The major goal of the project is to provide chemistry and biochemistry students with the fundamental understanding and practical experience necessary to be successful in their future careers. One effective means for doing this is through introduction of modern chemical instrumentation early and throughout the chemistry and biochemistry curricula.
This project develops laboratory exercises of increasing sophistication that utilize four liquid chromatography systems with varying capabilities. Chromatography is an important enabling instrumental method that is used in various forms across the chemical and biochemical disciplines for a wide variety of applications, including pharmaceutical, food, environmental and biomedical analyses and studies. The exercises begin with illustrative bench top exercises and culminate with hands-on experience. Exercises of increasing sophistication are being implemented in laboratories at all levels of the curriculum, such that students who complete the curriculum have a strong working knowledge of this important technology.
An important aspect of this project is the implementation of liquid chromatography exercises in large-enrollment laboratory courses like those taught at most intermediate or large universities. This is accomplished through early instruction using illustrative bench top exercises and through application of multiple state-of-the-art yet affordable separations instruments that allow fast separations. The project is also introducing the technology to local high school science teachers through workshops. In addition, high school students that utilize the instrumentation are being supported to attend local and regional science fairs.
This project has developed new and effective laboratory exercises to teach and train students in the theory and application of chromatography. The project has taken advantage of recent developments in liquid chromatographic instrumentation and technology to make the technique accessible and applicable in introductory and large enrollment as well as advanced laboratory courses. The educational experiences of more than 1000 students have been impacted to date. Since its introduction in 1903, chromatography has developed into an invaluable laboratory tool in chemistry and biology for the analysis, identification and quantitation of chemical compounds. Chromatography is used for the separation of a chemical mixture into its individual components. This approach allows for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The former is the identification of a substance and the latter is the determination of the amount of a substance. Liquid chromatography (LC), in which analyses are conducted in liquid solvents, is one of the main chromatographic approaches in use today. The importance of this is evident when one realizes that most substances can only be analyzed in solution, and that virtually every biological entity (animals, plants, and people) is water-based. Due to its broad and diverse applicability, this instrumental technique is used in virtually every corner of science including environmental science, forensics, food science, agriculture science, in industrial, government, and academic labs, and in virtually every sector of the biotechnology arena. Educating science students in the theory and application of liquid chromatography is thus a necessity. Although LC is an essential tool in much of the chemical and biological sciences, it has not often been taught in introductory undergraduate laboratories or in undergraduate laboratories with large enrollments. This is because the instruments are considered too expensive and insufficiently robust, and because LC separations are considered too slow for large enrollment laboratories. Recent developments in LC technology, however, make it possible to conduct relatively fast separations. Additionally, the cost of LC instrumentation has come down in recent years, such that instruments are now affordable for many undergraduate institutions. This project has utilized state-of-the art LC instrumentation and technology to introduce this important analytical method into instructional laboratories across the university-level chemistry curriculum. The NSF-TUES grant allowed us to acquire four LC instruments and incorporate them into multiple laboratory courses at different educational levels. We introduced LC into high-enrollment introductory labs wherein students synthesized aspirin and separated the product from the starting components. More advanced students in large enrollment quantitative analysis laboratories learned to use LC to quantify the chemical components in different analgesic products. Third-year students performed more advanced LC techniques to separate dyes and studied the theory of liquid chromatography in greater detail. Advanced students utilized the instruments to analyze the products of chemical reactions carried out in the inorganic chemistry lab. Additionally, many undergraduate students had the chance to use LC in research projects in the chemistry department. The instruments have also proved useful as part of an outreach component whereby they are made available to local high school students for their research projects, under the guidance of university mentors. With the LC instruments integrated into the curriculum from the introductory general course through to advanced undergraduate majors labs, students have received hands on training, conceptual understanding, theory, application and rigorous experience with chromatography techniques. Over 1,000 students to date have had hands on experience with these instruments, and many additional students will receive similar training in coming years. Intellectual merit: This project has utilized recent developments in liquid chromatographic technology to enhance instructional strategies across the entire chemistry curriculum. The state-of-the-art technology has been demonstrated to allow meaningful hands-on experiences for students in large enrollment introductory laboratories as well as more advanced laboratories. We have also shown that liquid chromatography can be demonstrated in relatively simple bench-top experiments, making follow-on experience with the advanced instrumental technique and approach accessible even to beginning students. Broader Impacts: We have demonstrated that the latest LC instrumentation and technology can be utilized to good effect in large enrollment laboratories like those found at most intermediate and larger state universities. This makes these new laboratory exercises adaptable to many institutions of higher learning across the United States and elsewhere. The results of the project have been presented at national and international conferences and the details of the new laboratory exercises have been shared freely with interested educators. More than 1000 students at the University of Montana have received enhanced training in this important technique, making them better prepared for the workforce and to impact the development of new scientific technology. The new laboratory exercises will continue to be used at the University of Montana, and may be adapted to other institutions, to provide enhanced scientific training for many more students.
