THE SYNTHESIS OF MgO/ZEIN NANOCOMPOSITES TO IMPROVE ANTI-BACTERIA CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUTHWASH

Mouthwash is an alternative to address problems in the oral cavity, such as caries, periodontal inflammation, and microbial abscesses generally caused by pathogens. However, chlorhexidine contained in the mouthwash was limited concentration, i.e., 0.2 %, due to the side effects caused by these ingredients. Even though chlorhexidine has bactericidal and bacteriostatic properties against various bacteria found in plaque, for this reason, to increase the antibacterial activity of these mouthwashes, it is necessary to add other ingredients to the mouthwash formula, namely MgO/Zein nanocomposites with a composition of 1:4 and 1:5. The method used in this study was the preparation of MgO nanoparticles from dolomite using a solid acid solvent, the results of which were then composited with Zein using alcohol and NaOH. Synthesized samples were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The antibacterial activity of S. aureus and mushrooms C. albicans in mouthwash with a concentration of 0.5 to 2.5 % can be determined by conducting a diffusion test. The results showed that the MgO/Zein nanocomposite fabrication had been successfully carried out and had the following characteristics: having a MgO phase with a polycrystalline cubic structure, having a zein phase with α-helix and β-sheet structures of proteins shows that Zein has an amorphous structure. The results of the antibacterial activity test showed that mouthwash with adding MgO/Zein nanocomposites more effectively inhibited bacterial growth of S. aureus and mushrooms C. albicans. It is known that the MgO/Zein nanocomposite composition 1:4 has the largest inhibition zone in S. aureus bacteria with a concentration of 1.5 % mouthwash and C. albicans fungi with a concentration of 0.5 %, namely 40.17 mm and 8.42 mm.