Research at Virginia Tech creates new period product offering progress in women’s health

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Research conducted at Virginia Tech has offered progress in women’s health with a new biodegradable period product that improves the performance of menstrual products.

Bryan Hsu, assistant professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech, and his team, which included postdoctoral associates Rogerio Bataglioli and Harsimran Kaur, led a project that created an eco-friendly, blood absorbent biomaterial that improves the performance of menstrual products.

According to the research, menstrual products have not evolved much during the last century, with the menstrual pad to have been developed in 1888, the tampon in 1933 and the menstrual cup in 1937.

Carrie Champine, board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who collaborated with the team, said the development of new products serves several purposes, including addressing women’s different needs and preferences, promoting sustainability, as well as addressing leakage and cost issues with current products.

In the research, Hsu and the team used an alginate-glycerol powder formula that, when added to a traditional menstrual pad, allows the accumulated blood to turn into a gel, which the pad can then absorb more blood and leak less than a traditional pad.

According to the research, when the powder formula is added to a cotton coil and inserted into a menstrual cup or disc, the blood collected there also turns into a gel, eliminating the mess when removing or changing the cup or disc.

A preventive measure the research included in its powder formula is an antimicrobial polymer to impair the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium associated with toxic shock syndrome.

Toxic shock syndrome is a rare, but potentially deadly illness that is caused by a bacterial infection related to the use of period products, according to the research.

Test results from the research indicated the inclusion of the polymer was effective in inhibiting bacteria, while also not decreasing the blood absorption capability of the powder formula.

According to Hsu, most period products take over 500 years to biodegrade, and each woman may use up to 15,000 period products in a lifetime.

The powder formula supplies as a biodegradable option as it is made from natural sources, seaweed and sugar alcohol, according to the research.

According to Hsu, 46% of women in Virginia are of menstrual age, which is 26% of all Virginians, as of 2020 and roughly a fourth of the state’s total population. While menstruation is not a disease, it does impact absenteeism in the workplace and in school.

“A woman will have a period for approximately five days every 30 days throughout her lifetime, which is roughly 2,200 days, or 6.2 years of her life,” Hsu said. “For comparison, the average American spends 8.3 years watching television and 4.5 years eating.”

For Hsu, this research, which was funded by Virginia’s Commonwealth Health Research Board, was just the beginning of his venture into promoting women’s health issues. Bataglioli is hopeful for new opportunities in the design of menstrual products.

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