Project Propsal

ENGR 103 - Spring 2017

Freshman Engineering Design Lab

“Medicated Alchite Patch”

Project Design Proposal

Date of Resubmission: May 4, 2017

Group Members {Jacob Csuy, jwc94@drexel.edu}

{Samuel Huang, sh975@drexel.edu}

{Jason Ngo, jn567@drexel.edu}

{Renee Saraka, rms478@drexel.edu}

Technical Advisor {Hao Cheng, hc468@drexel.edu}

Abstract

Alginate can be reacted with chitin to create a fiber-like structure called alchite. The ultimate goal is to create a self-medicating bandage through the effective use of alchite fibers. The bandage will prevent bacteria from spreading and infections, as well as administer necessary medicines. The drug will be placed in very small alginate capsules within the fibers. Before the bandage is placed on the effective area, a small force, like a pinch, will be acted on the bandage, and it will be set in place. The fibers will clean the wound, and the medicine will be administered.

1 Introduction

To produce the desired deliverable, an alginate gel will be used. Alginate is easily prepared as a hydrogel when cross-linked with different cations, like Ca2+. The are low cost, biocompatible and have low toxicity levels. Alginate is widely used, and can be an effective wound healer, drug administrator and cell transplanter. In the future, alginate gels may be used for organ replication for human patients.

While alginate can be combined with many other chemicals to produce different types of materials, it can be combined with chitosan to produce a fiber like product. Chitin is a natural polymer created in many living organisms, especially in crab and shrimp shells. Chitosan is the most important and widely used derivative of chitin. It is antimicrobial and unlikely to decompose when exposed to enzymes in human tissue. When these two polymers combine, they form alchite, which is a fibrous product to be used for wound dressings. This material will be able to eliminate bacterial infections, and can kill any diseased bacteria on the site of a wound.

Medical bandages can drastically range in size and purpose. From simple adhesives to medicated patches, bandages are universally used. When necessary, severe injuries require careful attention and proper care. With a self-medicating bandage, wounds will be able to heal faster, lower chances of infection and comfort patients.

After researching the many different uses for alginate gel, an interest was discovered with the idea of creating fibers. The goal is to create a patch of fibers which can be used to administer medications while also serving as a way to biologically clean a surface. From this process, essential laboratory skills will be integrated and practiced. This experience alone will provide an advantage in future engineering design projects. Some challenges include the time needed for the gels to form, as well as the manual creation of the fibers. Learning about alchite and its components has inspired us to create a deliverable which can help patients heal faster by designing a bandage which can both clean the surfaces of wounds and also dispense medicine autonomously, which will ease the pain of a patient.

2 Deliverables

Upon the conclusion of the project, a fully functioning prototype of the proposed Alchite patch will be produced and prepared to utilize. Moreover, it will be able to release the medicine stored within the capsules in the patch only when significant pressure is applied to the patch. In order to develop the prototype, a CAD design will be used to predetermine the size and layout of the design. Each layer will be separately designed to reveal the intricacies that will be hidden in the final product. Furthermore, lab test results for the pressure release mechanism will be provided, but instead of medicine, food dye will be used within the capsules in order to not waste materials.

3 Technical Activities

The goal of this design project is to create a self medicating patch that helps treat wounds. The patch will be made out of alchite fibers, a material consisting of alginate polymer + hydrolyzed chitosan. There will be three major objectives in this project. First, alchite fibers  need to be created and spun into a patch. Secondly, a self medicating medium will need to be integrated within the patch and controlled for release of the medicine. Finally, the prototype patch needs to be tested for how effectively it releases the drug.    

3.1 Formation of  Alchite Fibers

Alchite fibers are created by the combination of alginate polymer and hydrolyzed chitosan. Alchite fibers are excellent in water absorbance and salt absorbance. Being able to absorb 14-19 grams of water per gram of alchite fiber, alchite is a perfect candidate for wound dressing[1]. Chitosan is naturally antimicrobial and have good healing properties due to its ability to break down enzymes[2]. Alchite fibers being made partly out of chitosan will also aid in treating wounds.

First, the sodium alginate powder will need to be dissolved in water to form aqueous alginate. Next, we will need to form a solution of chitosan. This requires reacting deacetylated chitosan powder with a solution of acetic acid. Strands of alginate gel will be made by stretching the sodium alginate solution in a bath of calcium chloride. If possible, a wet spinning technique could be used to create finer strings. Once the strands of alginate have been created, they will be placed in the chitosan solution to form a composite fiber called alchite. This fiber can be woven into cloth to be used in a patch.

 

3.2 Creation of self medicating medium

In the design of the patch there will be hydrogels carrying medication. The medication will be released when the patch experience physical force. The hydrogels will rupture and release the medication into the alchite fibers. To quantify the rate of release of the drug, tests will be conducted to measure the amount of force required to burst one bead. Small blocks, with known mass will be placed on an alginate bead. Blocks will be continually added until the bead breaks, and the necessary force can be calculated, based on the mass of each block used. The concentration of alginate solution, as well as the size of the beads effect the force needed. To do this, different concentrations will be tested, as well as beads with different diameters, to find the optimal force needed to allow for a controlled release of the medication.

To be effective in its purpose of keeping a wound clean, the antibacterial drug, neomycin sulfate will be inserted into the alginate beads. The beads will then burst with physical force, as described above, and the medicine will have a controlled release to the wound area. However, for experimental purposes, red dye 3, erythrosine, will be used in place of neomycin sulfate. Because these two molecules have similar molecular weights, we can infer that if the methods for one will be applicable to the other. Both molecules are soluble in water.

Creating said hydrogels is a simple process. Mixing sodium alginate with distilled water then dropping the solution in a calcium chloride solution will result in small alginate hydrogel beads forming[1]. The hydrogels can then be inserted into the alchite fiber mesh directly.

3.3 Prototype and testing

The prototype will feature an alginate fiber patch infused with hydrogels carrying medication. This prototype is just a patch and requires medical tape to be secured against the wound. Before applying the patch onto the area of the wound, the patch will be physically twisted and bent to rupture the hydrogels within the alginate fiber patch.

To test the effectiveness of the medication release, the hydrogels will contain a red food coloring solution with Red 40 and 3 within. Once the hydrogels are ruptured the dye will be released and travel through the alginate fibers. If the dye successfully travels through the fiber and turns it red, then it can be concluded that the medication was successfully released.  

4 Project Timeline

Task	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Conduct research	X	X
Finalize proposed deliverable		X
Experimentation to create alchite fibers			X	X	X	X
Assembly of all components for testing							X	X
Testing of preliminary design									X
Finalize deliverable										X

5 Facilities and Resources

The team will utilize the Innovation Studio to perform testing under the supervision of Dr. Hao Cheng and Mohammad Nozari. The large space promotes productivity and offers access to a variety of valuable resources such as a wet lab. Dr. Cheng has a Ph.D in  Materials Science and Engineering and an MS in chemistry. His expertise in biomedical applications will make him an invaluable advisor. He directs the Nano-biomaterials & Cell Engineering Laboratory, which we might take advantage of, depending on the needs of the project. Members of the team will conduct individual research through Drexel’s library website and the powerful Google search engine.

6 Expertise

A mere understanding of the hard science behind the chemistry of sodium alginate is not sufficient for success in this project. A myriad of technical and soft skills is required for the team to operate at optimum efficiency. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are mandatory for a functional team. A solid relationship between team members may be established through project meetings held outside of lab. Competency in computer-aided design software and computer graphics programs will be important to create conceptual designs that the prototypes will be based on. A background in treating physical trauma and the function of medication will be fundamental in the development of an all-in-one solution to treat and protect epidermal injuries.

7 Budget

   

Category	Projected Cost
Food Grade Sodium Alginate	$11.99
TerraVita 95% Deacetylated Chitosan Powder	$16.30
Food Grade Calcium Chloride	$13.99
Frey Scientific Hydrogen Chloride	$13.99
Waterproof Medical Tape	$5.80
Food Coloring	$2.49
Total:	$64.56

7.1 Alchite (Sodium Alginate, Calcium Chloride, Chitosan, Hydrogen Chloride)

Each of the chemicals listed above will be used in combination to develop the alchite fiber that is the main focus of our project. Without these materials it would be impossible to create the fiber necessary for our patch.

7.2 Medicinal Storage Capsules (Sodium Alginate and Calcium Chloride)

The sodium alginate and calcium chloride will be utilized to construct the capsules that will store the medicine. Pipettes and beakers will be required but will not be purchased because a group member already has those materials.

7.3 Patch Creation/Testing (Medical Tape and Food Coloring)

Medical tape is vital in the creation of the final product because it will help maintain the structure of the patch. Additionally, once the patch design is determined, food coloring will be used to test the pressure release mechanism.

8 References

[1] M. Mehmood and S. R. Malik, “DEVELOPMENT AND ABSORBENCY

CHARACTERIZATION OF HONEY COATED ALCHITE FIBERS FOR BURN

WOUND DRESSINGS,” Science International , vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 939–942, Mar. 2016.

[2] M. Miraftab, J. Barnabas, J. F. Kennedy, and R. Masood, “Antimicrobial Properties of

Alginate-Chitosan (Alchite) Fibers Developed for Wound Care Applications,” Journal of Industrial Textiles, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 345–360, 2011.