PKM is the most prestigious and largest scientific competition for students organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). Students compete in teams for funding after a lengthy selection process.

Out of tens of thousands of PKM proposals submitted, Team DBD-tect, along with 27 other teams from ITB, was selected from 3,520 proposals that received funding.

The DBD-tect team submitted a proposal titled “Accurate, Rapid, and Affordable Dengue Fever Detector Using Gold Nanoparticles.” The journey to this point was not easy. According to Naufan, the team leader, this innovative research did not come about overnight but through a long process of challenges.

“It’s actually quite funny how we chose this topic. Initially, the five of us came from different academic backgrounds and wanted to experience the excitement of research. We started by participating in PKM 2024 without knowing the topic we would pursue,” said Naufan.

“After switching topics several times and conducting research, one of our friends fell ill with a prolonged fever that did not improve. After several weeks and a hospital visit, he was diagnosed with dengue fever. This unfortunate event sparked our idea to develop a dengue fever detector as an early diagnostic tool to address this problem,” he continued.

The team received guidance from Prof. Brian Yuliarto, ST., M.Eng., Ph.D., a lecturer in the Department of Physics and Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering (FIT) at ITB. He provided motivation and direction throughout the innovation research process, including the use of gold nanoparticles as part of the detector.

DBD-tect is both the name of the team and their PKM-KC product. It is an electrochemical-based dengue fever detector. Using a Screen Printed Carbon Electrode (SPCE) enhanced with gold nanoparticles and containing dengue antibodies, this instrument can bind dengue virus antigens, which are then read by a portable electrochemical sensor using voltammetry. The device can quantify the conductivity of the binding and qualitatively determine whether a patient is detected with dengue fever.
The research process was lengthy, and with the help of the ITB Bio-Material Laboratory, they are designing this innovation to become a prototype before the deadline. “Please keep us in your thoughts; we hope this tool can be completed and provide extraordinary benefits to the entire community in Indonesia,” Zhorif said.

Among the 27 other PKM teams from ITB, the committee has identified them as ITB's primary team to advance to PIMNAS 2024. However, before reaching PIMNAS 2024, they must first pass the PKP2 phase by presenting their work to the judges on July 25, 2024.

The hope is that Team DBD-tect and the 27 other ITB PKM teams will continue to receive support and smooth progress in their efforts to deliver the best innovations for the nation.