UNAIR NEWS – Another proudest achievement came from students majoring in Nanotechnology Engineering, Universitas Airlangga. They won a Gold Medal in an essay competition and a Bronze Medal in a poster competition by the Setara Prisma Nusantara Institute, West Nusa Tenggara. This achievement results from innovative work from a team of Lalu Jihad Al Jazeera, Rangga A. Prastika, M. Kalimanjaro, Reuben J. Paulus, and Bintang Adji Jihad supervised by Tahta Amrillah SSi MSc PhD.

To UNAIR NEWS on April 25, 2023, Jihad, the team leader, explained that they raised a research topic entitled BenOver: Biodegradable patches of silver nanoparticles and shrimp shells and rice straw to treat open wounds. This research is an effort to support Golden Indonesia 2045.

Jihad said the selection of basic materials: straw waste, shrimp shells, and cabbage as a base material for UNLC/SS membranes will later be useful for the backlayer of “BenOver.” In the drug reservoir section, “BenOver” will use kenitu leaves, and in the middle part or rate controlling membrane will use Chi-PVA AgNP where Chi-PVA uses shrimp shell waste while AgNP is synthesized through cabbage waste.

“The abundant cabbage waste is converted into AgNP, so it has excellent antibacterial properties. Meanwhile, kenitu leaves as a drug reservoir are useful as anti-inflammatories,” said the student majoring in Nanotechnology Engineering.

He said the straw waste for UNLC/SS has a contact angle on the surface of more than 90 degrees, so it has hydrophobic properties. Furthermore, all of the “BenOver” ingredients have hydrophobic properties so that the pore size of the biofiber can also be controlled to treat wounds effectively.

He said the idea was from their awareness of the increased production of food and vegetable waste—mainly shrimp waste which reached 1.43 million tons per year.

“The idea that we initiated is inseparable from the commercialization aspect so that apart from solving environmental and health problems, this product can, of course, also solve or rebuild the economic sector in Indonesia,” explained Jihad.

Introducing Nanotechnology Engineering

He said the main challenge in participating in the Mandalika Essay Competition 2 was in introducing nanotechnology materials which are new technologies, and there is still very little understanding among the general public.

“At that time, we tried to use layman’s terms to convey detailed explanations. We hope that the understanding of nanotechnology can be well-known among the public so that later it can produce new ideas that are no less interesting and useful for all mankind,” he said. (*)

Author: Dhurriah Zain

Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia

Source : unair.ac.id/en/nanotechnology-engineering-students-win-2nd-place-at-national-competition/