Tooth Patch with Moisture-Responsive Backing Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tooth-attachable patches are cumbersome to remove after use, often leaving residues due to adhesive forces and requiring manual stripping, which can damage the patch and result in incomplete drug delivery to teeth.
Innovation Solution
A patch design featuring a backing layer with reduced tensile strength by 50% or more after moisture absorption, allowing for easy removal by tooth brushing without stripping, utilizing a combination of water-soluble and water-insoluble polymers to maintain drug delivery efficacy and facilitate easy disposal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a water-insoluble backing layer is used to selectively deliver drug to teeth, then drug delivery precision is improved, but patch removability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The backing layer is constructed as a composite material containing both water-insoluble polymers (for drug delivery precision and structural integrity) and water-soluble polymers (for easy removal after use). This composite structure allows the patch to maintain its function during use while enabling convenient removal afterward, resolving the contradiction between drug delivery precision and removability.
2Ease of operation
If a water-soluble backing layer is used to enable easy removal, then patch removability is improved, but drug delivery precision deteriorates due to mixing with saliva
Solution Approach 1:
The backing layer combines water-insoluble and water-soluble polymers in specific proportions. The water-insoluble component ensures that the drug is delivered precisely to the teeth without dissolving in saliva, while the water-soluble component enables easy removal after use. This composite approach resolves the contradiction between removability and drug delivery precision.
3Reliability
If the patch is made resistant to degradation during use, then drug delivery reliability is improved, but removal ease deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patch material undergoes a parameter change in response to environmental conditions: it maintains structural integrity and resistance to degradation during the initial use period to ensure reliable drug delivery, then becomes progressively more soluble and easier to remove after a certain time period. This time-dependent parameter change resolves the contradiction between reliability during use and ease of removal afterward.
4Reliability
If the patch adhesive force is increased to prevent premature detachment, then drug delivery reliability is improved, but removal difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesive properties of the patch are made dynamic rather than static. The patch maintains strong adhesion during the initial period to prevent premature detachment and ensure reliable drug delivery, but the adhesive force gradually decreases over time due to water absorption and polymer dissolution, enabling easy removal afterward. This dynamic adhesive behavior resolves the contradiction between reliability and removal ease.
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 patch can be conveniently and completely removed by tooth brushing, ensuring effective drug delivery to teeth without residue and foreign body sensation, while maintaining the integrity of the drug layer during use.
Implementation Method 1
a water-soluble polymer absorbs saliva thereby loosening the bonds between the polymers formed in the backing layer over time
Implementation Method 2
a water-insoluble polymer prevents a drug from being released to the outside during use
Implementation Method 3
whose tensile strength is reduced by 50% or more by absorbing moisture
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention provides a patch for attaching to teeth or a surrounding part of teeth, and the patch can be easily removed by tooth brushing alone.