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Week Three Progress

During Week Three, we discussed and determined our therapeutic agent for the hydrogel module. After extensive research and comparison of our options, we decided the best-suited therapeutic would be zinc oxide. This substance fits our design so well because it is hydrophobic and will slowly disperse through the pores in the bottom hydrogel layer. Zinc oxide has been used in past hydrogel models and has been proven to be effective. It is an agent that has been used in ointments and supplements to treat burns and prevent infections. Likewise, the possibility of overdosing on zinc-oxide necessitates a solution for controlled therapeutic release. The predominant delivery system for zinc oxide is through medicinal cream, the delivery through which enables the therapeutic threshold of zinc oxide to be increased to levels of high toxicity. Symptoms of zinc-oxide overdose include: fever, chills, vomiting, mouth irritation, stomach pain, and yellowing of the eyes and skin. Consequently, the pharmaceutical market will benefit from a medicinal product which controls the release of zinc oxide, releasing ideal concentrations between 10 to 30 milligrams. As such, based upon the research that we have collected, zinc oxide is the apparent choice of our therapeutic agent.

This was also our first week of experimentation with the hydrogels. All of our equipment arrived including: rubber mold, two glass beakers, food coloring, pipettes, calcium chloride, and sodium alginate. Figure 1 depicts the equipment used in our initial experiments. Our first trial produced a viscous version of the hydrogels, which was not what we had intended to create. In this next week, we plan on using more accurate measurements to ensure the hydrogel comes out with the consistency that we require for our design.



Figure 1: Supplies

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