[unpad.ac.id, 28/4/2020] Two Universitas Padjadjaran Chemistry students, Annisa Luthfiah and Muhamad Diki Permana, won 2nd place in the Student at Home Challenge (SHC) IPB 2020 Innovative Essay Contest held by IPB University.
For the competition, they submitted an essay titled “Optimization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Medical Using Nanoparticles for ‘Self-Cleaning’ and Antiviral”, which was supervised by a Lecturer in the Unpad Department of Chemistry, Dr. Diana Rakhmawaty Eddy, M.Si.
Diki explained, nanoparticles can be used to kill viruses or bacteria by using sunlight. The use of a photocatalyst is considered more environmentally friendly compared to using an alcohol disinfectant as a virus-killing agent.
Annisa also explained that coating a medical PPE with nanoparticles for self-cleaning and antiviral purposes can improve its quality and make the PPE reusable.
Through the essay, both claim nanoparticles can reduce the high demand for PPE supply needs. Additionally, the security and safety aspects of medical teams when handling COVID-19 patients can be improved.
The SHC IPB 2020 Innovative Essay Contest raised the theme “Multisectoral Approaches in Controlling the Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak”, and received 1,513 entries from 139 universities.