(Newser)
– A 17-year-old high school student and a finalist in a national science competition presented an impressive invention that she hopes to save lives, especially in developing countries. Dasia Taylor, from Iowa City, Iowa, read about “smart” sutures coated with a conductive material that can transmit changes in a wound to smartphones and computers, reports Smithsonian. The problem, in Dasia’s opinion, was that these expensive sutures were unlikely to be accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries, where surgical site infections are generally more common and more deadly, according to Washington Post. When her chemistry professor talked about a statewide science fair in October 2019, Dasia started working on making her own sutures that would register changes in pH levels without electronics. The key: beet.
Human skin has a pH of around 5, but increases to 9 with an infection. As Dasia found out, beet juice is bright red at a pH of 5, but turns dark purple at a pH of 9. This means that a suture containing beet juice dye should change color when an infection appears . Tests using a mixture of cotton yarn and polyester proved Dasia’s theory. In five minutes at a pH of 9, the sutures turned dark purple. After three days, they faded to a light gray. Dasia not only “dominated” the state competition, but was named one of 40 national finalists in Regeneron’s prestigious Science Talent Survey, according to the Publish. Further research is needed to translate the idea into practical use. Standard sutures, for example, are not absorbent to keep out bacteria. But Dasia was not intimidated and plans to patent his invention. (Read more stories of inventions.)