PHD-Chemistry

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Browsing PHD-Chemistry by Author "Mwangi. James Njogu"

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    Fabrication of Rapid Diagnostic Kit Casing Using Modified Biodegradable Paper Materials as an Alternative to Plastic
    (Kenyatta University, 2019-07) Mwangi. James Njogu
    The high population growth rate, emerging diseases and high cost of health care in developing countries has led to the high demand of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits. Rapid diagnostic test kits are medical devices used in early detection of diseases among the population living in areas with limited medical facilities. The portability and reliability of kits reduces medical cost incurred by inaccurate disease diagnosis. To meet this demand plastics are enormously produced as basic raw material in production of the kits. Plastics are often preferred because they are cheaper than their corresponding biopolymer. The most devastating menace from plastic is its high solid waste accumulation due to slow biodegradation. The study sought to modify selected paper materials and tree barks to mimic plastic properties to replace plastic in rapid diagnostic test kits. The selected papers were purchased from Nairobi County (Kenya) shops while selected tree barks were collected from farms within Kiambu County (Kenya). On modification with trichloro (lH, IH, 2H, 2H perfluorooctyl) silane at different reaction times insitu, the paper and polished tree barks surfaces displayed water contact angles between 90.14° to 144.60°, which indicated they were hydrophobic. The tree barks were however discontinued for further analysis due the limitation of cutting tools available. The modified paper did not attain superhydrophobicity since the water droplets placed on its tilted surface remained sticky rather than rolling as expected with superhydrophobic surfaces. The surface energy of modified paper materials displayed low critical surface energy values ranging from 27.9 to 40.0 dynes/em. The tensile strength of the unmodified and modified selected paper did not show any significant difference at P