Plaster is the first thing to look for when a body part is scratched or something like that. Basically, the efficacy of plaster is in helping wound healing because the plaster is able to provide moist and sterile properties.

It can be interpreted here that the plaster has not specifically helped in terms of regeneration of the injured skin.

Four Chemical Engineering Students at Universitas Brawijaya consisting of Nasirotul Wildah, Mahfita Ardyarum, Nabila Widadudari, and Ilhan Junio ​​Trizardi collaborated with students from the Faculty of Medicine, Ulya Ahda Yustisia under the guidance of Supriyono, S.T., M.T., innovating to create activators in the regeneration of injured skin.

The innovation is dubbed the tissue scaffold, which will work by substituting the skin through the formation of temporary tissue during the wound.

“The effectiveness of this tissue scaffold is due to the use of hydroxyapatite (HA) material which is biocompatible so that it facilitates the distribution of cells in tissues that will grow without causing toxicity,” said Nasirotul, the team leader.

Synthetic hydroxyapatite material for scaffold tissue is in the form of nano-sized particles with a combination of silver chloride obtained through an electrochemical process. The low mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite are overcome by combining them with metals such as Ag contained in AgCl.

AgCl has antibacterial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. AgCl can also easily enter the bacterial nucleus which can inhibit the growth mechanism.

“The Silver Chloride-Polyvinyl Alcohol (nHA/AgCl-PVA) Nano Hydroxyapatite Composite is made in the form of a membrane as a scaffold tissue preparation. The goal is that biomaterials can effectively stimulate the growth of injured skin tissue,” added Mahfita.

Through the scaffold tissue innovation, Nasirotul Wildah and his team are working hard so that their team can have the opportunity to qualify for the 2022 National Student Scientific Week (PIMNAS) this September.