Lambda-Carrageenan Lubricant Composition for Shear-Thinning HPV Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current personal lubricants do not effectively protect against human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission during sexual activity, as they either fail to provide antiviral protection or compromise lubricity and performance due to high viscosity issues when carrageenan is added.
Innovation Solution
Development of personal lubricant compositions containing lambda-carrageenan extracted from sea algae, which maintains lubricity and performance while inhibiting HPV transmission through the use of a non-Newtonian, pseudoplastic fluid that undergoes shear thinning during sexual activity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If carrageenan is added to personal lubricant to provide antiviral protection, then HPV transmission is inhibited, but viscosity increases exponentially causing loss of lubricity and performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by utilizing the shear-thinning property of lambda-carrageenan solutions. The lubricant maintains high viscosity at rest to provide adequate lubrication, but when subjected to shear stress during sexual activity, the viscosity decreases to allow smooth movement. This dynamic viscosity adjustment resolves the contradiction between maintaining antiviral protection (requiring carrageenan) and preserving lubricity (requiring low viscosity).
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamics by making the lubricant's viscosity variable rather than fixed. The non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluid transitions from a thick, lubricating state at low shear rates to a thinner, more flowable state at high shear rates. This dynamic behavior allows the same formulation to provide both antiviral protection and adequate lubrication throughout the sexual act.
2Reliability
If carrageenan is added to personal lubricant to inhibit HPV transmission, then antiviral activity is improved, but the lubricant dries quickly leaving sticky residues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction through parameter changes in the lubricant's rheological properties. By formulating a non-Newtonian fluid that maintains appropriate viscosity over time and resists drying, the lubricant keeps the antiviral carrageenan active on the mucosal surface throughout the sexual activity without forming sticky residues or drying out prematurely.
3Ease of operation
If conventional lubricants are used during sexual activity, then lubrication is provided, but protection against HPV transmission is not effective
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges two previously separate functions into a single lubricant formulation: (1) providing lubrication during sexual activity and (2) protecting against HPV transmission. By combining lambda-carrageenan (which provides antiviral protection) with lubricating agents in a non-Newtonian fluid matrix, the patent creates a single product that simultaneously achieves both lubrication and HPV protection, eliminating the need to choose between these two functions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The lubricant effectively reduces HPV transmission by interacting with the HPV virus, preventing its replication and persistence, while retaining viscosity and tactile benefits, suitable for various sexual encounters and compatible with condoms and other sexual accessories.
Implementation Method 1
a non-Newtonian, pseudoplastic fluid that undergoes shear thinning during sexual activity
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention includes pourable, non-toxic lubricating compositions containing carrageenan and more precisely lambda carrageenan as an anti-viral agent, for protection from Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and methods of using the lubricating compositions as a non-oily, psuedoplastic lubrication product. Such methods include the lubrication of substrates, including condoms and sexual accessory devices, with the lambda-carrageenan-containing lubricants for contacting the skin of one or more sexual partners and reducing the propagation of HPV during sexual activity.