Tooth-Attachable Patch with Segmented Backing Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tooth-attachable patches are cumbersome to remove and often leave residues on the toothbrush, with water-insoluble backing layers requiring manual stripping and potentially causing foreign body sensations during removal.
Innovation Solution
A tooth-attachable patch design incorporating a backing layer with a combination of water-soluble and water-insoluble polymers, featuring a breakable portion with prominence and depression or bubbles, allowing for easy degradation and removal by tooth brushing without stripping the backing layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a water-insoluble backing layer is used to selectively deliver drug to teeth, then drug delivery selectivity is improved, but patch removal becomes cumbersome and leaves residues on toothbrush
Solution Approach 1:
The backing layer is segmented into multiple functional regions: a water-insoluble region for maintaining structural integrity and selective drug delivery, and a water-soluble region for easy removal and dissolution. This segmentation allows the patch to simultaneously achieve reliable drug delivery to teeth and easy removal without residues on the toothbrush.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the backing layer are assigned different material properties: the water-insoluble portion provides structural support and controlled drug release, while the water-soluble portion enables easy removal. This local differentiation of material quality resolves the contradiction between maintaining structural integrity for drug delivery and enabling easy removal.
2Ease of operation
If a water-soluble backing layer is used for easy removal, then patch removal ease is improved, but drug component mixes with saliva and loses selective delivery to teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The backing layer is divided into water-insoluble and water-soluble regions, where the water-insoluble region maintains structural integrity during use to ensure selective drug delivery to teeth, while the water-soluble region dissolves easily during removal. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between easy removal and selective drug delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The backing layer exhibits local quality differentiation with water-insoluble portions for drug delivery stability and water-soluble portions for easy removal. This localized material property assignment allows the patch to achieve both easy removal and maintained drug delivery selectivity.
3Ease of operation
If the patch is made completely removable by tooth brushing, then removal ease is improved, but the patch structure may compromise drug delivery effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The backing layer is segmented into water-insoluble and water-soluble regions, where the water-insoluble region maintains structural integrity during the drug delivery period to ensure effective drug delivery, while the water-soluble region enables complete removal by tooth brushing. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between removal ease and drug delivery effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the backing layer have different material properties: water-insoluble regions maintain structural stability for effective drug delivery, while water-soluble regions enable complete removal. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between maintaining structural integrity for drug delivery and enabling complete removal.
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 achieves easy and complete removal by tooth brushing alone, minimizing residue and foreign body sensations, while maintaining effective drug delivery to teeth surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the backing layer is degradable by tooth brushing
Implementation Method 2
including both a water-soluble polymer and a water-insoluble polymer
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a tooth-attachable patch comprising: a drug layer for delivering drugs to a tooth; and a backing layer positioned on the opposite side of a tooth attachment surface of the drug layer, and including, both a water-soluble polymer and a water-insoluble polymer. The patch of the present invention can be easily removed by merely brushing the teeth without separately stripping off a backing layer.