SYNTHESIS OF SERICIN-BASED CARBON DOTS WITH PH-RESPONSIVE PROPERTIES

• Main Author: Eddy Prabowo, Humam
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/71855
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Diabetic foot ulcers are a complication of diabetes mellitus which requires early detection, treatment and proper wound monitoring. Diabetic foot ulcers have a high wound pH, along with the chronicity of the wound. Detection of changes in pH can be used to monitor the wound healing process. Carbon dots are zero-dimensional materials measuring less than 10 nm, which have luminescent properties. Carbon dots can be pH-responsive through changes in intensity or shifts in the wavelength of the resulting glow, so they can be used to detect the process of wound development. This research focuses on the synthesis of carbon dots and the evaluation of their pH-responsive properties. Carbon dots were synthesized from sericin, a protein derived from silkworm cocoons, by microwave and hydrothermal methods with varying concentrations of NaOH. Carbon dots solution produces a blue glow when irradiated with UV light. The transmission electron microscopy image shows that the synthesized carbon dots have a spherical morphology, with a size of 5.7 nm under hydrothermal and 3.2 nm under the microwave. FTIR spectroscopy detects the similarity of the sericin functional groups and carbon dots at wave numbers 1400-1600 nm. The pH-responsive properties of carbon dots were evaluated in the pH range 2-12 with excitation wavelengths of 336 nm and 420 nm. Changes in pH cause changes in the intensity of the carbon point luminescence in all samples. Carbon dots produced by hydrothermal excitation at a wavelength of 420 nm showed an increase in the intensity of luminescence at pH 5-8, so they were considered to have the potential to be used as sensors to stimulate diabetic ulcers.