Preliminary Study on Preparing Carboxymethyl Cellulose – Keratin Biofilm
Yusuf Wahyu Adi, Seli Ekatiwi and Suharti Suharti
Department of Chemistry, Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Negeri Malang, East Java, Indonesia
Abstract
As we know keratin is a structural protein. Keratin can be obtained from chicken feathers. At present, chicken feathers are one of the great potentials of waste because of its abundance and very cheap. CMC has a similar structure to cellulose. Cellulose has a very abundant amount in nature and its existence as waste and CMC is a derivative of natural cellulose polymers that are easily degraded naturally. This paper reported our preliminary work on developing novel composite biofilm from both natural biopolymer to provide novel environmentally friendly biomaterials. Keratin solution was prepared from chicken feathers by the acid method. Variations in the number of CMCs were used to see differences in biofilm rigidity. The size of keratin in the biofilm can be measured using a PSA, SEM and FTIR are used to see the presence of keratin embedded in biofilm. Based on the results of the PSA analysis, the size of keratin found in keratin solution was 1570.8 ± 26.30437 nm. In FTIR analysis, biofilms with CMC – keratin content showed an absorption peak in the area of 1240 cm-1 - 1546 cm-1 which was an amide band with keratin which could combine well with CMC. SEM shows the surface structure of CMC – keratin biofilms forming a fibrous pattern. The homogeneity of keratin in biofilm is analyzed using XRD while its resistance to temperature is measured by TGA. With the presence of keratin as a sturdy fiber and CMC as a supporting matrix can produce biofilm that are strong and environmentally friendly
Keywords: biofilm,cmc, keratin
Topic: Biomaterial Science