TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention is related to medical mask, especially the medical mask coated with mangosteen shell extracts. Medical face mask coated with mangosteen shell extracts, according to this invention, is capable of filtering-out air dust particles and killing bacteria. The middle layer of the mask is coated with mangosteen shell extracts that has anti-tuberculosis and anti-respiratory tract infection properties. After use, the mask can continually destroy germs that are trapped on it, thus, lowering the survival rate of carriers for infectious diseases. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As today's world is moving towards globalization— with advancements in technologies, communications and transportation systems, economic development, free-trade, and growing tourism industry— it is becoming more critical that, if there were any spread of disease from human to human, there would also be a chance of spreading, in fact rapidly and in wide perimeter, from one region to another region or to another country. Herein, there are many types of infectious diseases that have severe impacts on public health and welfare of citizens, and one type is the respiratory tract diseases. From the most recent situation surrounding the new strain of influenza virus of 2009 or H1N1 that had spread throughout the world, causing newly infected cases and deaths to increase continually, with the prediction that this strain would become more fatal in the near future; therefore, it is important to become more conscious of the methods to protect oneself against the spreading of such diseases.

Respiratory tract diseases are caused by the infections of the respiratory tract, from nose, to air passage, and to the lungs. Disease-causing factors are often microbes, including viruses and bacteria.

Virus-induced diseases may include common cold, influenza, avian influenza, and the new strain of influenza virus of 2009 or H1N1. Bacteria-induced diseases may include pneumonia and tuberculosis. Herein, the highly contagious diseases with great chance of spreading are influenza, avian influenza, and the new strain of influenza virus of 2009 or H1N1. If there were a spreading, there would be much loss to the country's economy and society. Tuberculosis is one of the diseases induced by Mycobacterium Tuberbulosis that can infected any organs in the body, but most importantly in the lungs, through inhalation of small phlegm particles with bacteria floating in the air into the lungs.

Respiratory tract diseases and tuberculosis can spread and infect the patients in many ways, including:

(1) Sneezes, coughs, or through breathing on each other. The germs will contaminate the small phlegm particles, nasal mucus, or saliva, and will infect anyone close by who inhale the particles.

(2) Through contact with patient's nasal mucus, saliva, or by being located nearby the patient.

(3) Through contact with patient's items or belongings, such as clothes, napkin, towel, glass, spoon, plate, bowl, toy, book, or other items that are contaminated with germs.

Germs that came from cough and sneeze in small particle forms can contaminate the air for a day or many days depending on the type of germ and surrounding environment. Herein, it has been examined that wearing a medical mask can filter-out and reduce the amount of phlegm particles that come out during one's cough or sneeze, which can sequentially reduce the spreading of germs from respiratory tract disease patients to others and the environment of up to 90%.

Presently, it is known that medical masks can protect oneself by disallowing bacteria from entering the respiratory system, but many of them do not have the capability to kill germs. Below are registered patents that are related to this invention.

Thai petty patent number 1928 granted on September 2, 2005 under the name "medical mask" has stated the medical mask that is made from a water resistant polypropylene spunbond fiber that forms at least 2 layers and has middle layer that is made from melt blown filter fiber with stretchable rubber attached to the side of the medical mask. Herein, the medical mask according to this petty patent can only protect against bacterial entrance into the respiratory system, but does not have the capacity to kill tuberculosis bacteria and other germs affecting the respiratory system. Thai petty patent number 5016 granted on July 20, 2009 under the name "medical mask" has declared the medical mask comprising of three layers whereby the first layer is the dust filter layer, the second layer is for germ filtration, and the third layer is coated with nano zinc oxide solution at 500-2000 ppm wherein the zinc oxide solution is derived from the mixtures of nano zinc oxide (size 20-40 nanometer) at 0.05-0.2 grams, cohesive (acrylic polymer 40%w/v) at 30 milliliters, and solvent (distilled water) at 970 milliliters. Herein, even if the medical mask described in this petty patent has the capacity to kill tuberculosis and other germs affecting the respiratory tract, but the nano zinc oxide has a high cost and, if used in high quantity, can be harmful to the cells. Considering the problems as stated above, this invention has, thus, developed a medical mask that has the capacity to kill tuberculosis and other germs affecting the respiratory system by coating the medical mask with mangosteen shell extracts. Wherein, other than the capacity to effectively kill tuberculosis and other germs affecting the respiratory tract, the medical mask according to this invention is also affordable and is safe for human since it is a natural extract. Large chemical group that is derived from mangosteen shell extracts is the Xanthone group that comprises of alpha-mangostin (a-mangostin), beta-mangosteen (β-mangostin), and gamma- mangostin (γ-mangostin) in largest quantities. The extracted chemicals from mangosteen had been studied to have therapeutic effects in many studies, but most importantly, their antituberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberbulosis) properties. Herein, the research conducted by Associate Professor Dr. Sunit Suksamrarn, who is one of the inventors of this invention had discovered that alpha-mangostin, which is found in largest quantity in the Xanthone group, has the capacity to inhibit Mycobacterium tuberculosis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6.25 microgram/millilitre. Furthermore, beta-mangostin and garcinone B had been shown to produce to same results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 Medical mask according to this invention

Figure 2 Anti-tuberculosis effect of middle layer using disk diffusion method DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 is the medical face mask coated with mangosteen shell extracts that comprises of 3 layers: outer layer (1), middle layer (2), and inner layer (3). The outer layer (1) and inner layer (3) are made of polypropylene spunbond fiber. The middle layer (2) is made of melt blown filter that has been coated with mangosteen shell extract in ethanol solution or in other appropriate solution at the concentration of 1 to 50 per unit weight.

The process of coating of mangosteen shell extracts on the middle layer (2) starts from feeding the middle layer (2) into the high-pressure spraying machine or by dipping process. Sequentially, the middle layer (2) will be heated, thereby, causing all of the solution to evaporate from the middle layer (2). In the final process, the middle layer will be rolled up for storage and will later be incorporated in the mask production process. The middle layer (2) after the mentioned coating process has the special capacity to kill bacteria and tuberculosis as shown by the testing result in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the filters which had been coated with mangosteen extracts at low concentration (5) and high concentration (6), when compared with common filter (4), it can be seen that filters (5) and (6) exhibited large clear zones, which indicated that bacteria could not grow in and around the filters, whereas the common filter (4) exhibited no such anti-bacterial property as no clear zone was present around it.

In the mask production process, the 3 mask layers will be placed on top of each other in sequence, following by sewing all 3 layers together using the automatic sewing machine or by hand to obtain the medical face mask coated with mangosteen shell extracts.