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.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Spring Quarter 2012

The last quarter of my freshman year is quickly coming to an end and I want to provide an update as to the research I have been conducting and provide a quick glimpse into what I will be doing over the summer.

First, an update as the actual experiments that I have been conducting in the lab.  I am examining the Aldol Condensation mechanism that is used to synthesize trans-dibenzalacetone from acetone and benzaldehyde.  This is a common reaction, but little experimental values are available regarding the solubility of trans-dibenzalacetone.  At first, I needed to synthesis the desired product and EXP269, EXP274, EXP278 are the experiments that did not obtain the desired yellow crystals of trans-dibenzalacetone.  EXP279 successfully synthesized the product and a few valuable bits of information were learned.  There must be enough ethanol present in the solution to dissolve the benzaldehyde or the reaction will product orange oil droplets on the surface of the reaction mixture and not react.  The idea is to now take this product and begin testing the solubility of the trans-dibenzalacetone in five solvents in order to generate solubility predictions using the Abraham Model.  These predicted solubilities will then be compared to experimental values that I will measure using SAMS HNMR.  From this solubility information regarding trans-dibenzalacetone specifically, information regarding the solubility of Aldol Condensation reaction will be gained.

This summer I will be working as a part of the STARS program at Drexel University.  This program will allow me to work for approximately 40 hours a week for 10 weeks over the summer.  I will be working in Dr. Bradley's lab and continue to perform the research I have already started on.

In August, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is having their 244th National Meeting in Philadelphia.  The abstract I submitted to present at this conference was accepted and therefore I will be giving an oral presentation at this meeting.  I will be presenting in the Division of Chemical Information and the session is Open Notebook Science/Open Chemistry/Electronic Lab Notebook.  My presentation is entitled:  Leveraging Open Notebook Science for solubility and melting point predictions for optimizing reactions and recrystallizations.  I am excited to attend my first ACS conference (I am a new ACS member) and having the opportunity to present.
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