MEDICAL ARTICLES WITH MICROSTRUCTURED SURFACE HAVING INCREASED MICROORGANISM REMOVAL WHEN CLEANED AND METHODS THEREOF
The present invention describes medical articles having a microstructured surface, methods of preparing such medical articles, and methods of cleaning medical articles having microstructured surface(s).
1 . A medical article comprising:
a base member; and
a microstructured surface disposed on one or more surfaces of the base member,
the microstructured surface comprising an array of peak structures and adjacent valleys,
wherein the valleys have a maximum width ranging from 10 microns to 250 microns and the peak structures have a side wall angle of greater than 10 degrees.
2 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein adjacent peak structures are interconnected proximate the base member in at least one direction.
3 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the peak structures comprise two or more facets.
4 . The medical article of claim 3 , wherein the facets form a continuous or semi-continuous surface in the same direction.
5 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the microstructured surface comprises a linear array of prisms or an array of cube-corner elements.
6 . The medical article of claim 3 , wherein peak structures have an apex that is sharp, rounded, or truncated.
7 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the peak structures have an apex angle ranging from 20 to 120 degrees.
8 . The medical article of claim 7 , wherein the peak structures and valleys are free of flat surface area.
9 . The medical article of claim 8 , wherein the peak structures and/or valleys are truncated such that the microstructured surface comprises less than 50, 40, 30, 20 or 10% of flat surface area.
10 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the base member and peak structures comprise the same or different materials.
11 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the base member and peak structures comprises an organic polymeric material.
12 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the microstructured surface and base member are transparent, light-transmissive, or opaque.
13 . (canceled)
14 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the medical article is a dental tray.
15 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the dental tray is configured in the shape of an arch.
16 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the dental tray comprises a plurality of cavities shaped to receive one or more teeth.
17 . The medical article of claim 16 , wherein the medical article is a dental aligner.
18 - 24 . (canceled)
25 . A method of cleaning a medical article comprising:
providing a medical article comprising a base member and a microstructured surface of claim 1 ; and
cleaning the microstructured surface.
26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein the cleaning comprises:
a) wiping the microstructured surface with a woven or non-woven material;
b) scrubbing the microstructured surface with a brush;
c) applying an antimicrobial solution to the microstructured surface; or any combination thereof.
27 . The medical article of claim 1 , wherein the microstructured surface provides a log 10 reduction of bacteria of at least 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 after the cleaning.
28 . The medical article of claim 1 wherein the bacteria is a virus or Phi6 Bacteriophage.