Preliminary investigation of freeze-thawed hydrogel prepared from commercial Porang flour
William Xaveriano Waresindo (a,b), Halida Rahmi Luthfianti (a,b), Dhewa Edikresnha (b,d), Akfiny Hasdi Aimon (b), Tri Suciati (c), and Khairurrijal Khairurrijal (b,d,e *)

a) Doctoral Program of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
b) Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
c) Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
d) University Center of Excellence - Nutraceutical, Bioscience and Biotechnology Research Center, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
e) Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jl. Terusan Ryacudu, Lampung 35365, Indonesia

*Corresponding author: krijal[at]itb.ac.id
Full postal address: Bandung (40132), Indonesia

Abstract

As a tropical country located along the equator, Indonesia has a high biodiversity potential. This diversity allows the birth of various innovations related to the development of natural materials and their utilization in various fields. One of these natural ingredients is Porang tuber from the Amorphophallus muelleri Blume plant. Innovations can be made by engineering natural materials into new forms known as hydrogels which are biocompatible and biodegradable. In this study, hydrogel synthesis was carried out using the freeze-thaw method based on Porang flour which is commercially available in the market. By varying the concentration of Porang flour solution starting from 6, 8, 10, and 12 wt%, the physical properties of the precursor solution and the resulting hydrogel were observed. The concentration of the solution affects the value of the viscosity and density of the porang flour solution with a positive correlation. The increase in concentration also affects the structure and physical appearance of the resulting hydrogel to become stronger, elastic and sturdy. Observation of the morphology of the cross-section of the hydrogel with an optical microscope shows that the pores are connected to each other and get smaller with increasing concentration of the precursor solution. In addition, the degree of swelling study showed a very high-water absorption capacity and at the same time showed a low weight loss. Thus, the hydrogel has been successfully synthesized from commercial Porang flour and based on the results of this initial study, the hydrogel is highly recommended for further development in the biomedical field.

Keywords: hydrogel, porang, commercial porang flour, freeze-thaw, physical properties

Topic: CHEMISTRY AND MATERIAL SCIENCES