Title:

TickBusters

Abstract:
ComingfromalargetowninConnecticut,ourteamhasoftenseentheharmful
affectsofLymeDisease.Lymediseaseis
aninflammatorydiseasethatispasseddown
bytheIxodestickandcharacterizedatfirstbyarash,headache,fever,andchills,but
canhavelifedebilitatingeffects,including,arthritis,neurologicalandcardiacdisorders,
anddepression.Ittakes24hoursforborrelia,thebacteriathatcausesLymeDisease,
totransferfromthetickandontothevictim.Ourteamhasdevelopedasoapthatwillkill
thetickbeforeitisevenfound.Thissoapismadewithallnaturalingredientswiththe
exceptionofouractiveingredient,Borax.WhileBoraxissafeforhumanskin,andoften
usedinlaundrydetergents,itisdeadlytoticks,eliminatingthembeforetheypasson
theborreliabacteria.Ourgroupisalsoresearchinghowtocolortheexoskeletonofa
tick,whichiscomposedofchitin,tomakeiteasiertospotandthuseasiertoremove.
Ourfirststeptowardscreatingacleaningproductthatwouldkilltickswithout
harmingthehomeostasisofthehumanbodywassaponification,whichisthealkaline
hydrolysisoffattyesters.Atfirst,IsopropylalcoholandGrapeSeedoilwereused
becausetheycontainedchitinase,anenzymethatbreaksdowntheticksexoskeleton.
Wediscovered,however,thattheconcentrationofchitinasewastoolowandwhen
testedonlargequantitiesofchitin,thesoapdidnotcontainahighenoughconcentration
tobesuccessful.Furtherresearchwasdonetofindpurechitinasebutcostupwardof
$400.Afterdiligentresearch,Boraxwasmentionedbyanadvisorandreshapedour
soap.Insteadofaimingtobreakdownthechitinoftheticktocolorit,wewerenow
goingtokillthetickaftertheapplicationofthesoap.

Introduction:
Inthisprojecttickswillberesearchedandexperimentedontocreateasoapthat
willpreventthespreadofLymeDisease.Ticksareavectoroflymediseasewhichis
passeddowntohumansthroughthetick'sbite.
Ticksaresmallarachnidsandare
ectoparasites,orexternalparasites,thatliveonthebloodofmammals,birds,reptiles,
andsometimesamphibians.TickscomeinthreedifferentfamiliestheNuttalliellidae
whichissolelycomprisedofthespecies
Nuttalliellanamaqua
,theIxodidaetick,andthe
Argasidaetick.TheIxodidaetick,orhardtick,iscommonlyfoundalongtheeastcoast
andincludesover700species.TheArgasidaetick,orsofttick,includesabout200
species.ThemaindifferencebetweentheIxodidaetickandtheArgasidaetickisthat
theArgasidaehavenoscutumandthecapitulumisconcealedbeneaththebody.


Figure1:
Figure1showsapictureoftheargasidaetick,softtick,incomparisontothe
Ixodidaetick,hardtick.
LymediseaseisaninfectiousdiseasecausedbyBorreliabacteria,most
commonly,Borealisburgdorferi.Commonsignsofinfectionareanexpandingareaof
redness,alsoknownaserythemamigransorthebullseyerash,whichbeginsto
appearatthesiteofthetickbiteaboutaweekafterithasoccurred.Whilethebiteisnot
itchyorpainful,itisaclearsignoflymediseaseand50to75%ofinfectedpeople
developthisrash.Otherearlysymptomsincludefever,headache,andfatigue.Ifleft
untreatedsymptomssuchaslossoftheabilitytomoveoneorbothsidesoftheface,
jointpains,severeheadacheswithneckstiffness,orheartpalpitations,amongothers
willappear.Despiteappropriatetreatment,about1020%ofpeopledevelopjointpain,
memoryproblems,andfatigueforatleastsixmonths.Evenmonthstoyearsafterlyme
diseasehasbeentreated,repeatedepisodesofjointpainandswellingmayoccur.

Figure2:
FiguretwoshowswherethereisariskforlymediseaseintheUnitedStates.
LymediseaseisthemostcommondiseasespreadbyticksintheNorthern
Hemisphereandisestimatedtoaffect300,000peopleayearintheUnitedStatesand

65,000peopleayearinEurope.Infectionsusuallyoccursinspringandearlysummer.
Researchisstillcontinuingtofindanewvaccine.
Thislabalsousedtheprocessofsaponificationtomakeourproduct.
Saponificationisaprocessbywhichtriglyceridesarereactedwithsodiumorpotassium
hydroxidetoproduceglycerolandafattyacidsalt,orsoap.Sodiumhydroxideisusedin
thislabtoproduceahardsoap,whilepotassiumhydroxidecanbeusedtomakeasoft
soap.
Lipidsthatcontainfattyacidesterlinkagescanundergohydrolysisandare
catalyzedbyastrongacidorbase.Saponificationisthealkalinehydrolysisofthefatty
acidesters.

Figure3:
Figurethreeshowsthechemicalreactiontakingplaceinsaponification.

Justification:
Bycreatingourtickbustersoap,wearehelping

outsideworkers,hikers,
campers,thosewholiveinthewoodsandallpeoplethatinteractwiththeoutdoors
alongtheEastCoast(ExotiesTick)andWestCoast(DeerTick).Ourteamhas
personallyseentheeffectsofLymeDiseasethroughoneofourteammembersfather
wasinthehospitalfor10days,debilitatedbecauseofLyme.
Lymediseasefirstcausesthebullseye
rash,headache,fever,andchills,butas
itdevelopscausesarthritis,neurologicalandcardiacdisorders,anddepression.
Along
withthephysicaleffectslymediseasecanresultinverbalabuse,lossinconfidence,
socialwithdrawal,impatience,anger,higherincidenceofdivorce,familydysfunction,
domesticviolence,temperflare,aggressiveness,familydysfunction,depression,
suicidalthoughts,andmoodswings.Sadly,lymediseaseaffects
approximately30,000
peoplereportedtoCDCbystatehealthdepartmentsandtheDistrictofColumbiaevery
year.

Hypothesis:
Bydesigningasoapthatwillkilltickswhenappliedwithdailyuse,LymeDiseasecanbe
preventedbystoppingborreliabacteriafromenteringthebody.

Wherewestarted:
Ourresearchbeganbylookingintowaystomakeatickeasiertospotonyour
skin,andthuseasiertoremove.Throughthisresearchwefoundthatmanybugsare
killedbyacommonlaundrydetergentcalledBorax.Whenweconductedexperiments,
wefoundthattheboraxalsokillsticks,whichcansurviveforanaverageofonetotwo
daysunderwater.Weconductedanexperimentmakingallnatural,organicsoapand
thenaddingtheBoraxtoourrecipe.Thisapplication,whentest,issafeforskinbut
miraculouslykillsthetick.

Purpose:
Ourpurposeistomakeadailyapplicablesoapthatwilldisableticksfromtransferring
diseases.

Procedure:
Part1:TestingDifferentDyesonMealworms
1. Setupeightdifferentweighboatsinastraightlineandlabelwiththenameofthe
dyethatwillbeadded.
2. Addonemealwormtoeachoftheweighboats.
a. Mealwormswereusedbecausetheycontainedsimilarchitinstructuresto
ticksbutaresafertomaintain.
3. Addadifferentdyetoeachofthefollowingweighboats.
4. Mixthemealworminthedyewithaspatulaandletsitfortenminutes.
5. Aftertenminutes,washthedyeoffofthemealwormswithdistilledwaterand
recordthecolorchangeofthechitin.
a. Makesuregloves,alabcoat,andgogglesarewornwhenhandlingthe
mealwormsanddyes.
6. Cleanandproperlydisposeofmealwormsanddyes.

Part2:MakingSoapUsingAlcoholandGrapeSeedOil
1. Measureout36.6gofSodiumHydroxide,35.4gofdistilledwater,35.4gof
IsopropylAlcohol,72.4gofcoconutoil,and84.4gofpalmoil.
2. AddtheIsopropylAlcoholintothedistilledwater.NextaddtheSodiumHydroxide
untilitbecomesclearandthereisafilmseparatingtheminthemeasuringcup.
3. Putthemixtureofoliveoilanddyeinalargebowl.PutthemeasuredCoconutOil
andPalmOilintothebowl.
4. Putthebowlonaheatsource.Youmayaddmoredyeifitisnecessary.
a. Thiswillliquefytheoilsanddenaturetheproteins.
5. Add40dropsoftheGrapeSeedOilintothebowl.

6. Next,regulatethetemperaturesofboththemeasuringcupsandtheBowlto90*
to94*F.
a. Themeasuringcupswillreactduetoachemicalreaction.
7. Whenthetemperaturesareequal,addthemeasuringcupsandthebowl
together.
8. Useasmartstickblendertomix.Thesoapwillseizequickly.
9. Pourthesoapintothreeblocks.
10. Letsitfor24hours.Takeoutofmoldandputinasafespotfor2to3weeks.

Part3:MakingSoapUsingAllNaturalDye
1. Dilutetheallnaturaldyeinto84.4gramsoftheoliveoilinasmallbeaker.Add
dyeuntilthecolorbecomessufficient.Itwillappeardarkerintheoliveoilthenin
thefinalproductofthesoap.
2. Measureout36.6gramsofsodiumhydroxide,90.8gramsofdistilledwater,72.4
gramsofcoconutoil,and84.4gramsofpalmoil.
3. Addthesodiumhydroxideintothedistilledwateruntilitbecomesclearandthere
isafilmseparatingtheminthemeasuringcup.
4. Putthemixtureofoliveoilanddyeinalargebowl.Putthemeasuredcoconutoil
andpalmoilintothebowl.
5. Putthebowlonaheatsource.Youmayaddmoredyeifitisnecessary.
a. Thiswillliquefytheoilsanddenaturetheproteins.
6. Add40dropsofthegrapeseedoilintothebowl.
7. Next,regulatethetemperaturesofboththemeasuringcupsandtheBowlto90*
to94*F.
a. Themeasuringcupswillheatupduetoachemicalreaction.
8. Whenthetemperaturesareequal,addthemeasuringcupsandthebowl
together.
9. Useasmartstickblender.
10. Pourthesoapintothreeblocks.
11. Letsitfor24hours.Takeoutofmoldandputinasafespotfor2to3weeks.

Part4:MakingFirstBatchofSoapwithBorax
1. Mix39.8mLofdistilledwaterwith50gramsofBoraxandmixvigorously.
2. Add16.4gramsofsodiumhydroxidetothemixingbowl.
a. BecarefulofthereactionanddontbreathinthefumesofNaOH.
3. Takeathermometerandwaitforthesolutiontocoolto90degreesfahrenheit.
4. Put42.2gramsofpalmoilandplaceitintothemetalbowl.
5. Place36.2gramsofcoconutoilintothemetalbowl.
6. Place42.2gramsofoliveoilintothemetalbowl.

7. Liquefythecontentsofthelipidsandheatitto90degreesfahrenheitusingahot
plate.
8. Placetosodiumhydroxidesolutionintothemetalmixingbowloncebothofthe
temperaturesareat90.
9. Mixthecontentswithastickblenderinastainlesssteelbowluntilithasa
puddinglikeconsistency.
10. Pourthesolutionintothesiliconsoapmoldsonceyouhavereachedapudding
consistency.
11. Wrapthemoldswithpapertowelsandtrytokeepthesoapwarm.
a. Thisiswhenthechemicalreactionbetweenthesodiumhydroxideandthe
soapwilloccur.
12. Placethesoapinasafeareaandletsitfor24hoursandletithardenthenyou
cantakethesoapoutofthemolds.
13. Allowthesoaptocurefor4to6weeks.

Part5:MakingSecondBatchofSoapwithBorax
14. MakeaBoraxanddistilledwatersolutionwith100gramsofBoraxand200mLof
distilledwater,thesolutionwillbesaturated.Mixvigorously.
15. Take39.8mLoftheBoraxanddistilledwatersolutionandmeasureitina
graduatedcylinder,thenadditintothebeaker.
16. Add16.36gramsofsodiumhydroxidetothemixingbowl.
a. BecarefulofthereactionanddontbreathinthefumesofNaOH.
17. Takeathermometerandwaitforthesolutiontocoolto90degreesfahrenheit.
18. Put42.2gramsofpalmoilandplaceitintothemetalbowl.
19. Place36.2gramsofcoconutoilintothemetalbowl.
20. Place42.2gramsofoliveoilintothemetalbowl.
21. Liquefythecontentsofthelipidsandheatitto90degreesfahrenheitusingahot
plate.
22. Placetosodiumhydroxidesolutionintothemetalmixingbowloncebothofthe
temperaturesareat90.
23. Mixthecontentswithastickblenderinastainlesssteelbowluntilithasa
puddinglikeconsistency.
24. Pourthesolutionintothesiliconsoapmoldsonceyouhavereachedapudding
consistency.
25. Wrapthemoldswithpapertowelsandtrytokeepthesoapwarm.
a. Thisiswhenthechemicalreactionbetweenthesodiumhydroxideandthe
soapwilloccur.
26. Placethesoapinasafeareaandletsitfor24hoursandletithardenthenyou
cantakethesoapoutofthemolds.

27. Allowthesoaptocurefor4to6weeks.

Part5:TestingBoraxandWatersolutiononaLiveTick
1. Wearinggloves,goggles,andalabcoat,movealivetickwithtweezersintoa
small,closedbeaker.
2. Carefullyobserveandrecordthemovementofthetickaroundthebeaker.
3. MeasuretwogramsofBoraxonaweighboatandmixwith10mLofwater.
4. Carefullyremovethecapofthebeakerandpourthesolutionontothetick.Put
thecapbackontothebeaker.
5. Swirlthebeakerforoneminutesthenletsitforfiveminutes.
6. Observeandrecordthemovementofthetickaroundthebeaker.

Part6:TestingVariousSoapsonLiveTicks
1. Wearinggloves,goggles,andalabcoat,movealivetickwithtweezersintoa
small,closedbeaker.Repeatthreetimes.
2. Carefullyobserveandrecordthemovementofthetickaroundeachofthe
beakers.
3. Labeleachbeakerwiththesoapsamplethatwillbeadded.Forexamplebeaker
onemaycontainthesoapwithIsopropylAlcoholandGrapeSeedOil.
4. Add20mLofwaterintothebeakerandasmallsliceofsoapsample.
a. Tickscannotswimbuttheywillnotdrownfor2to3dayssotheymustbe
keptinthebeakerandhandledwithcausion.
5. Mixthetickcarefullywiththesoapforaboutoneminute.
a. Thetickshouldntbeharmedbythemixingbuttheingredientsinthesoap
shoulddisableitfrommovingandultimatelykillit.
6. Measurethetimeofthereactionandtheticksmovementtodeterminethe
successofthesoap.
7. Decanttheliquidoutofthebeakerandcarefully,analyticallytransferthetickinto
aclosedpillcontainertoensureitcannotgetloose.
8. Cleanallmaterialsusedwithcommercialsoapandwater.

DataTablesandGraphs:

Picture1:PictureofColoredMealwormsbeforedyewasremoved


Picture2:ThispictureshowsoneofthecoloredmealwormsafterPictureofColored
Mealwormsafterdyewasremoved

Picture3:
Thispictureshowsthefirstsoap,whichwasmadeusingIsopropylAlcohol
andgrapeseedoil.

Picture4
:ThispictureshowsthesoapmadeusingAllNaturalDye

Picture5:
ThispictureshowsacomparisonofthesoapmadewithIsopropylalcohol
andgrapeseedoilandthesoapmadewithAllNaturalDye.

Picture7:
ThispictureshowsthesoapmadewiththeBoraxsolutionforthefirsttime.

Picture8:
PictureofBoraxandWatersolutiontestedonalivetick

Picture9:
PictureoffirstsoapmadeusingBoraxsolution
Graph1:
Thisgraphshowshowthedifferentsoapsaffectstheticksmovement.
*
Theseareprojectednumbers,thesoapisstillunderexperimentationandnotyetperfected

ResultsandDiscussion:
Inthisprojectasoapwasdevelopedthatcouldkillticksthatcannotbeseen
instantly,preventingthespreadoflymedisease.Firstdifferentbrandsofdyewastested
onmealwormsbecausetheyhavesimilarconstructionsofchitin,orsimilar
exoskeletons.Whendyed,themealwormschangedcolorslightlybutitwasfoundthatit
dyedskinmuchbrighterthanitdyedthemealworms.Sinceticksareprimarilybrown
andblackitwasconcludedthatthechitinwouldneedtobebrokendowninorderforthe
dyetohaveanyeffect.Thesetestswerealsocompromisedbecausethemealworms
wereprocessedanddeadwhichchancedtheirnaturalconstruction.Fromthedye,
researchwasdonetofindawaytobreakdownthechitinwhichiswhythegrapeseed
oilandalcoholwereusedinthefirstsoap.
ThefirstsoaptrialusedIsopropylalcoholandgrapeseedoilbecauseitwas
foundthatfermentinggrapeshaveveryhighconcentrationsofchitinase,theenzyme
thatbreaksdowntheexoskeletonoftheticks.Whenmakingthesoapitseized,or
saponified,tooquicklywhichcausedittoformundermixedanddisorganized.Itwas
concludedthatthiswasbecauseofhowthealcoholreactedwiththesodiumhydroxide.
Boththealcoholandthesodiumhydroxidearebasicwhichthrewoffthereaction.There
wasalsonotenoughdistilledwateraddedtothemixtureofthesodiumhydroxideand
Isopropylalcohol.
ThenextsoapwasmadeusinganAllNaturalDyetoseehowthecoloraffected
thesoap.Thesoapdidnotshowthesame,violentreactionthatwasshownwhenthe

Isopropylalcoholwasaddedtothesoap.WhenAllNaturalSeaweeddyewasadded,
thesoapdidnotformdifferentlyandwasformedwithalightershadeofgreen.The
greencolorwasobservedtofadeoverthenextfourweeks,however,becausethe
sodiumhydroxideneutralizesthedye.Thesoapshowednoeffectincoloringthetick
andthedyewascompletelyneutralizedwithineightweeks.
Next,extensiveresearchwasconductedtofindawaytobreakdownthechitin,
makingthetickeasiertocolor.Throughthisresearchitwasfoundthatacommon
laundrydetergent,Borax,isusedtokilldifferentinsectsandarachnids.TheBoraxis
safeforhumanskin,yetkillstheticks.Theboraxwasthentestedonliveticksand
foundthatitkillsthetickswithinfiveminutes.Weconcludedthatournextstepwasto
makeasoapwiththeBorax.
ThefirstboraxsoapestimatedtheamountofBoraxtoaddtothesoapinorderto
killtheticks.50gramsofBoraxand100mLofwaterwereaddedtothesoapbutnotall
oftheboraxdissolved.Theproportionswerealsooverdrawn,causingthesoaptoform
withtoomuchofthewater,sodiumhydroxide,andBoraxmixture.Therewerealsonot
enoughlipidsadded,makingthesoapseizeveryslowly.Afteraboutthreedays,the
soapwascompletelyformed.
ForthesecondBoraxsoap,theamountofBoraxandwaterwasresearchedand
theproportionsweremadebyformingasolutionandaddingthesolutionofBoraxand
waterasthewaterinthereaction.Thismixturewasmadewith100gramsofBoraxand
200mLofwater.Oncethesoapbegantoform,onebarwaskeptasacontrolandthe
otherhadManicPanicElectricPinkHairDyeaddedtoit.Thedyewasimmediately
neutralizedwiththesodiumhydroxideandthecolorwasbleached.
Onceallofthesoapswerecollected,theyweretestedonliveticksandtheir
movementwasmeasuredbeforeandafter.ItwasfoundthatthesoapwiththeBorax
reducedthetickmovementthehighestandtheAllNaturalDyereducedthetick
movementtheleast.

Conclusion:
Theinitialideaofthislabwastocolortickssotheyareeasiertospotontheskin
andthencanberemovedbyaproductthatisalreadyonthemarket.Theideawasto
addouringredientstoasoapthatcanbeuseddailybyworkers,peoplelivingnear
woods,oranyonegoingnearwoods.First,weresearchedhowtobreakdownthechitin
inthesoapwhichwouldmakeiteasiertodye.Whenfurtherresearchwasdone,itwas
foundthatBorax,alaundrydetergent,cankillthetickseffectively.Themotivethen
changedtokillingtheticks,thoughadailysoap,beforetheyhavetimetopassonthe
Borreliabacteria.Whentestingthefourdifferentsoaps,itwasfoundthattheBorax
effectivelyreducedthemovementoftheticksandafterfiveminuteskilledthem.

FurtherResearch:
Inthenextfewmonthsweplantoresearchawaytocolorthechitinintheticks
exoskeletontomakeiteasiertoidentifyandthuseasiertoremove.Thiswillmakeitso
thepersoncanfindthetickandifithasalreadybeenover24hours,storethetick
incasetheydocontractlymediseaseinthefuture.Bykeepingthetickyoucansendit
tothelabtotestitforBorreliaandotherbacterias.Thiswilltellyoubeforemany
symptomsdevelopifyoudoordonothavelymedisease.
Wearealsolookingintohowtomakethesoapworkmoreefficiently,without
damaginghumanskin.Atthispointittakesaboutfiveminutesfortheeffectsofthesoap
totakeplace.Thepersonwouldneedtokeepthesoapontheirbodyforthefive
minutes.Inthefuturewewouldwanttomakethereactionoccurfaster,findinga
catalysttospeedupthereaction.

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