Biodegradable Bandage

Sophie Marin

BACKGROUND
MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS
Bandages are used to stop bleeding and infection when a minor
lesion occurs. Typically, bandages and plastics are made from a The original recipe used to make the biodegradable bandages created
Materials:
substance called petroleum which is neither a renewable resource nor
• Corn starch • Small pot chalky bandages which crumbled when touched. After this was realized a new
biodegradable. Many bandages end up in landfills or littered on the • Agar powder • Wooden spoon recipe needed to be made: more water and less agar powder. The new bandage
ground. Bandages are usually accessible in pharmacies or grocery • Water • 24 Lumbricus terrestris (earth worms) recipe worked well to make bandages which held together and had a gelatinous
stores, but these stores are not always located in rural environments. • White distilled vinegar • 6 pots texture. Since glycerin is a lipid, which allows plastic to be more pliable, it was

If stores with bandages are not nearby, then other materials may be • Honey • Potting soil best to only change that aspect of the recipe. The spring scale worked

used to cover the wounds. One outcome of not having access to
bandages is the use of other materials that may have collected
infectious pathogens. Without access to bandages, the chance of a
wound getting infected increases which becomes more serious than a
minor cut. If the bandage problem was solved with an inexpensive
bio-degradable, then more areas will have access to bandages
decreasing the need for medical treatment for infections. The
inexpensive bandages will not litter the environment and if enough
are made they can be distributed to rural homes. Since, the total cost
of ingredients is low more bandages can be made and distributed in
addition to other resources, such as food.
Biodegradable plastic or bioplastics are usually able to
decompose after a period of time. Bioplastics are polymers made up
of monomers, that are linked together to form a chain. Usually,
bioplastics are synthesized within microbes or polymerized from
lactic acid. The lactic acid comes from plant-derived sugars and
starches. The chemical links between the monomers can be broken by
living organisms and water allowing them fully decomposability.
Polylactic acid or PLA which is polymerized from lactic acid and is an
example of a type of bioplastic. (Fridovich-Keil, 2020).
EXPIREMENTAL DESIGN
Hypothesis: If more glycerin is added to the basic plastic recipe, then the plastic
will be softer allowing it to stretch and be easier to biodegrade.
Independent Variable: The amount of glycerin doubled from 6 grams to 12
grams.
Dependent Variable: Compare the recipe with a normal amount of glycerin and
the other recipe with a doubled amount. The strength of either bandage will be
measured and the ability to biodegrade is observed.
Controls: The corn starch, agar powder, aloe, vinegar, water, and honey keep the
Image 1:
same measurements for either recipe, so only the glycerin’s affect is observed.
Objective: Create a biodegradable bandage with 6g of glycerin, then double the
glycerin. Figure out the change in force and biodegradability between the recipes.
Figure 2:
• Glycerin • 20 N spring scale
• Thermometer • Parchment paper
Method(s)
1. Measure 4 grams of corn starch, 26 mL of water, 4 mL of vinegar, 2 g of aloe, 4 g of honey, 2 g of agar and 6 g of
glycerin into a bowl.
2. Put a pot on the stove and turn the stove onto medium heat. add the ingredients just measured into the pot and stir.
3. Stir the ingredients until they are dissolved.
4. Allow the mixture to cool down until it is room temperature. Test it with a thermometer to check the temperature of
the mixture.
5. Pour mixture onto parchment paper; evenly pour the mixture.
6. Cut the bandage to be 5 cm by 5 cm to make each bandage the same size for testing. (Another bandage with the
same ingredient measurements may need to be made).
7. 6 bandages will be made. The bandages will need to dry for at least two days.
8. Put one bandage into a small pot of one cup of soil with 4 Lumbricus terrestris. Record info about how the bandage
biodegrades over a 7-day period. The two other bandages will be put in separate pots of soil.
9. The other three bandages will be tested for strength. Test the other bandage’s strength by stretching it until it tears
and measure the force applied when it was ripped. This shows the highest force that can be exerted onto the
bandage. Use a spring scale with the max measurement being 20 N.
7. Make another recipe with 4 grams of corn starch, 26 mL of water, 4 mL of vinegar, 2 g of aloe, 4 g of honey, 2 g of
agar and 12 g of glycerin. A total of 6 bandages will be made. Repeat steps 2-9 with this different recipe.
8. Three bandages are tested for strength and the others tested for ability to biodegrade.
9. The bandages are tested for strength with the use of a spring scale. This tool’s hook is poked trough the center of a
bandage and the bandage is stretched until the hook completely goes through the bandage.
10. The force in Newtons is recorded.
11.The other three bandages are tested for the ability to biodegrade with the use of Lumbricus terrestris.
Figure 1:
competently to measure the force each bandage could handle. Three bandages
were made with each recipe and then the spring scale’s hook was poked trough
the center to measure the maximum force. The first of the 6g glycerin bandages
could handle 5N before it completely tore. The second and third bandages could
handle 3.5N and 4N. The three other bandages made from 12g of glycerin could
handle 2N, 1.5N, and 2.5N. The bandages made from 6g of glycerin could
withstand more force and from observations they had a dry texture, while the
other bandages were more glutinous. This result was because glycerin is the
plasticizer in the recipe that allows the mixture to absorb more water.
The most notable parts of the 7-day period of the 6g glycerin bandages
was the development of a mold growth on one of the pieces. The bandages did
partially decompose with the help of the Lumbricus terrestris. The 12g glycerin
bandages seemed to relatively decompose as well. This information was just
based on observations because the bandages could have shrunk in size because of
the drying process or the temperature of the room they were located in. Based on
this information it is best to say both bandage recipes decreased in size after
being in soil with Lumbricus terrestris for 7 days. The 12g glycerin bandages may
have been decomposed at a higher rate because the extra glycerin could be more
appealing to the microorganisms. Overall, it is still difficult to tell which bandage
recipe decomposed more or at a higher rate.
CONCLUSIONS
The hypothesis made was incorrect since the bandages made with 12
grams of glycerin could withstand less force than the other bandages. The
texture was more gelatinous and softer, but these properties did not make the
bandage stronger. The 12g bandage would cling better to the skin because it
absorbed more water molecules creating a stickier bandage. If the agar powder
was excluded, it may make a stronger bandage. This could occur because
typically agar powder or glycerin is used in bioplastics instead of both
ingredients. The reason agar powder was chosen to be used in addition to
glycerin was to give the bandage the gelatinous texture to easily shape around
the skin. This texture occurred as expected and was more prevalent in the
bandages made with the 12g of glycerin. In the future, another aspect of the
bandage should be changed to see the ingredient’s affect on the results of each
test. This experimentation was more to test the differences in bandages made
with different amounts of glycerin. It is interesting to see the difference doubling
an ingredient amount could make to a recipe that is identical.

All six bandages in soil with Lumbricus terrestris
Biodegradability of both bandages made from 6g glycerin
and 12g glycerin. Different bandages than bandages
used with spring scale.
Maximum force for each trial with the use of a
20N spring scale. Green is the maximum forces
of three different 6g glycerin bandages. The
blue is the 12g glycerin bandages.
REFERENCES
Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Bioplastic. Britannica School. Retrieved December
1, 2022, from https://school-eb-
com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/levels/high/article/bioplastic/471398
Fridovich-Keil, 2020
All images and chars produced by Sophie Marin