The pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry has become the largest industrial sector for the employment of chemists, indicating a need for experiments with a pharmaceutical sciences context in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. In the pharmaceutical industry, testing drug dissolution is a key analytical task for solid oral dosage…

Infrared spectroscopy (IR) is a staple structural elucidation and characterization technique because of its ability to identify functional groups and its ease of use. Interestingly, it allows the capture of electronic effects via their influence on the bond strength of "probes", such as the carbonyl group and also offers a wealth of…

Evidence from fMRI research indicates that individual creative thinking ability -- defined as performance on divergent thinking tasks, subjectively assessed by human raters -- can be predicted based on the strength of functional connectivity (FC) between the brain's default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal control network (FPCN). Here, we…

Ion channel sensors have several applications including DNA sequencing, biothreat detection, and medical applications. Ion channel sensors mimic the selective transport mechanism of cell membranes and can detect a wide range of analytes at the molecule level. Analytes are sensed through changes in signal patterns. Papers in the literature have…

We present the design of a periscope-type VIS spectrometer for educational purposes that combines strong features from various earlier designs and adds new ones. Three 3D-printed pieces that hold a small thin mirror sheet, a 1/8th wedge of a DVD, and two razor blades are easily assembled and facilitate insight into its construction. A new feature…

Raman scattering spectroscopies are important analytical tools in modern chemistry. Here, we describe the construction of the unamplified Raman scattering analysis (URSA) instrument: an inexpensive, open-table Raman spectrometer that uses a 532 nm diode-pumped laser as a light source. Upon application of this spectrometer to DNA extracted from…

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is commonly introduced to students in the classroom, but its hands-on use in undergraduate laboratories is far less common. The significant costs to purchase and maintain a traditional high-field NMR spectrometer means that many institutions cannot offer this service to their students. Benchtop NMR…

Raman spectroscopy has become a popular analytical tool because of its ability to probe nondestructively and provide fingerprint information about materials. The advancements in the field of Raman spectroscopy and the expanding scope of applications warrant the introduction of the topic in the formal education curriculum. The introduction of Raman…

Dilute guarana´ ("Paullinia cupana") powder aqueous extract is a soft drink that contains three structurally related methylxanthines (MXs), caffeine (CF), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP); CF is present in a large excess. Literature data show that values of [lambda][subscript max] and [epsilon][subscript max] of these three MXs…

Quantum dots are colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals that display size-dependent electronic and optical properties. These materials are a visual demonstration of a quantum-mechanical effect. Here we present a laboratory exercise for undergraduate/Bachelor students as an introduction to colloidal nanocrystals and quantum dots. The students…

In this paper, we present a concise and technique-heavy route to the synthesis of dimedone for a second-year organic chemistry curriculum. Our preparation of dimedone guides students through a Michael addition followed by a Dieckmann cyclization, basic ester hydrolysis, and thermal decarboxylation, while allowing time for mechanistic discussion…

The synthesis of a [2]rotaxane through three- or five-component coupling reactions has been adapted to an organic chemistry experiment for upper-division students. The experimental procedure addresses the search for the most favorable reaction conditions for the synthesis of the interlocked compound, which is obtained in a yield of up to 71%.…

An understanding of basic organic chemical reactivity is key for many biosciences students. The reactivities of different carbonyl groups affect their function in many biomolecules. A practical class, the two-step synthesis of paracetamol, has been devised to illustrate the electrophilic reactivities of carbonyls, which was covered in the…

Background: Executive function (EF) deficit is considered to be a core cognitive deficit in ADHD. The current study combined functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and numerical switching tasks to investigate the cognitive flexibility of adult ADHD as an important part of EF. Material and Methods: The Wender Utah Rating Scale and the adult…

Investigating the optical properties of various chemical compounds using UV-vis spectrophotometers is an essential part of education in chemistry. However, commercial spectrophotometers are usually treated as "magic black boxes", where the dominant majority of optical elements are hidden "under the hood". This often limits…