The main goal of this project is to increase the emphasis on quality education at the interface between biology and chemistry. For this goal, there is a critical need for modern instrumentation that can be used to teach the technical and intellectual methods of biochemistry and cell biology to majors in chemistry and biology and can also be used to introduce science to students at all lower levels and to non-science-majors. This project involves the purchase of a capillary electrophoresis system for use in upper-division laboratory courses in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and instrumental analysis. Students in specific chemistry courses can also be trained as technical experts in the use of the instrument and assist students and instructors in lower-division courses and courses for non-science-majors. In this way, the benefits of the instrument can be realized at all instructional levels and the student "experts" gain practical experience applying what they have learned to real problems. The capillary electrophoresis system is ideal for an undergraduate institution because of its advantages of speed and safety. The instrument also significantly increases opportunities for undergraduate research projects in biology and chemistry. The benefits to students include improved instrumentation available for instruction and student research, improved exercises and projects in laboratory courses, the ability to perform sophisticated analyses even in lower-division courses and courses for non-majors, and the opportunity for upper-division chemistry students to apply what they have learned by serving as "technical experts."
