A laboratory experiment was developed to enable students to investigate the use of smart hydrogels for potential application in targeted drug delivery. This is challenging for students to explore practically because of the extremely high risks of handling cross-linking agents such as glutaraldehyde. Genipin is a safe and green alternative that has…

Students in introductory physics courses often don't study thermodynamics or thermodynamic events. If any thermal physics is taught in introductory courses (e.g., Physics 101 for Liberal Arts Majors), it usually involves the concepts of specific heat and various temperature scales. Seldom are the first and second laws of thermodynamics taught in…

Immunological detection of proteins is an essential method to demonstrate to undergraduate biology students, however, is often difficult in resource and time poor student laboratory sessions. This method describes a failsafe method to rapidly and economically demonstrate this technique using biotinylated proteins or biotin itself as targets for…

A pedagogical experiment is described to examine the physical absorption of gases, in this case carbon dioxide, in a hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) where the absorption concentration profile can be followed by a color change. The HFMC is used to teach important concepts and can be used in interesting applications for students, such as…

Examines the effect of solar radiation on colored shingles. Describes the experimental procedure, results, and discussion. Presents a picture of the experimental arrangement and three graphs of data measured at different dates. (YP)

Open-ended, inquiry-based multiweek laboratory exercises are the key elements to increasing students' understanding and retention of the major biological concepts. Including original research into undergraduate teaching laboratories has also been shown to motivate students and improve their learning. Here, we present a series of original…

To determine the carbonation degree of materials used in mineral carbonation experiments, a fast, simple, and sufficiently accurate method is required. For this purpose, a method based on the reaction between carbonates and hydrochloric acid was developed. It was noted that this method could also be used to teach undergraduate students some basic…