UNS — Four students of Chemistry Program Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science (FMIPA) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta successfully win the palm research competition. These students are Fiqri Apriansyah, Agung Prakoso, Melani Puji Puspitasari, and Syifa Hanifah, with Dr.rer.nat. Fajar Rakhman Wibowo as suepervisor and Ozi Adi Saputra, M.Si., as co-supervisor.
The competition they won was conducted by the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) Ministry of Finance that opened a proposal upload on 24 June 2020. The selected proposals were funded to conduct an eight months research from September 2020 to April 2021, followed by a finalist presentation on 26-27 August 2021.
Fiqri and the team submitted a proposal on biomaterial development of Functionalized Porous Cellulose-based drug delivery from oil palm empty bunch. This idea was based on the increasing number of cancer patients and cancer treatment that is based on the conventional chemotherapy method that could kill normal rapidly growing cells besides the cancer cells. Their innovation created cellulose-based materials that could control medicinal release on the targeted cancer cells. The cellulose used in the development process that was sourced from empty palm oil bunch also helps with reducing palm oil waste in Indonesia. “Besides increasing the use of empty palm oil bunch in biomedical application,” Fiqri explained on Thursday (7/10/2021).
A total of 468 proposals were submitted in the competition, with only 30 proposals won the research funding, and only ten finalists had the opportunity to present their findings to be selected as 1st to 3rd champions. Fiqri stated that his team was really grateful to win the funding and the opportunity. He also said that they did not expect to win the competition. “Happy and touched everything mixed into one,” Fiqri said.
Fiqri and the team hoped that their research does not stop here because many stages are needed to process their idea into an alternative solution for cancer treatment. Humas UNS
Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasetya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti