No need to peel them off
Posted 05.01.2012 at 5:29 pm
7 Comments
Finely spun starch fibers woven into a bandage could dissolve on your skin and be absorbed by your body, eliminating the sting and hassle of ripping it off in one fast motion. Starch fibers could also be used to produce toilet paper, napkins and other biodegradable products, according to researchers at Penn State.
Food science researchers dissolved starch into a fluid, then spun it into long strands that can be woven into mats, according to a university news release. Anyone who has ever dissolved starch in water knows it can have some awesome physical properties, but the resulting thick paste is not that useful beyond a fun experiment or maybe thickening some soup.
To spin it into thin threads, the Penn State researchers added a solvent to help the starch break down more readily. The solvent allowed it to maintain its molecular structure, and the researchers used an electrospinning device to spin the material into long strands. The fibers could then be woven like any other fiber into a wide range of materials, from bandages to paper.
If they're used as a bandage, the starch fibers could simply degrade into glucose after some time and be absorbed by the body, according to grad student Lingyan Kong, who led this research. No more ripping off a Band-Aid. The fibers could serve other functions where other polymers, like cellulose or petroleum-based plastics, are typically used.
The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and now the Penn State team is applying for a patent.
[via PhysOrg]
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Isn't one of the good things of a band aid to create a barrier from the environment, dirt and other bacteria’s? Will we just absorb those things into our body too? Of course we wash our hand, but thing too sticks to our body and so does all the dirt and bacteria touching the glue\adhering part.
But the article is interesting. I look forward to its further development.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!
Hmm... maybe it'd be used for dissolving after discarded. I HATE those bandaids that float around in the pool. If that problem would be solved I'm happy.
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I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.
For the benefit of trash and landfills, this is cool technology!
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.
Open your mind and see!
@ Artex, I love your profile picture! So cute! I think this is pretty cool, but I wonder if it's sticky???....
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Peace,Love and Happiness!
The science here would be an incredible advantage for helping burn victims I would imagine.
Ur article is good.
But my opinion of using bandages is not such a good process.Injured spots should be freely exposed to fresh air and sunlight.bandages should be used temporarily to avoid infecting bacteria,viruses,and also micro organisms.
And also Bandages may be causes environmental pollution through the dust-bin....
This is quite and interesting idea! :)