A Research-Based Organic Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum Employing Combinatorial Techniques

University Of Southern Maine, Portland ME

Investigators

Abstract

Chemistry (12) This project uses an innovative approach to laboratory instruction in organic chemistry to replace the previous "cookbook" curriculum. We are adapting the research-based design of Kharas, DePaul University (J. Chem. Educ. 1997, 74, 661) and extending the program to a full year of original research on a class of novel luminescent metalloles. In our program, each student prepares and characterize a unique target molecule. We are incorporating the principles of combinatorial chemistry into the curriculum and, for the first time, are introducing students to experimental organometallic chemistry. The combinatorial technology promises to revolutionize the fields of organic synthesis, drug discovery, and material sciences. The pedagogical shift from the present discovery-based instruction to the innovative research orientation makes our students collaborators in research, as they employ advanced laboratory techniques, working in an atmosphere of genuine scientific inquiry. This approach strengthens our institution's goal of challenging the creativity of students, and helps the students gain independence and self-confidence. We are convinced our research approach linked to the new combinatorial technology is applicable to other scientific disciplines, including biology, environmental sciences, and material sciences. We intend our approach to serve as a model for other institutions. In our one-year pilot program, students demonstrated a greater understanding and appreciation for the nature of scientific research, improved their laboratory skills, and evidenced enthusiasm for the approach. They also learned to design and optimize their experiments. Based on the results of the pilot program, we have refined the curriculum to concentrate on six units, each of which focuses on a specific reaction. During the pilot program, students said they had developed competence in several important characterization techniques. But they said they fared less well in their abilities to perform NMR spectroscopy or carry out inert atmosphere transfers. To address these two critically important techniques, we are incorporating the use of a multinuclear FT-NMR spectrometer and three glove boxes. Following careful evaluation of the project, the results will be disseminated at workshops and through presentations at national meetings as well as by publications in the chemical literature, with students as co-authors.