Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea
Objectives: The Korean Industrial Standard (KS) for sterile acupuncture needles was established in 2009 based on research on the quality control of acupuncture needles. We aimed to determine the quality of acupuncture needles available in South Korea in 2021 by examining their surface condition and...
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| Format: | Article |
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Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Pharmacopuncture |
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| Online Access: | http://journaleditor.inforang.com/journal/view.html?doi=10.3831/KPI.2022.25.4.382 |
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| author | Dong Yong Park JiYoon Ahn Hyeon Jeong Park Doo Suk Lee Dae-Hyun Jo Jonghoon Kim Choulmin Kim Heebum Chung Ji Hye Hwang |
| author_facet | Dong Yong Park JiYoon Ahn Hyeon Jeong Park Doo Suk Lee Dae-Hyun Jo Jonghoon Kim Choulmin Kim Heebum Chung Ji Hye Hwang |
| author_sort | Dong Yong Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: The Korean Industrial Standard (KS) for sterile acupuncture needles was established in 2009 based on research on the quality control of acupuncture needles. We aimed to determine the quality of acupuncture needles available in South Korea in 2021 by examining their surface condition and chemical composition using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).Methods: In South Korea, there are 23 brands of acupuncture needles, and we examined 10-15 needles from each brand, resulting in a total of 285 needles. The microstructures of the needles were assessed by SEM. Using SEM images, we evaluated the acupuncture needle tips for the following defects/aspects: scratches, lumps, detached coating, bent tip, and tip sharpness. EDS was used to determine the chemical composition of the selected acupuncture needles.Results: Overall, 88.4% of 285 needles were found to have at least one type of abnormality. The most frequently observed abnormalities were scratches and dents on the surface (68.1%), followed by detached coating (63.2%), and lumps (61.8%); blunt tips were observed in about 24% of them. Of 252 needles with at least one defect, 86.9% had two or more types of defects. The ratio of the number of needles with any defect to that of needles without any defect varied among brands, ranging from 50% to 100%. Regarding foreign materials, higher proportions of Si and O were observed on the needles, indicating incomplete or detached silicone coating.Conclusion: The quality of acupuncture needles varied among brands, suggesting that further improvements can be made through various inspection methods. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:31:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-243f3b9614784f9b9852e8d051b76a26 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2093-6966 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:31:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Pharmacopuncture |
| spelling | doaj.art-243f3b9614784f9b9852e8d051b76a262022-12-29T06:50:16ZengKorean Pharmacopuncture InstituteJournal of Pharmacopuncture2093-69662022-12-0125438238910.3831/KPI.2022.25.4.382KPI.2022.25.4.382Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South KoreaDong Yong Park0JiYoon Ahn1Hyeon Jeong Park2Doo Suk Lee3Dae-Hyun Jo4Jonghoon Kim5Choulmin Kim6Heebum Chung7Ji Hye Hwang8Smart Manufacturing Technology R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Cheonan, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaSmart Manufacturing Technology R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Cheonan, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaMedistream Co., Ltd, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam, Republic of KoreaObjectives: The Korean Industrial Standard (KS) for sterile acupuncture needles was established in 2009 based on research on the quality control of acupuncture needles. We aimed to determine the quality of acupuncture needles available in South Korea in 2021 by examining their surface condition and chemical composition using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).Methods: In South Korea, there are 23 brands of acupuncture needles, and we examined 10-15 needles from each brand, resulting in a total of 285 needles. The microstructures of the needles were assessed by SEM. Using SEM images, we evaluated the acupuncture needle tips for the following defects/aspects: scratches, lumps, detached coating, bent tip, and tip sharpness. EDS was used to determine the chemical composition of the selected acupuncture needles.Results: Overall, 88.4% of 285 needles were found to have at least one type of abnormality. The most frequently observed abnormalities were scratches and dents on the surface (68.1%), followed by detached coating (63.2%), and lumps (61.8%); blunt tips were observed in about 24% of them. Of 252 needles with at least one defect, 86.9% had two or more types of defects. The ratio of the number of needles with any defect to that of needles without any defect varied among brands, ranging from 50% to 100%. Regarding foreign materials, higher proportions of Si and O were observed on the needles, indicating incomplete or detached silicone coating.Conclusion: The quality of acupuncture needles varied among brands, suggesting that further improvements can be made through various inspection methods.http://journaleditor.inforang.com/journal/view.html?doi=10.3831/KPI.2022.25.4.382acupunctureacupuncture needle tipfield-emission scanning electron microscopy (fe-sem)energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (eds)quality of acupuncture needle |
| spellingShingle | Dong Yong Park JiYoon Ahn Hyeon Jeong Park Doo Suk Lee Dae-Hyun Jo Jonghoon Kim Choulmin Kim Heebum Chung Ji Hye Hwang Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea Journal of Pharmacopuncture acupuncture acupuncture needle tip field-emission scanning electron microscopy (fe-sem) energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (eds) quality of acupuncture needle |
| title | Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea |
| title_full | Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea |
| title_fullStr | Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea |
| title_short | Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Various Disposable Acupuncture Needles Used in South Korea |
| title_sort | morphological and chemical analysis of various disposable acupuncture needles used in south korea |
| topic | acupuncture acupuncture needle tip field-emission scanning electron microscopy (fe-sem) energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (eds) quality of acupuncture needle |
| url | http://journaleditor.inforang.com/journal/view.html?doi=10.3831/KPI.2022.25.4.382 |
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