Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kimberly-clark Corporation

Other

David Charles Potts

Jack Nelson Lindon

Ali Yahiaoui

Matthew David Young

David Martin Jackson

Sylvia Bandy Little

Michael David Powers

Michael Allen Daley

Cheryl A Perkins

Dmitry Yavich

Gregory Marc Lefkowitz

Ronald S Nohr

Lawrence Howell Sawyer

Dennis Stein Everhart

Debra Jean McDowall

J Gavin MacDonald

Charles Edward Bolian, Ii

David Michael Matela

Xin Ning

Cheryl Ann Mocadlo

Nancy Donaldson Kollin

Emmanuelle Cecile Damay

George A Young

Bruce Wilfuhr Achter

Daniel Joseph VanHout

Garry Roland Woltman

Joseph DiPalma

Candace Dyan Krautkramer

Tamara Lee Mace

Charles Wilson Colman

Rae Ellen Syverson

Arthur Edward Garavaglia

Connie Lynn Hetzler

Margaret Gwyn Latimer

Michael William Veith

Lee Patrick Garvey

Robert Cosmo Di Luccio

Alice Y Romans-Hess

Thomas William VanDenBogart

Kim LaRae Resheski-Wedepohl

Kristin Ann Goerg-Wood

Jerald T Jascomb

Amy Michele Achter

Peter Robert Elliker

Barbara Jean Burns

Teri Taylor Kish

Crystal Sutphin Leach

Brian Eric Lin

Cynthia Marie Phillips

Maug Hla Win

Yen-Ling Lai

Kevin Wilson Wood

Karyn Clare Dibb

Ramonica Frances Green

The present disclosure relates to personal care products such as diapers, training pants, feminine care articles, incontinence articles, bandages, and the like, that have been treated to enhance liquid intake and distribution performance characteristics and reduce leakage. Advantageously, the treated personal care products described herein not only reduce the viscosity and elasticity of viscoelastic fluids that come in contact with the treated product, but also reduce the fouling effect of such fluids.

Treatment of personal care products to reduce leakage

The present invention provides a substrate treated with an linked enzyme. It has been discovered that a substrate treated with a linked enzyme can be effective in improving the ability of the substrate to absorb viscoelastic materials, such as menses, by cleaving a protein structure present in some viscoelastic materials. In addition, the linked enzyme is less likely to migrate from the treated material onto the user, as compare to an enzyme being placed directly on the substrate, thereby reducing the risk of sensitization to the user of the absorbent product. Also provided by the present invention are absorbent articles which contain at least one surface or layer containing the linked enzyme.

Absorbent products with a linked enzyme treatment

A personal care absorbent article such as a disposable diaper, sanitary pad or tampon, wound dressing or bandage which includes a nonwoven web material made from a plurality of polymeric fibers having at least one treatment chemistry suitable for modifying at least one characteristic of a high viscoelasticity fluid upon contact with the high viscoelasticity fluid. In accordance with one particularly preferred embodiment, the treatment chemistry is suitable for immobilizing the high viscoelasticity fluid within the nonwoven web material.

Menses specific absorbent systems

A personal care absorbent article, such as a sanitary pad or napkin, wound dressing, and the like having one or more layers of absorbent material treated with a red blood cell lysing agent and a gelling agent. The effect of combining a lysing agent that thins menses or other blood-containing bodily fluids with a gelling agent that thickens menses or other blood-containing bodily fluids is enhanced agglomeration and increased viscosity of the blood-containing bodily fluids that come in contact with the treated material.

Absorbent article with fluid treatment agent

A personal care absorbent article, such as a sanitary pad or napkin, wound dressing, and the like having an absorbent material treated with a fluid treatment agent, which fluid treatment agent causes red blood cells in a blood-containing fluid to agglomerate or lyse as the fluid passes into and/or through the absorbent article. In accordance with one preferred embodiment, the absorbent material is a porous nonwoven web material.

There is provided an absorbent system that not only takes in fluid, but then transfers that fluid further beneath the first composite. This is achieved in this invention through paired permeability, capillarity, and void volume of the first and second composites. The invention is an absorbent system composed of at least two absorbent composites that have complementary structural/surface energy characteristics. Such an absorbent system has a first absorbent Composite A which has a first permeability, a first capillarity, and a first void volume and at least one second absorbent Composite B which has a second capillarity and a second porosity multiplied by second thickness. The first absorbent Composite A is in liquid communication or contact with at least one second absorbent Composite B, such that the first absorbent Composite A, and the second absorbent Composite B have a fluid partitioning amount in Composite A, a third triple intake time (IT3) and a rewet value.

Personal care products having reduced leakage

A method of incorporating a density modulator into an absorbent composite includes the steps of applying a density modulator solution to a pulp sheet, fiberizing the pulp sheet, and incorporating the fiberized pulp sheet into an absorbent composite. The density modulator can be applied by slot coating or by using a flooded nip. Once the density modulator is incorporated into the absorbent composite, the absorbent composite is highly wettable and, upon contact with blood-containing bodily fluids, undergoes a decrease in density, thereby increasing the absorbent capacity of the absorbent composite.

Method of incorporating fluid treatment agents into absorbent composites

There is provided an intake/retention/transfer material for personal care products like feminine hygiene products, which is a heterogeneous composite containing between 5 and 25 weight percent of a superabsorbent or gelling material and having a density less than 0.17 g/cc. A more particular embodiment contains less than 20 weight percent and a still more particular embodiment contains 15 weight percent or less of a superabsorbent or gelling material. Also provided are absorbent articles which contain the class of intake/transfer materials mentioned above along with additional absorbent layers such that the absorption of a menses simulant provides fluid partitioning of less than 72% of fluid in the intake/transfer/retention composite. Additionally said composite should have retention capacity values greater than 2.7 g/g.

Personal care product with fluid partitioning

An absorbent article for inhibiting the production of exoproteins from Gram positive bacteria, such as potentially harmful proteins produced by Staphylococcus species, is described. The absorbent article is particularly useful for inhibiting the production of TSST-1, alpha-toxin and/or enterotoxins A, B and C from bacterium. An alkyl polyglycoside is incorporated into the absorbent article. For example, alkyl polyglycoside may be coated on the fibers of a liquid-permeable cover of a catamenial tampon.

Absorbent articles for the inhibition of exoprotein production from Gram positive bacteria

Disclosed is an improved structure that includes a nonwoven web including a viscoelastant treatment. The treated web, when contacted by a viscoelastic fluid such as menses alters the viscoelastic properties of the fluid and enhances its wicking and distribution throughout the absorbent structure. A desirable viscoelastant is a alkyl polyglycoside, particularly those having 8 to 10 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. When applied so as to provide an amount of about 0.1% to about 5.0% solids add-on based on the weight of the dry nonwoven web, rapid fluid wicking and distribution may be obtained. Other viscoelastants are disclosed. Advantageously the treatment may be applied as a high solids composition using conventional application means such as spray coaters and the like or as an internal additive. The absorbent structure finds particular utility as a distribution layer component of a sanitary napkin for absorbing menses as well as other blood handling products such as surgical drapes, for example.

Treatment of materials to improve handling of viscoelastic fluids

A coated porous substrate composed of a hydrophobic polymer which is substantially uniformly coated with a hydrophilic polymeric material. The substrate may be a sheet-like material, examples of which are foams, fibers, and fibrous webs. The fibrous webs desirably will be nonwoven webs. The coating on the substrate is durable to an aqueous medium at a temperature in a range of from about 10.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C. and does not significantly suppress the surface tension of an aqueous medium with which the coated substrate may come in contact. The hydrophobic polymer may be a polyolefin, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The hydrophilic polymeric material with which the polymer fibers are coated may be a polysaccharide or a modified polysaccharide. Also provided is a method of preparing a coated porous substrate which involves providing a porous substrate composed of a hydrophobic polymer. At least a portion of the substrate then is exposed to a field of reactive species. At least a portion of the porous substrate, including the portion exposed to the reactive species, is treated with a mixture which includes water and a hydrophilic polymeric material under conditions sufficient to substantially uniformly coat the porous substrate with the hydrophilic polymeric material.

Durable hydrophilic coating for a porous hydrophobic polymer substrate

Durable hydrophilic coating for a porous hydrophobic substrate

There is disclosed a porous non-woven absorbent structure formed from fibers. The porous structure has a basis weight within the range of at least about 0.25 osy to about 10.0 osy a density of at least about 0.01 g/cc to about 0.15 g/cc. The porous structure is adapted such that upon the application of at least 2 ml of fluid Bovine blood-oxalate to a surface thereof, substantially all of said fluid enters the bulk of the porous structure within about 45 seconds. The porous structure may be single layered or include multiple layers. The single layered structure is formed from spunbonded thermoplastic fibers which include a hydrophilic internal additive. The multiple layered structure is formed by laminating a spunbonded web to a second layer. The second may be formed from natural or synthetic fibers. When formed from synthetic fibers, the second layer is generally formed from meltblown fibers which may also include a hydrophobic internal additive. The fibers forming either the spunbond or the meltblown layers may be mono-component or bi-component. In some applications, a liquid impervious film may be secured to a surface of the second layer.

Porous non-woven bovine blood-oxalate absorbent structure

A nonwoven composite structure is provided which has three melt-extruded nonwoven layers, each of which includes at least a portion of a nonwoven web. The first nonwoven web is adjacent to one surface of the second nonwoven web and the third nonwoven web is adjacent to the other surface of the second nonwoven web. The first and third nonwoven webs consist of continuous and randomly deposited filaments having an average filament diameter in excess of about 7 micrometers. The second nonwoven web consists of substantially continuous and randomly deposited microfibers having an average diameter of from about 0.1 to about 10 micrometers. The microfibers of the second nonwoven web are prepared from a mixture of an additive and a second thermoplastic polymer, which additive imparts alcohol repellency to the surfaces of the microfibers. The three nonwoven layers can be prepared independently from polyolefins, polyesters, polyetheresters, and polyamides. The boundary between at least two adjacent melt-extruded nonwoven layers is indistinct in that fibers at or near the surfaces of such adjacent layers are significantly intermingled. At least one of the first and third nonwoven webs has been treated by topical application of at least one agent to alter or enhance the surface characteristics of the filaments in the web, the topical treatment being carried out in a manner such that each topically applied agent is substantially restricted to the web to which it was applied. Finally, the composite structure has been pattern bonded by the application of heat and pressure.

Three-layer nonwoven composite structure

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Dunwoody, GA, United States of America

David Charles Potts