Arlina Prima Putri, a Double Degree Doctoral program student between Universitas Indonesia (UI) and the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, won a Doctorate at a promotion session held on Thursday (15/06). A doctoral student from the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at Universitas Indonesia (DTMM FTUI) is also planning to earn a Doctorate from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands in October 2023.
At her doctoral promotion session, Arlina presented her research results regarding the utilization of Indonesia’s marine resources, namely algae containing alginate as a source of active ingredients that can be utilized for the pharmaceutical and biomaterial fields. Alginate, according to Arlina, can be conjugated as a matrix material for drug delivery systems using animated oxidation and reduction methods. This method is expected to be able to bind lectins that have bioactivity to alginate molecules with a higher level of efficiency.
“Alginate is a natural polysaccharide that can be found in several biomedical applications. This is supported by the nature of alginate which is biocompatible, low levels of toxicity, abundance of availability, and ease of the gelling process. Thus, to improve its biodegradable properties and its ability to interact with body cells, further modifications are needed for this alginate compound as a matrix material for drug delivery systems. There is also a novelty in this research, which uses the oxidation and reduction of amination methods,” said Arlina.
Arlina also added that her research began with the process of mapping the protein potential of several algae collections in Indonesia. Followed by the alginate conjugation process with benzylamine and 1-lysine. Optimal conjugation reaction conditions were examined by examining the effect of the substrate ratio on oxidizing and reducing agents. Alginate conjugated with benzylamine turns out to be able to act as a surfactant because it forms micelles at an acidic pH, whereas the alginate compound is conjugated with 1-lysine.
From this process, a hydrogel product was obtained using the Schiff base crosslink formation method using gelatin. This hydrogel has the advantage because the bond formed is pseudo-covalent, resulting in a self-healing hydrogel. Using optimal conjugation conditions, the modified method was then used to create the alginate-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) lectin. Microparticles of WGA-conjugated alginate were synthesized by emulsification and ionic crosslinking methods. The microparticles were then loaded with curcumin, and their release pattern, hemocompatibility and cytotoxicity were observed.
So, it can be concluded, that the results of Arlina’s research showed that encapsulation of curcumin with microparticles resulted in an extended-release model, and at low concentrations the microparticles showed hemocompatible properties.
Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, ST., M.Eng., IPU, said that “Indonesia’s marine wealth if explored, will yield great benefits for various aspects of life. Students of the FTUI Double Degree Doctoral program have answered this challenge by conducting research in their dissertations as the main material for drug delivery systems for the pharmaceutical and biomaterial fields. Indonesia’s marine wealth is in the form of algae which contains alginate which the FTUI student is trying to investigate further using the oxidation and reduction of amination method. This research is a contribution to the thinking of quality FTUI students in terms of innovation research. It is proof that FTUI’s resources are superior and their research can have an impact on others,” he said.
Arlina Prima Putri won the 61st Doctorate from DTMM FTUI and the 502nd Doctorate from FTUI. The doctoral promotion session was chaired by the Chairman of the Session, Prof. Ir. Mahmud Sudibandriyo, M.Sc., Ph.D., Promoter, Dr. Ir. Mochamad Chalid, S.Si., M.Sc.Eng., Co-Promoter, Prof. Dr. Eng. Ir. Sri Harjanto, Prof. Dr. Francesco Picchioni, and Prof. Dr. ir. Hero Jan Heeres. Board of Examiners, Drs. Nofrijon Bin Imam Sofyan, M.Sc., Ph.D., Prof. Ir. Kamarza Mulia, M.Sc., Ph.D., Azizah Intan Pangesty, M.Eng., D.Eng., Dr. apt. Kurnia Sari Setio Putri, M.Farm., and Dr. Masteria Yunovilsa Putra, M.Sc.
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Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia