Measurement of protein denaturation and protein folding is a common laboratory technique used in undergraduate biochemistry laboratories. Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) provides a rapid, sensitive, and general method for measuring protein thermal stability in an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory. In this method, the thermal…

Although nuclear half-life is vital to physics and physical science, and to sensitive societal issues from nuclear waste to the age of the Earth, a true lab on half-life is almost never done at the college or high school level. Seldom are students able to use radioactivity to actually date when an object came into being, as is done in this…

A two-part experiment using bubble rafts to analyze amorphous structures is presented. In the first part, the distinctions between crystalline and vitreous structures are examined. In the second part, the interface between crystalline and amorphous regions is considered. Bubble rafts are easy to produce and provide excellent analogy to recent…

Enzyme kinetics is an essential part of a chemistry curriculum, especially for students interested in biomedical research or in health care fields. Though the concept is routinely performed in undergraduate chemistry/biochemistry classrooms using other spectroscopic methods, we provide an optimized approach that uses a real-time monitoring of the…

The present work describes an undergraduate laboratory exercise for improving understanding of fundamental phenomena in cooling crystallization. The exercise of nucleation and crystal growth kinetics supports learning of theories and models presented in lectures and calculation exercises. The teaching methodology incorporates precepts the…

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…

There is a dearth of base-stable reference electrodes that are suitable for use by students in a teaching laboratory or undergraduate research context. To remedy this, we have developed a technique to produce reference electrodes suitable for alkaline environments. By utilizing components of a commercially available alkaline-type battery, an…

This series of three practical sessions centers on drugs that inhibit the enzyme acetylcholineesterase. This enzyme is responsible for the inactivation of acetylcholine and has been the target of drugs to treat glaucoma and Alzheimer's disease and for a number of insecticides and warfare agents. These sessions relate to a series of carbamate…

A multistep synthesis of 10-ethyl flavin was developed as an organic chemistry laboratory experiment for upper-division undergraduate students. Students synthesize 10-ethyl flavin as a bright yellow solid via a five-step sequence. The experiment introduces students to various hands-on experimental organic synthetic techniques, such as column…

In this work, a specific implementation of a so-called experimental or open-ended laboratory is proposed and evaluated. Keeping in mind the scheduling limitations imposed by the context, first-year engineering physics laboratory practices have been revised in order to facilitate acquisition of the skills that are required in the experimental work.…

Two introductory organic chemistry laboratory experiments are described based on the Diels-Alder reaction of 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylcyclopentadienone, which is synthesized prior to or in a one-pot reaction, with styrene. Students are presented with three possible products, the "endo" and "exo" diastereomers and the decarbonylated…

The transport of molecules across biological membranes are critical for most cellular processes. Membrane permeability is also a key determinant for drug absorption, distribution, and elimination. Diffusion, that is, the migration of matter down a concentration gradient, is a simple mechanism by which both endogenous and drug molecules can enter…

A laboratory experiment was developed to follow the gelation of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution upon addition of borax by using rotational viscometry. The rheological properties of the gel were examined, measuring the dependence of viscosity and shear stress on the shear rate. Time-dependent studies were also conducted in which the viscosity of…

The Characterization and Analysis of a Product (CAP) project is used to introduce first-semester general chemistry students to chemical instrumentation through the analysis of caffeine-containing beverage products. Some examples of these products have included coffee, tea, and energy drinks. Students perform at least three instrumental experiments…

This graduate-level DNA methods laboratory course is designed to model a discovery-based research project and engages students in both traditional DNA analysis methods and modern recombinant DNA cloning techniques. In the first part of the course, students clone the "Drosophila" ortholog of a human disease gene of their choosing using…