Dasia Taylor and Her Color Changing Sutures

Why did Dasia Taylor spend hours after school in the chemistry lab juicing beets? The high school junior was inventing a way to reduce the infections that often result from surgery in developing countries. In low- and middle-income countries, about 11% of surgical wounds develop an infection, according to the World Health Organization. This infection rate is about four times higher than the 3% rate in the US. In Africa, up to 20% of women who have a caesarean section develop a wound infection. This harms their own health, as well as their ability to care for their babies and families. 

 This January, Taylor won a top-40 finalist spot and a $25,000 scholarship for her color-changing sutures. She was among 1,760 entrants in the Regeneron’s Science Talent Search, one of the most competitive science fairs in the world. Dasia began her science project in October 2019 when her advanced chemistry teacher, Carolyn Walling, presented the class with an opportunity. Who was interested in developing a project for the science fair? Dasia immediately raised her hand. She had never entered a science contest before, though she often pushed herself to take on new challenges in her school and community.

Dasia took part in a wide variety of activities since relocating to Iowa City from Madison, IN. Born in Chicago, Taylor and her mom moved to Iowa City six years ago, which she now considers her hometown. “I’ve done a lot of racial equity work in my community,” says Taylor[1]. For example, she served on school committees to help develop anti-racist curriculum and co-chaired the district’s Equity Advisory Committee. She also volunteered at a local elementary school. In addition, she was a leader in the Black History Game team at her school. As a mediator for the restorative justice group, she helped resolve conflicts at the school. Dasia has also presented sessions at Harvard University about racial equity and social justice. Her principal says everyone is proud of all she has accomplished.

Smart Sutures 

Dasia continued to apply her characteristic energy and effort to her science project. Walling encouraged Dasia’s entry and mentored her throughout the process. Dasia says “Now, I’m here in the top 40—it’s kind of crazy how she [Walling] manifested all of that and actually believed in me from the very beginning. I can’t say enough amazing things about her, I’m not even gonna lie.”[2] Once Dasia committed, she was all in.

Dasia knew she wanted surgery as the topic for her project. For a time, she considered becoming a surgeon. One year, she even requested a suture kit for Christmas. To help her zero in on a specific problem, Walling gave Dasia some articles on surgery. In an article in Science News for Teens, Dasia learned about a new medical technology called “smart sutures.”

Regular sutures hold big cuts or tears in the skin together with surgical thread. This way the tissue can heal cleanly without leaving large scars. In addition, the smart sutures Dasia read about also monitor the surgical site for infections as the patient recovers. A material that conducts electricity covers these smart sutures and a tiny, continuous electrical charge travels through the sutures.

If the wound becomes infected, the body reacts by increasing the temperature of the skin near the wound, by changing the level of acidity, or by swelling up. Smart sutures detect all three physical changes: warming, decreasing acidity, and swelling. A watch-size electronic device monitors the microelectronics sensors attached to the sutures for changes in the electrical current. If a sensor detects a change, it signals a computer or a smartphone. This signal alerts medical staff of an infection and need for treatment.

Equity Lens

Dasia thought smart sutures were a significant innovation. However, since they relied on costly, high tech equipment, Dasia realized that this equipment and the medical infrastructure to use it were not available in many parts of the world.

“In the articles I read, so much technology was used to figure out the basic principles of wound healing,” Dasia says. “The equity part of me knew that those who are disproportionately dying because of surgical site infections wouldn’t be able to afford sutures with electrical currents.” [3] With this focus in mind, she set out to create lower cost sutures using technology available in developing nations. “When I was presented with this opportunity to do research, I couldn’t help but go at it with an equity lens.”[4]

What Physical Change to Monitor?

In her research, Dasia learned that healthy skin is naturally just slightly acidic to help the body ward off infection. When microbes infect a wound, the pH of the infected tissue increases, becoming less acidic and more basic (alkaline).

In high school chemistry classes, students often use strips of litmus paper to find whether a substance is an acid or a base. Litmus paper is made from a mixture of dyes extracted from lichens. Blue litmus paper turns red in an acid, such as vinegar, and red litmus paper turns blue in a base, such as bleach. Substances are acids if they have a high concentration of hydrogen ions (protons) and bases if their concentration of hydrogen ions is low. Pure water is neutral, neither an acid nor a base.

Dasia applied this concept of chemical indicators to the infected wound problem. “I created sutures that alert patients their wound is infected by changing color. It literally relies on the most basic principles of pH balance in the body. It’s pretty dope… this was stuff that was being taught in class that I would also just apply to my project.”[5]

But many chemical indicators used in labs, such as litmus dyes, are not readily available in developing countries. What could she substitute? She knew many vegetables have organic chemicals that act as natural acid-base indicators. She discovered beets had just the right range of color change to flag infection in surgical wounds. “I found that beets changed color at the perfect pH point,” says Taylor. Bright red beet juice turns dark purple at a pH of nine. That’s perfect for an infected wound.”[6]

The Thread

Now that she’d found an indicator for an infected wound, Dasia needed to test for a suture thread to be sure that it held the dye and that any color change was apparent. Beginning with standard suture thread, she tested ten different materials and found that a cotton-polyester blend worked the best and was about the same thickness as standard suture thread. This thread, soaked in beet juice and dried, will turn from bright red to dark purple if it contacts a substance with the same pH as an infected wound in about five minutes.

During the global COVID pandemic, when her school moved to remote learning, Dasia spent four or five hours in the lab on some days working on her project. “The reason why she did as well as she did in my opinion is that she was just interested, like she just kept wanting to know why and how this works and what can we do with it,” Walling explained.  Dasia says, “I classify my research as where equity meets science.”  Her passion for equity infused her project.  “The people who are really going to need (smart sutures) will not be able to afford it … so I decided to take that and run with it and make something cost-effective,” she says.[7]

What’s Next?

Following her outstanding success in the 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search, Taylor wants to insure her discovery will get to the people who need it. Dasia’s invention needs more testing and development to transition from promising prototype to use in hospitals and clinics. Among other issues, she needs to solve the problem of sterility. While cotton thread will hold the beet juice dye, that same quality also gives bacteria that cause infections a place to grow.

Dasia read some research studies that said that beet juice has some natural anti-microbial properties. Does this mean that the beet juice dye might fight off any infection-causing microbes trying to invade a surgical wound? “Although I want to take their word, I wanted to try it for myself. I wanted to reproduce their results,” says Taylor.[8]  Dasia plans to spend the next six months testing her sutures with bacteria that are the most common surgical site infections.

“What she’s trying to do now is make some improvements based on feedback from last year’s competitions,” says AP Chemistry Teacher Michelle Wikner, another of Dasia’s mentors. “Dasia has the confidence to take risks. She understands that in order to have a good idea, you actually need lots and lots of ideas, and she’s not afraid to be bold and put something out there.”[9]  

Once she’s completed her testing, Taylor will apply for a patent so she can license her sutures and ensure that her invention reaches people who most need it. “My mom always told me you can do anything you put your mind to, and that is the thing that’s been ringing in my head throughout my entire seventeen years on this earth. I can do anything that I put my mind to. That’s just been proven time and time again.”[10] 

 “I am looking forward to seeing how Dasia uses this project,” says Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of the Society for Science, which sponsors the Science Talent Search. “And on a long-term scale, I’m interested in watching what problems she is going to continue to solve, to make the world a better place.”[11]

Taylor graduated from high school in June 2021 and in the fall, she entered the University of Iowa. She plans to study political science and become a lawyer. According to Taylor, the ability to change lives sustains her. “Knowing that what I’m doing will not only help me but also helps the community at large, is enough to keep me going,” she said.[12]

One Massachusetts teacher had her students read about Taylor’s invention and write about why she had inspired them. Taylor says she cried when she received the 24-page document from the teacher expressing the students’ thoughts.

Dasia would like to encourage more students to get involved in STEM studies, especially students of color. At her first science fair, she looked around the room and told her mentor, “I am the only Black person in this room.”[13] A previous school she attended had even tried to keep her from joining a science competition team.

“I consider changing the world as inspiring the next person. If  I get to inspire someone to go do something great, that’s what success is in my mind,” Taylor said. Everyone who has any interest in science should explore it, she says. “If you’re curious about something, research it.”[14] Taylor encourages younger students in her hometown to get involved in science, infusing them with the spirit of discovery. She’s hosted a kids’ science program at her local public library and held Zoom discussions with elementary students.

Taylor’s motivating power goes beyond young students. Walling says that Dasia also inspires her personally. “She doesn’t just push herself to be better, she wants everyone to be better,” Walling said. Taylor says, “It’s just so amazing to see how I’m already changing the world in really just being myself and having fun and exploring my intellectual horizons.” She adds “I just never knew I was going to do all of this at 17 years old.”

 “Equity work has my heart, and that’s what I want to do for my career,” Taylor said. “I do plan on continuing my research and ensuring that this project is released, and people actually get this discovery, and it will save lives.”[15]

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[1]Machemer, T. (2021, March 25). This high schooler invented color-changing sutures to detect infection. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/.

[2] Ahmed, R. (2021, February 10). Q&A with science talent search finalist Dasia Taylor ’21. West Side Story. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://wsspaper.com/65234/news/qa-with-science-talent-search-finalist-dasia-taylor-21/.

[3] Hamilton, G. (2021, January 31). West High senior Dasia Taylor recognized as Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist. The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 13, 202, from https://dailyiowan.com/2021/01/31/west-high-senior-dasia-taylor-recognized-as-regeneron-science-talent-search-finalist/

[4] Machemer, T. (2021, March 25). This high schooler invented color-changing sutures to detect infection. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/.

[5] Ahmed, R. (2021, February 10). Q&A with science talent search finalist Dasia Taylor ’21. West Side Story. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://wsspaper.com/65234/news/qa-with-science-talent-search-finalist-dasia-taylor-21/.

[6] Machemer, T. (2021, March 25). This high schooler invented color-changing sutures to detect infection. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/

[7] Huynh, A. & Krupa, M. (2021, April 17). A student harnessed the power of beets to make healing from surgery safer — and more equitable. CNN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/17/us/student-beets-color-changing-sutures-wellness-trnd/index.html

[8] Machemer, T. (2021, March 25). This high schooler invented color-changing sutures to detect infection. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/.

[9] Hamilton, G. (2021, January 31). West High senior Dasia Taylor recognized as Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist. The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 13, 202, from https://dailyiowan.com/2021/01/31/west-high-senior-dasia-taylor-recognized-as-regeneron-science-talent-search-finalist/

[10] Ahmed, R. (2021, February 10). Q&A with science talent search finalist Dasia Taylor ’21. West Side Story. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://wsspaper.com/65234/news/qa-with-science-talent-search-finalist-dasia-taylor-21/.

[11] Machemer, T. (2021, March 25). This high schooler invented color-changing sutures to detect infection. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/high-schooler-invented-color-changing-sutures-detect-infection-180977345/.

[12] Hamilton, G. (2021, January 31). West High senior Dasia Taylor recognized as Regeneron Science Talent Search Finalist. The Daily Iowan. Retrieved October 13, 202, from https://dailyiowan.com/2021/01/31/west-high-senior-dasia-taylor-recognized-as-regeneron-science-talent-search-finalist/

[13] Sy, S. & Wellford, R. (2021, July 22). 17-year-old makes color changing sutures that detect infection. PBS.org. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/17-year-old-black-girl-makes-color-changing-sutures-that-detect-infection.

[14] Huynh, A. & Krupa, M. (2021, April 17). A student harnessed the power of beets to make healing from surgery safer — and more equitable. CNN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/17/us/student-beets-color-changing-sutures-wellness-trnd/index.html

[15] Huynh, A. & Krupa, M. (2021, April 17). A student harnessed the power of beets to make healing from surgery safer — and more equitable. CNN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021 from https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/17/us/student-beets-color-changing-sutures-wellness-trnd/index.html