| Abstract |
Our project “Chill ‘N’ Heal Bandage” aligns with the scientific principles of chemistry and biochemistry to create an improved, beneficial product - a hydrogel healing bandage. The project deals with the creation, formulation, and testing of a prototype that would have measurable performance in terms of absorption, strength, and antimicrobial properties.
Bandages have been around for years, their use has been limited to the most basic protection. Thus, our objective was to make a new, healing-promoting alternative. We started by looking for substances that could help heal wounds and came across hydrogel technology as the most probable solution. The hydrogel was made out of glycerol, corn-starch, gelatine, cutaneous powder, and water. The ingredients were then heated, and stirring was done until a thick, soft, gel-like consistency was achieved. The hydrogel was finally poured onto sterile plates, where it was allowed to solidify into samples. We performed a number of tests to check the absorption capacity, the mechanical strength, and the antimicrobial properties of our hydrogel.
The findings showed that the Chill ‘N’ Heal hydrogel though comparable to standard bandages in its physical and absorptive characteristics was still very much active in terms of antimicrobial activity, hence the ability to reduce infection and assist in healing faster. Although we could not test directly on human wounds due to ethical considerations, we managed to create a simulated wound model by mixing gelatine, glycerine, and red food dye to replicate the characteristics of human tissue for further evaluation.
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