Reassessing Undergraduate Polymer Chemistry Laboratory Experiments for Virtual Learning Environments

Chemistry laboratory experiments are invaluable to students' acquisition of necessary synthetic, analytical, and instrumental skills during their undergraduate studies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic rendered face-to-face (f2f), in-person teaching laboratory experiences impossible from late 2019-2020 and forced educators to rapidly develop new solutions to deliver chemistry laboratory education remotely. Unfortunately, achieving learning and teaching objectives to the same caliber of in-person experiments is very difficult through distance learning. To overcome these hurdles, educators have generated many virtual and remote learning options for not only foundational chemistry courses but also laboratory experiments. Although the pandemic challenged high-level chemistry education, it has also created an opportunity for both students and educators to be more cognizant of virtual learning opportunities and their potential benefits within chemistry curriculum. Irrespective of COVID-19, virtual learning techniques, especially virtual lab experiments, can complement f2f laboratories and offer a cost-efficient, safe, and environmentally sustainable alternative to their in-person counterparts. Implementation of virtual and distance learning techniques-including kitchen chemistry and at-home laboratories, prerecorded videos, live-stream video conferencing, digital lab environment, virtual and augmented reality, and others-can provide a wide-ranging venue to teach chemistry laboratories effectively and encourage diversity and inclusivity in the field. Despite their relevance to real-world applications and potential to expand upon fundamental chemical principles, polymer lab experiments are underrepresented in the virtual platform. Polymer chemistry education can help prepare students for industrial and academic positions. The impacts of polymers in our daily life can also promote students' interests in science and scientific research. Hence, the translation of polymer lab experiments into virtual settings improves the accessibility of polymer chemistry education. Herein, we assess polymer experiments in the emergence of virtual learning environments and provide suggestions for further incorporation of effective polymer teaching and learning techniques into virtual settings.

Teaching Instrumental Analysis during the Pandemic: Application of Handheld CO2 Monitors to Explore COVID-19 Transmission Risks

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a challenge for maintaining an engaging learning environment while using remote laboratory formats. In this work, we describe a Student Choice Project (SCP) in an undergraduate instrumental analysis course that was adapted for remote learning without sacrificing research-based learning goals. We discuss the implementation and assessment of this SCP, selected student results, and student feedback. Students were provided handheld carbon dioxide monitors and charged with designing and implementing an investigation centered on COVID-19 airborne transmission. The real-time monitors provided experience with a new analytical tool that demanded considerations and analysis not common to other methods discussed in the course. Students were motivated by the ability to design their own projects and by the real-world implications of their findings. They performed well for all assessments, reported a positive experience, and recommended these monitors be added to the typical repertoire of instrumentation for the course.

Structural determination of model phospholipid membranes by Raman spectroscopy: Laboratory experiment

In an upper-division interdisciplinary laboratory experiment, students use Raman spectroscopy to highlight how the overall structure and conformational order of lipid bilayers can be influenced by their individual phospholipid composition. Students prepare a supported lipid bilayer, as a model cell membrane, by spreading liposomes made of various phospholipids on a solid support. The characterization of phospholipid bilayers, a major component of cellular membranes, can advance our fundamental understanding of important biological phenomena, with significant implications in various fields including drug delivery and development. We use Raman spectroscopy as an analytical tool to investigate the structural and packing properties of model cell membranes. The spectral frequency, intensity, and line-width of lipid Raman bands are extremely sensitive to structural alterations. This experimental module effectively exposes students to the fundamentals of Raman spectroscopy and teaches students the importance of interdisciplinary education as they integrate concepts from chemical structure, molecular interactions, and analytical spectroscopic techniques to gain a more holistic understanding of biological membrane properties.

Human Salivary α-Amylase and Starch Digestion: A Simple and Inexpensive At-Home Laboratory Experience in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 in Colombia was detected on March 6, 2020. Subsequently, schools, colleges, and universities were closed on March 26, which forced a massive migration to virtual education and impacted laboratory-based teaching courses. The teaching of biochemistry requires an experimental component that virtual laboratories cannot emulate. To address this concern, the article describes an at-home biochemistry laboratory experience that explores the hydrolysis of starch by α-amylase as a function of enzyme concentration, reaction time, and pH. The general success of the experience was assessed through the quality of information submitted through laboratory reports and feedback from students. A total of 19 laboratory reports were reviewed, and 50 students were surveyed. The analysis indicated that approximately 90% of students expressed favorable opinions about the experience. They understood the objective of the practice, identified the function of each material, and explained the relationship between the obtained results and concepts of enzyme activity presented in theoretical classes. Finally, the study concluded that the at-home laboratory experience is inexpensive and easy to perform outside the traditional laboratory. Furthermore, it enables a genuine practical experience with observations, data collection, analysis, and discussion of results, which meets the expectations for pharmaceutical chemistry students at the Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, Colombia.

Chemical Engineering Teaching in COVID-19 Times: Successfully Adapting a Capstone Design Course to a Remote Format

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic required educational institutions to adapt face-to-face to remote teaching. This study reports the experience in the first semester of 2020 for a Chemical Engineering Capstone Design Course at the University of Campinas in Brazil. In this course, senior year students develop a group project, in which they simulate a chemical plant and evaluate its technoeconomic feasibility. In 2020, the groups were proposed to design a process to replace diesel fuel from the bus fleet in Campinas city with renewable fuel DME. Because of the pandemic, several adaptations were needed: the theoretical classes became asynchronous, group meetings were online, a commercial simulator was replaced by an open access one, and the schedule was extended by 2 weeks. Despite that, the students had a great performance, comparable to face-to-face. To assess student satisfaction, a questionnaire was used. The course met the expectations of most of the students who also recommended keeping it in the remote format or merging it with face-to-face teaching. Therefore, these changes made it possible to apply new teaching dynamics and tools that could be used in the future to improve the course quality.

Sodium carbonate versus borate buffer for lactase quenching, laboratory work

A laboratory exercise for undergraduate advanced students of enzymology and biocatalysis is presented. Since enzyme assays can be quenched or continuous, this experiment compares the performance of two quenching agents for lactase, in a continuous setup. Enzymatic activity of β-galactosidase (Aspergillus oryzae) was determined based on the release of 4-nitrophenol from 4-nitrophenyl β-D-galactopyranoside using a microplate reader. Sodium carbonate and borate buffer were tested as quenching agents, and experimental control was the unstopped assay. Based on released 4-nitrophenol, enzyme activity, and rate constant k, the students could assess the performance of each termination agent. The experiment promotes disciplinary and transversal competencies, including research-based learning, critical thinking, and introduce the students to high-throughput techniques that are common in the research and development environment.

Teaching space-group diagrams to chemistry students through a peer-tutoring approach

Peer tutoring is a teaching strategy that offers a creative way of getting students more involved and accountable for their own learning in college-level chemistry courses. The authors have found that the 'Symmetry and Space Group Tutorial' [Jasinski & Foxman (2007). Symmetry and Space Group Tutorial, V1.55. http://people.brandeis.edu/~foxman1/teaching/indexpr.html] lends itself well to a peer-tutoring approach in a crystallography course for chemistry students. This in-class activity provides an opportunity for students to learn space-group diagrams, understand basic symmetry concepts, organize what they have learned, and explain it to their peers, which leads to a deeper overall understanding of the subject. We report on our experience in planning peer tutoring, advise on best practices, and demonstrate the positive impact on student learning and engagement.

Introducing ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy through Analysis of Acetaminophen Drugs: Practical Lessons for Interdisciplinary and Progressive Learning for Undergraduate Students

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a vibrational spectroscopic technique useful in chemical, pharmaceutical, and forensic sciences. It is essential to identify chemicals for reasons spanning from scientific research and academic practices to quality control in companies. However, in some university degrees, graduate students do not get the proficiency to optimize the experimental parameters to obtain the best IR spectra; to correlate the IR spectral bands with the molecular vibrations (chemical elucidation); to have some criteria for any substance identification (especially relevant in quality control to recognize counterfeit); and to apply chemometrics for comparing, visualizing, and classifying the IR spectra. This work presents an experimental laboratory practice for an introductory teaching of the IR instrumental conditions in the identification of substances based on visual spectra comparison and statistical analysis and matching. Then, the selected IR conditions are applied to different commercial drugs, in the solid state or in solution, mostly composed of acetaminophen. Finally, the students apply chemometrics analysis to the IR data. This practice was designed for the training in a chemistry subject for undergraduate students of the chemistry, pharmacy, or forensics degrees, among others related to science, medical, food, or technological sciences.

LAB Theory, HLAB Pedagogy, and Review of Laboratory Learning in Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The role and efficacy of the laboratory in chemical education have recently been a subject of renewed discussion as researchers are called upon to address the question of whether laboratory education lives up to expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most of the global student population to temporarily adopt remote learning, offers an unparalleled case study to investigate types of outcomes resulting from a variety of adjustments made to laboratory education. This scoping review article focuses on the reports of laboratory learning in chemistry and closely related disciplines during COVID-19 to analyze the types of adjustments made to laboratory curricula and the immediate effect of these adjustments on students. The aggregated findings suggest that a lack of hands-on laboratory experience was detrimental to certain types of learning and engagement but that other types of learning were successfully achieved remotely. For researchers, departments, and university administrators, the differentiation in these findings could help inform the ongoing discussion about the future of laboratory education. For instructors and student support staff, the findings indicate potential areas of deficiency and strength for the COVID-19 student cohort going forward. Finally, a laboratory learning theory and pedagogy are proposed to guide the use of the laboratory in chemical education and potentially in other laboratory-based sciences as well.

Chemical Engineering Laboratory Projects in Student Teams in Real Life and Transformed Online: Viscose Fiber Spinning and Characterization

Chemical engineering education comprises a complexity of technical skills that include learning processes that are currently relevant in industry. Despite being a rather old industrial process, the manufacturing of viscose fibers still accounts for the major fraction of all human-made cellulosic fibers worldwide. Here we describe a laboratory setup to introduce chemistry and engineering students into the principles of cellulose fiber spinning according to the viscose process. The setup for fiber spinning is kept simplistic and allows the experiments to be performed without professional spinning equipment. However, all of the steps are performed analogously to the industrial process. The professional setting in process and chemical engineering involves work on projects and in teams. Hence, we have incorporated the fiber spinning laboratory experiment in the context of working in teams on projects. We will also present our experience on transferring a real-life laboratory experiment online, as this is required at times that online education is preferred over real-life teaching.

A simple colorimetric experiment using mammalian cell culture to study metabolism

The goal of this laboratory exercise is to give upper-level undergraduate students an introduction to sterile technique in mammalian cell culture and metabolism. The experiment can be completed within a 3-h lab period and can be performed either in conjunction with other biochemistry/metabolism experiments or used as a stand-alone experiment. In this experiment, students are tasked with relating the acidification of cell culture medium to metabolism in order to elucidate the mechanism of action for a compound. Students can relate their experimental results to topics covered on glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in upper-level biochemistry classes as well as gain valuable experience relating metabolism to drug discovery.

Teaching Cheminformatics through a Collaborative Intercollegiate Online Chemistry Course (OLCC)

While cheminformatics skills necessary for dealing with an ever-increasing amount of chemical information are considered important for students pursuing STEM careers in the age of big data, many schools do not offer a cheminformatics course or alternative training opportunities. This paper presents the Cheminformatics Online Chemistry Course (OLCC), which is organized and run by the Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE) of the American Chemical Society (ACS)'s Division of Chemical Education (CHED). The Cheminformatics OLCC is a highly collaborative teaching project involving instructors at multiple schools who teamed up with external chemical information experts recruited across sectors, including government and industry. From 2015 to 2019, three Cheminformatics OLCCs were offered. In each program, the instructors at participating schools would meet face-to-face with the students of a class, while external content experts engaged through online discussions across campuses with both the instructors and students. All the material created in the course has been made available at the open education repositories of LibreTexts and CCCE Web sites for other institutions to adapt to their future needs.

Demonstrating Basic Properties and Application of Polarimetry Using a Self-Constructed Polarimeter

An easily constructed and inexpensive polarimeter with an optical rotation angle resolution of about 0.5° is presented. It is made from small pieces of polarizing film, 2 LEDs, a protractor, and a few wires, all held in place with plastic interlocking toy bricks, such as Lego bricks. The instrument was used to demonstrate the optical rotation of plane polarized light as a function of concentration, path length, temperature, and wavelength, and to determine enantiomeric excess in solutions of arabinose, the amount of limonene in citrus ski wax remover, and optical rotations of various types of honeys and essential oils. Results were comparable to values obtained on a commercial scientific instrument, and with literature values.

Teaching and Learning Computational Drug Design: Student Investigations of 3D Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships through Web Applications

The increasing use of information technology in the discovery of new molecular entities encourages the use of modern molecular-modeling tools to help teach important concepts of drug design to chemistry and pharmacy undergraduate students. In particular, statistical models such as quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR)-often as its 3D QSAR variant-are commonly used in the development and optimization of a leading compound. We describe how these drug discovery methods can be taught and learned by means of free and open-source web applications, specifically the online platform www.3d-qsar.com. This new suite of web applications has been integrated into a drug design teaching course, one that provides both theoretical and practical perspectives. We include the teaching protocol by which pharmaceutical biotechnology master students at Pharmacy Faculty of Sapienza Rome University are introduced to drug design. Starting with a choice among recent articles describing the potencies of a series of molecules tested against a biological target, each student is expected to build a 3D QSAR ligand-based model from their chosen publication, proceeding as follows: creating the initial data set (Py-MolEdit); generating the global minimum conformations (Py-ConfSearch); proposing a promising mutual alignment (Py-Align); and finally, building, and optimizing a robust 3D QSAR models (Py-CoMFA). These student activities also help validate these new molecular modeling tools, especially for their usability by inexperienced hands. To more fully demonstrate the effectiveness of this protocol and its tools, we include the work performed by four of these students (four of the coauthors), detailing the satisfactory 3D QSAR models they obtained. Such scientifically complete experiences by undergraduates, made possible by the efficiency of the 3D QSAR methodology, provide exposure to computational tools in the same spirit as traditional laboratory exercises. With the obsolescence of the classic Comparative Molecular Field Analysis Sybyl host, the 3dqsar web portal offers one of the few available means of performing this well-established 3D QSAR method.

Going Green in Process Chemistry: Optimizing an Asymmetric Oxidation Reaction To Synthesize the Antiulcer Drug Esomeprazole

Sustainable practices in process chemistry are highlighted by a novel, 9 week team project of 8-12 students, in collaboration with AstraZeneca chemists, in an organic chemistry laboratory. Students synthesize the antiulcer medicine esomeprazole, which involves the asymmetric oxidation of pyrmetazole. To provide insight into the modern process chemistry industry, they propose environmentally friendly modifications to the asymmetric oxidation. Students first synthesize pyrmetazole and then follow a standard oxidation procedure and carry out modified, greener reactions of their choice. They investigate how a change in reaction conditions affects both the yield and enantioselectivity of esomeprazole. Positive student feedback was received and student postlab reports were analyzed over a 4 year period (2015-2018). Results consistently showed that the project provided students with the key tools to develop greener syntheses. This contextual approach not only offers the opportunity to develop valuable communication and team-working skills, but it also gives students creative input into their experimental work. It teaches the important research skills involved in sustainable process chemistry, from reproducing and modifying a literature procedure to identifying green metrics.

Measuring and Reducing Chemical Spills by Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Providing Feedback

The ability to handle chemicals safely is a key aspect of the learning development of students studying chemistry; however, there have been no previously reported investigations of the quantity of chemicals spilled by students during lab experiments. Therefore, the first part of this article reports the assessment of the volume of chemicals spilled by year 1 undergraduate chemistry students (n = 64) at a U.K. university during an existing chemical analysis practical designed to develop volumetric handling skills. The experiment was carried out on paper liners, allowing the areas of students' spills to be visible and quantified using calibrated spill volumes of liquid to determine the resultant spill area. The volume spilled by the student group was ca. 1.2% of that handled; however, the amount spilled by individual students ranged widely, from ca. 0.02% to ca. 10% of the volume handled. A feedback tool has been developed to allow laboratory demonstrators to rapidly quantify chemical spillage by individual students. This tool also provides the demonstrators with a framework to communicate the potential safety significance of the volume of chemical a student has spilled. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was carried out to examine the effect of providing feedback to students on their chemical spillage during a subsequent experiment. From a cohort of 185 year 1 undergraduate students, 150 consented to be randomized (81%), and data was collected for 144 students (96% of those randomized). A Hodges-Lehmann estimator for the median change in volume spilled during the second experiment due to providing feedback on spillage during first experiment was a 50% decrease in volume spilled (95% confidence range: 0 to 80% decrease, Mann-Whitney U test p = 0.05). The RCT was a waiting list trial, with all student receiving feedback either during or after the RCT, with blinded assessment by the demonstrators assessing volume spilled for the RCT.

Implementing a Practical, Bachelor's-Level Design-Based Learning Course To Improve Chemistry Students' Scientific Dissemination Skills

This work presents an outline for a full-quartile design-based learning laboratory-based course suitable for final year Bachelor's students. The course has been run for 5 years in the department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. The course attempts to provide a complete laboratory experience for its students, including an authentic research project, experience in writing a research paper with realistic limitations of both space and time, and giving of a presentation appropriate for a scientific conference, finally culminating with a written exam, where the questions are based on the written reports and oral presentations of the other students, making the students also course "teachers". This article will discuss both the successful aspects of the course and point out the areas that still need improvement and provides enough information as to allow the transfer of the methodology to other educational curricula.

Semester-long inquiry-based molecular biology laboratory: Transcriptional regulation in yeast

A single semester molecular biology laboratory has been developed in which students design and execute a project examining transcriptional regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Three weeks of planning are allocated to developing a hypothesis through literature searches and use of bioinformatics. Common experimental plans address a cell process and how three genes that encode for proteins involved in that process are transcriptionally regulated in response to changing environmental conditions. Planning includes designing oligonucleotides to amplify the putative promoters of the three genes of interest. After the PCR, each product is cloned proximal to β-galactosidase in a yeast reporter plasmid. Techniques used include agarose electrophoresis, extraction of DNA from agarose, plasmid purification from bacteria, restriction digestion, ligation, and bacterial transformation. This promoter/reporter plasmid is then transformed into yeast. Transformed yeast are cultured in conditions prescribed in the experimental design, lysed and β-galactosidase activity is measured. The course provides an independent research experience in a group setting. Notebooks are maintained on-line with regular feedback. Projects culminate with the presentation of a poster worth 60% of the grade. Over the last three years, about 65% of students met expectations for experimental design, data acquisition, and analysis. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):145-151, 2017.

The fundamentals behind solving for unknown molecular structures using computer-assisted structure elucidation: a free software package at the undergraduate and graduate levels

The successful elucidation of an unknown compound's molecular structure often requires an analyst with profound knowledge and experience of advanced spectroscopic techniques, such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The implementation of Computer-Assisted Structure Elucidation (CASE) software in solving for unknown structures, such as isolated natural products and/or reaction impurities, can serve both as elucidation and teaching tools. As such, the introduction of CASE software with 112 exercises to train students in conjunction with the traditional pen and paper approach will strengthen their overall understanding of solving unknowns and explore of various structural end points to determine the validity of the results quickly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Writing throughout the biochemistry curriculum: Synergistic inquiry-based writing projects for biochemistry students

This article describes a synergistic two-semester writing sequence for biochemistry courses. In the first semester, students select a putative protein and are tasked with researching their protein largely through bioinformatics resources. In the second semester, students develop original ideas and present them in the form of a research grant proposal. Both projects involve multiple drafts and peer review. The complementarity of the projects increases student exposure to bioinformatics and literature resources, fosters higher-order thinking skills, and develops teamwork and communication skills. Student feedback and responses on perception surveys demonstrated that the students viewed both projects as favorable learning experiences.

A semester-long project-oriented biochemistry laboratory based on Helicobacter pylori urease

Here we present the development of a 13 week project-oriented biochemistry laboratory designed to introduce students to foundational biochemical techniques and then enable students to perform original research projects once they have mastered these techniques. In particular, we describe a semester-long laboratory that focuses on a biomedically relevant enzyme--Helicobacter pylori (Hp) urease--the activity of which is absolutely required for the gastric pathogen Hp to colonize the human stomach. Over the course of the semester, students undertake a biochemical purification of Hp urease, assess the success of their purification, and investigate the activity of their purified enzyme. In the final weeks of the semester, students design and implement their own experiments to study Hp urease. This laboratory provides students with an understanding of the importance of biochemistry in human health while empowering them to engage in an active area of research.

Fluorescence quantum yield measurements of fluorescent proteins: a laboratory experiment for a biochemistry or molecular biophysics laboratory course

Fluorescent proteins are commonly used in cell biology to assess where proteins are within a cell as a function of time and provide insight into intracellular protein function. However, the usefulness of a fluorescent protein depends directly on the quantum yield. The quantum yield relates the efficiency at which a fluorescent molecule converts absorbed photons into emitted photons and it is necessary to know for assessing what fluorescent protein is the most appropriate for a particular application. In this work, we have designed an upper-level, biochemistry laboratory experiment where students measure the fluorescence quantum yields of fluorescent proteins relative to a standard organic dye. Four fluorescent protein variants, enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP), enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), mCitrine, and mCherry, were used, however the methods described are useful for the characterization of any fluorescent protein or could be expanded to fluorescent quantum yield measurements of organic dye molecules. The laboratory is designed as a guided inquiry project and takes two, 4 hr laboratory periods. During the first day students design the experiment by selecting the excitation wavelength, choosing the standard, and determining the concentration needed for the quantum yield experiment that takes place in the second laboratory period. Overall, this laboratory provides students with a guided inquiry learning experience and introduces concepts of fluorescence biophysics into a biochemistry laboratory curriculum.

"Click" and Olefin Metathesis Chemistry in Water at Room Temperature Enabled by Biodegradable Micelles

The two laboratory reactions focus on teaching several concepts associated with green chemistry. Each uses a commercial, nontoxic, and biodegradable surfactant, TPGS-750-M, to promote organic reactions within the lipophilic cores of nanoscale micelles in water. These experiments are based on work by K. Barry Sharpless (an azide-alkyne "click" reaction) and Robert Grubbs (an olefin cross-metathesis reaction); both are suitable for an undergraduate organic laboratory. The copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition of benzyl azide and 4-tolylacetylene is very rapid: the triazole product is readily isolated by filtration and is characterized by thin-layer chromatography and melting point analysis. The ruthenium-catalyzed olefin cross-metathesis reaction of benzyl acrylate with 1-hexene is readily monitored by thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography. The metathesis experiment comparatively evaluates the efficacy of a TPGS-750-M/water medium relative to a traditional reaction performed in dichloromethane (a common solvent used for olefin metathesis).

Lithography of Polymer Nanostructures on Glass for Teaching Polymer Chemistry and Physics

As nanolithography becomes increasingly important in technology and daily life, a variety of inexpensive and creative methods toward communicating the concepts underpinning these processes in the classroom are necessary. An experiment is described that uses simple CD-Rs, C-clamps, an oven, and a freezer to provide concrete examples and insights into the chemistry and principles of nanolithography. The experiment also has flexibility, making it suitable for a range of classroom levels from high school to more advanced labs in college. Because CD-Rs are composed of grooves of polycarbonate, the experiment provides a basis for discussions and exploration into the chemistry and physics of polymers on the nanoscale.

An Inversion Recovery NMR Kinetics Experiment

A convenient laboratory experiment is described in which NMR magnetization transfer by inversion recovery is used to measure the kinetics and thermochemistry of amide bond rotation. The experiment utilizes Varian spectrometers with the VNMRJ 2.3 software, but can be easily adapted to any NMR platform. The procedures and sample data sets in this article will enable instructors to use inversion recovery as a laboratory activity in applied NMR classes and provide research students with a convenient template with which to acquire inversion recovery data on research samples.