In the last decades spectroscopy began to play an essential role in physics education research with the recognition that atomic spectra constitute a good occasion to study the concepts of quantum mechanics. Moreover, activities in which atomic spectra are studied in order to understand star structure and evolution have proved particularly engaging…

Low-dimensional materials especially graphene-based are of high interest to a broad community. One of the most fundamental aspects in the biomedical field is material characterization, which helps understand their property and tune for application. Though the existing teaching curricula are well standardized to include basic principles and…

This laboratory exercise integrates chemistry and biology concepts to give third/fourth-year undergraduate students an opportunity to apply knowledge from different subject areas to address a real-world biomedical issue such as pathogen inhibition using composite materials. It involves the preparation of a bacteria-derived cellulosic biopolymer…

A straightforward procedure for the synthesis of (Ph[subscript 3]P)[subscript 3]CuCF[subscript 3], a robust, air-stable trifluoromethylating agent, is reported herein. This preparation can be completed in a single 3 h laboratory session and typically provides ample yields (~79--86%) and high purity (>90%). The target complex is characterized by…

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…

Microplastic contamination of the environment is a major concern but detecting such contamination presents a challenge, particularly for particles <0.1 mm in size. Community scientists and students who participated in a plankton monitoring program and routinely examined samples of seawater using brightfield microscopy, often found fragments and…

The MicRoboCop project introduces chemistry students to the concepts and protocols of synthetic biology. MicRoboCop is a biosensor that has been designed for unique applications in forensic chemistry. The lab is carried out in collaboration with an instructor teaching a genetics course. Students in the biology course synthesize biosensors using…

One challenge of teaching chemical analysis is the proliferation of sophisticated, but often impenetrable, instrumentation in the modern laboratory. Complex instruments, and the software that runs them, distance students from the physical and chemical processes that generate the analytical signal. A solution to this challenge is the introduction…

Novel carbon nanomaterials such as reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene oxide (GO) can be easily incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum to discuss basic chemistry and nanotechnology concepts. This paper describes a laboratory experiment designed to study the differences between GO and rGO regarding their physicochemical properties…

General chemistry and introductory chemistry students were presented with a laboratory exploration for the determination of the mass percent of copper in rock and mineral samples. They worked independently in the laboratory, which involved multiple lab (pipetting, preparing standard solutions by quantitative dilution, recording visible spectra…

A series of laboratory experiments were developed to introduce first-year chemistry students to nanoscience through a green chemistry approach. Students made and characterized the stability of silver nanoparticles using two different methods: UV-visible spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. They then assessed the ecotoxicity of silver…

Circular dichroism (CD) has emerged as one of the standard biophysical techniques for the study of guaninequadruplex (G4) folding, cation effect, and ligand binding. The utility of this technique is based on its robustness, ease of use, and requirement of only small quantities of nucleic acid. This experiment is also extendable to the classroom…

An interdisciplinary laboratory experiment involving second-year undergraduate organic chemistry and introductory inorganic chemistry undergraduate students is described. Organic chemistry students prepare a series of amine-bis(phenols) via a Mannich reaction, and characterize their products using melting point; FTIR; and [superscript 1]H,…

The rapid academic and industrial development of nanotechnology has led to its implementation in laboratory teaching for undergraduate-level chemistry and engineering students. This laboratory experiment introduces the galvanic replacement reaction for synthesis of hollow metal nanoparticles and investigates the optical properties of these…

A new undergraduate program in chemical biology was launched in 2008 to provide a unique learning experience for those students interested in this interdisciplinary science. An innovative undergraduate chemical biology laboratory course at the third-year level was developed as a key component of the curriculum. The laboratory course introduces…