Advanced Practical Work in Chemistry

Overview

NAME CONTRIBUTION
Dr Cochrane
s.cochrane@qub.ac.uk Medical Project Lead
Dr Dingwall
p.dingwall@qub.ac.uk Physical Project Lead
Prof Holbrey
j.holbrey@qub.ac.uk Inorganic Project Lead
Dr Kavanagh
p.kavanagh@qub.ac.uk Physical Project Lead
Dr Muldoon
m.j.muldoon@qub.ac.uk Inorganic Project Lead.
Prof Stevenson
p.stevenson@qub.ac.uk Organic Project Lead


Summary of Lecture Content:
 Each student will carry out 3 labs (further details below). All students will carry out the inorganic and organic labs. Students on the chemistry pathway will carry out the physical lab and those on the medicinal chemistry pathway will carry out a medicinal based lab instead of the physical lab.
 Below are some more details about all the individual labs, and further details will be given by project leads prior to each lab commencing. The planned running order will be organic, inorganic, and then physical and medicinal labs will run in parallel in the second semester.

Organic Chemistry Lab (20% of module mark):
 Overview and learning outcomes:
 On completion of the organic miniproject, students will have developed a broad foundation of laboratory-based skills in synthetic organic chemistry. This lab will involve following a three step literature preparation, of an alkene, under inert conditions, and practise in the use of crystallisation as a purification technique. There will also get practise in collecting and organising analytical data and in the interpretation of both 1D and 2D NMR spectra.
 Skills associated with lab:
 Working with anhydrous solvents and air sensitive reagents.
 Syringe techniques.
 Laboratory record keeping
 Time management
 Use of tlc to monitor reactions and to establish purity of final products.
 Practise at using basic skills first taught in first and second year, particularly liquid-liquid extraction and crystallisation. This is a literature preparation, which is brief and concise, and assumes that the end user is proficient with basic chemical techniques.
 Lab Requirements: Preparation and submission of at least two of the three samples along with a laboratory notebook.
 Assessment: Product samples / NMR Spectra / lab report. Further details / rubric will be given on Canvas.


Inorganic Chemistry Lab (40% of module mark):
 Overview and learning outcomes:
 This lab project will be student led. Students will be given a list of available chemicals and asked to plan a study for a catalytic oxidation reaction using homogeneous catalysts. Students will be given time prior to lab work commencing to read the scientific literature and then design a study which they will carry out over 4 weeks (2 days per week (Thursday and Friday)). At the end of the lab, students will submit a final report which will demonstrate their understanding of the general area and the results they have obtained in the laboratory. Students will gain experience in a number of areas, including: research skills, experimental design, problem solving, assessment of health and safety, data interpretation and report writing.
 Lab Requirements: Prior to any laboratory work, a project plan and COSHH form must be submitted by each student. A final report discussing the obtained results must be submitted after the lab.
 Assessment: Final written report. Further details / rubric will be given on Canvas.



Physical Chemistry Lab (40% of module mark)::
 Overview and learning outcomes:
 The generation of kinetic data is vital for optimising reaction conditions and understanding a reaction mechanism. In this project, students will generate kinetic data for a specified catalytic reaction by varying a number of experimental parameters. Each student will design an individual set of experiments to determine reactions rates and substrate orders. Meaningful kinetic information generated, e.g. reaction rate law, can be interpreted to provide mechanistic knowledge and inform reaction optimisation. On completion of this lab the students will have developed a broad foundation of laboratory-based skills in experimental chemistry including experimental design, practical laboratory skills, primary literature searching, data interpretation, time-management and presentation/communication of results.
 Assessment: Final written report and presentation. Further details / rubric will be given on Canvas.


Medicinal Chemistry Lab (40% of module mark)::
 Overview and learning outcomes:
 On completion of this mini-project, students will have developed a broad foundation of laboratory-based skills in medicinal chemistry. This will include experimental design, literature searching, solid-phase synthesis of antimicrobial compounds, analysis of their purity using high-performance liquid chromatography and the use of in vitro assays to evaluate biological activity and compound stability, data interpretation, time-management and presentation/communication of results. This will also give a flavour for the research that is currently ongoing in the School.
 Assessment: Final written report and presentation. Further details / rubric will be given on Canvas.

Learning Objectives

On completion of this module the students will have developed a broad foundation of laboratory-based skills in experimental chemistry. These will include experimental design, practical laboratory skills, literature searching, data interpretation, time-management and presentation/communication of results. This will also give a flavour for the research that is currently ongoing in the School.

Skills

Laboratory skills, numeracy and literacy skills, data interpretation and research methods.

Assessment

Assessment Weightings:
Inorganic Lab 40%
Organic Lab 20%
Physical or Medicinal Lab 40%

Each student will carry out 3 labs (see further details under "Contents"). All students will carry out the inorganic and organic labs. Students on the chemistry pathway will carry out the physical lab and those on the medicinal chemistry pathway will carry out a medicinal based lab instead of the physical lab.

Course Requirements:
80 % Attendance at Laboratories and submission of reports and lab-book
All coursework elements must be passed at 40%.