On Friday, November 5, 2021, the Chemistry Study Program held a Guest Lecture by Dr rer nat. Gerhard Marini from Med-El Industry which is a manufacturer of hearing aid implants. Dr. Gerhard conveyed about biomaterials, namely materials that have been engineered so that they can interact with biological systems for medical purposes, either for therapy (treating, adding, repairing, or replacing the function of body tissues) or for diagnostics by pharmacological, immunological, or metabolic means. The history of biomaterials began when the second world war caused many soldiers to lose limbs so that research began to develop to overcome these problems. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science or biomaterials engineering, which has experienced steady and strong growth over its history, many companies are investing large sums of money into the development of new products.

Biomaterials science includes medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science. Utilization of biomaterials must meet several requirements depending on its function, but one important thing that must be met is that it is inert and non-toxic to biological systems. In its development, biomaterials science seeks to develop artificial muscles and some artificial organs. In the industry where he works, he produces cochlear implants to treat hearing loss and even deaf people by utilizing biomaterial technology. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that is placed in the ear of a person who has hearing loss due to a damaged cochlea. This device works by sending impulses from the cochlea directly to the auditory nerve, which then carries sound signals to the brain. Cochlear implants are mostly made of silicon, which is usually the main material for implants. Because the cochlear implant sends electronic signals to the brain, it requires metal (palladium is used in this case). Quality testing and standardization requires cochlear implants to be able to withstand use for a minimum of five years while maintaining no metal leakage into the body. This public lecture was attended by students taking Materials Chemistry and Chemical Research Topics courses to add insight into the development of materials research.