Silver Moringa Cloth: Silver Nanoparticle Fabric Based on Moringa Extract (Moringa oleifera) as Antibacterial Against Methicilin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus is addressed as one of the most common pathogens in hospital settings and in the community. This pathogen causes invasive infections, sepsis, and death. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is due to bacterial mutations and the use of antibiotic drugs that are not by procedures. Resistance makes MRSA infections difficult to treat, resulting in high healthcare costs. These problems lead to an urgent need to find alternative drugs to control MRSA infection. Therefore, developing new drugs and procedures such as antibacterial nanoparticles, are particularly promising. Indonesia has many medicinal plants with antibiotic activity, including Moringa oleifera. Moringa oleifera contains several active compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, and saponins which are known to have antibiotic activity. Silver nanoparticles or AgNPs are currently used as antimicrobial agents because they are toxic to prokaryotic cells (bacteria) but relatively safe for eukaryotic cells. AgNP synthesis mediated by M. oleifera extract has the advantages of being non-toxic, pollution-free, and environmentally friendly. Sisal is a potential source of naturally derived fabric and a prospective source of multifunctional textiles. Recent studies have utilized and functionalized sisal to develop composite materials. However, functionalizing of sisal using nanosilver-based materials has not been studied yet. Bioactive chemicals from plant-extracted nanoparticles also provide additional antimicrobial properties. This study aims to produce AgNPs mediated by M. oleifera leaf extract and to analyze its antimicrobial effect on MRSA growth. The powdered Moringa (4g) was boiled with 100 ml of distilled water (550 C) for 15 minutes. The mixture was filtered through Whatman No 1 filter paper and store refrigerated. The nanoparticle was synthesized by rinsing sisal fabric cloth to several concentrations of AgNO3 (1mM, 10mM, and 20mM) with Moringa extract. Nanoparticle synthesis from AgNO3 done with the help of Moringa oleifera extract. The resulting AgNPs have MIC values (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) and MBC (Minimum Bacteriocidal Concentration) of 1.25 mg/ml. The resulting silver nanoparticles showed antibiotic activity against MRSA with an average inhibition zone diameter of 15.677 mm. XRD and SEM studies are going to be held to support the data.
Utilization of Escherichia coli in Contiminated Water in the Citarum River as a Dual Chamber Baed On Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Substrat
Citarum River is the longest and largest river in West Java. The upstream of the Citarum River starts from Mount Wayang, Bandung Regency and ends at the mouth of the Java Sea which is located in Muara Gembong, Bekasi Regency. The Citarum River plays an important role as raw water for PDAM drinking water, supplies electricity in Java-Bali and provides water for rice field irrigation in West Java. Citarum watershed is dominated by the manufacturing industry sector such as chemicals, textiles, leather, paper, pharmaceuticals, metals, food and beverage products, and others. Based on data from the World Bank, every day, the Citarum River is polluted by approximately 20,000 tons of waste and 340,000 tons of waste water with the majority of the waste contributors coming from 2,000 textile industries. By looking at these events, there is no doubt that the sustainability of the ecosystem and the environment in the Citarum River is damaged and polluted. (Zahra Fani Robyanti; 2020). The West Java Regional Environmental Management Agency stated that the content of E. coli bacteria in the Citarum River had increased. The bacteria that cause diarrhea come from industrial and household waste. In addition to E. coli bacteria, other pollutants in the Citarum River that have increased are biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Suspended Solids. One of the efforts that can be done regarding E. coli bacteria that pollute the Citarum river is to make it as a substrate for Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). Bacteria present in organic media convert organic matter into electrical energy. The nature of bacteria that can degrade organic media (enrichment media) in MFC produces electron and proton ions. It is these ions that produce an electric potential difference so that energy can be generated. Generally in conventional systems, MFC consists of two chambers consisting of anode and cathode chambers. The two spaces are separated by a membrane where proton exchange occurs. This system has not fully worked with bacteria because only the anode side contains bacteria, while on the cathode side it still works using chemical compounds such as Polyaluminum Chloride (PAC). However, recently MFC has been developed using bacteria at the cathode, or better known as biocathode. Bacteria in the cathode space have the same function as electron mediators that were previously carried out by chemical compounds. In many studies on MFCs, acetate is commonly used as a substrate for bacteria to generate electricity. These chemical compounds are easier for bacteria to process than wastewater. Acetate is a simple chemical compound that serves as a carbon source for bacteria. Another advantage of acetate is that this compound does not cause other reactions to bacteria such as fermentation and methanogenesis at room temperature. Based on this thought, the author will design a study entitled Utilization of Escherichia coli Bacteria in Contaminated Water in the Citarum River as a Dual Chamber Based Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) Substrate.