This blog lists that research that I have conducted as a part of the Bradley Research Group in the Chemistry Department at Drexel University and documents significant events in my young career as a scientist. I am participating in the Open Notebook Science Challenge for which I am performing experiments to measure the solubility of certain compounds (ex. carboxylic acids) in organic solvents. One of the goals of this challenge is to promote transparency in the scientific process. Every reported scientific finding is only as reliable or as meaningful as the steps incorporated to obtain that finding. This challenge requires that a detailed log of all steps completed in the experiment be recorded and posted in order that anyone attempting to repeat the experiment or desiring to better understand the meaning of the reported result is able to observe exactly what steps were carried out. From these solubility experiments, mathematical models are built to predict solubility. These models are used to choose recrystallization solvents and plan synthesis reactions. The products of these reactions are investigated as potential treatments for various diseases such as cancer and malaria.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Summary of experiments

This past fall quarter was when I first began performing research in one of the Chemistry Labs under Dr. Jean-Claude Bradley.  My first few experiments have involved measuring the density of trans-cinnamic acid in different organic solvents (methanol, benzene, toluene & chloroform) as a part of the Open Notebook Science Challenge.  My experiments are EXP229, EXP231, and EXP236.
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