sakazume 1-1 Namikimoto-cho, Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture Inside the Plant Business Development Department, Sapporo Building Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toyotai Tanaka, Kita-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture 17-chome Toyo Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. When the contact lens is stored in a contact lens storage container together with the contact lens storage solution, the contact lens storage solution is 2.5 to 10.0 ppm.
A method for preserving contact lenses, which comprises using ozone water having a concentration of 1.