A practical laboratory experiment is described that illustrates the application of fluorescence resonance energy transfer to the study of protein-ligand binding. The affinities of wild-type and mutant human carbonic anhydrase II for dansylamide were determined by monitoring the increase in ligand fluorescence that occurs due to energy transfer…

By shifting pedagogical goals from obtaining successful mutations to teaching students critical troubleshooting skills, it has been possible to introduce site-directed mutagenesis into an undergraduate teaching laboratory. Described in this study is an inexpensive laboratory exercise in which students follow a slightly modified version of…

This undergraduate laboratory experiment integrates multiple techniques ("in vitro" synthesis, enzyme assays, Western blotting) to determine the production and detection sensitivity of two common reporter proteins (beta-galactosidase and luciferase) within an "Escherichia coli" S30 transcription/translation extract. Comparison of the data suggests…

Materials science can be taught by applying organic light-emitting electrochemical thin-film devices and in this method students were allowed to make a light-emitting device by spin coating a thin film containing ruthenium (II) complex ions onto a glass slide. Through this laboratory method students are provided with the opportunity to learn about…

Virology is an integral part of introductory biology courses. Research and experience indicate that, although the topic is a difficult one for many students, the effectiveness of instruction is enhanced when assignments actively engage the students in the generation of scientific explanations. These authors have found that the methods and…

An experimental exercise on analytical proficiency studies in collaborative trials is proposed. This practical provides students in advanced undergraduate courses in chemistry, pharmacy, and biochemistry, with the opportunity to improve their quality assurance skills. It involves an environmental analysis, determining the concentration of a…

Micropipetting is an important skill that plays a very active and critical role in the molecular biology laboratory. It is imperative for a person handling micropipettor to know the correct way of using it so that accurate and precise results are achieved.

An exciting laboratory environment is activated by the preparation and novel use of magnetic materials to decontaminate water through adsorption and magnetic removal of metals and organics. This uncomplicated technique is also adaptable to the possible application of adsorbents to numerous other environmental substances.

Green chemistry is the utilization of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products. Some of the philosophical questions and practical decisions that have guided the greening of the organic chemistry laboratory at Hendrix College in…

The potassium salt is an easy product to synthesize in an introductory course on inorganic chemistry and the students are required to prepare this product in order to improve their laboratory skills and as an introduction to the synthesis of coordination compounds. The complex potassium tris (oxalato) ferrate (III) is used to illustrate the…

The Kirby-Bauer method is regularly used to test bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics, and is often employed in the classroom for teaching this concept. In this exercise, additional materials and instructions were given to students for the preparation of garlic extract and loading on blank BBL paper discs. They were further instructed to test…

One easy way to reduce the number of accidents in the lab is to go "green." Green chemistry, or sustainable chemistry, emerged about a decade ago, but the concept has been practiced for centuries by indigenous people of many continents. The basic principles of green chemistry are that you should use only what you need and recycle what you can.…

The isolation and characterization of mutants has been crucial in understanding a number of processes in the field of cell biology. In this exercise, students examine the effects of mutations in the secretory pathway on protein localization. Yeast strains deficient for synthesis of histidinol dehydrogenase are transformed with a plasmid encoding a…

Stereospecific synthesis of a geometrical isomer is not a common topic for the introductory organic chemistry laboratory. We have developed and tested an experiment for the synthesis of (Z) and (E) isomers that has been performed successfully by undergraduate students. The experiment is presented to the students as a puzzle in which they must…

This is a follow-up to a previous article about the historical development of the biology-chemistry-physics order of science courses in U.S. high schools. The ideas and influences behind the development of the order and some of the original arguments about the grade placement of chemistry are presented. The influence of a leading chemistry…