Surviving and Thriving in the Organic Chemistry Undergraduate Research Lab By Sarah Whitmire
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f you asked me a year ago how I thought college was going to be, I wouldn’t have imagined it to be anything like what I’ve experienced thus far. Although I always thought I knew what I wanted to do, it’s taken a while for me to realize that I enjoy science and want to pursue a career in healthcare. In high school, I worked ahead by throwing out the idea of an “easy senior year,” and piling up all the science and math AP classes that could fit in my schedule. This way, I earned credit for the introductory biology and chemistry classes at UNC Charlotte and started out with an intense schedule, including the dreaded Organic Chemistry. As a result, my first semester was filled with lots of emotional stress and nonstop studying. I have never worked harder for an A in my life. My poor mother had to deal with a couple of freaked-out, tear-filled phone calls. They finally stopped when I learned how to manage the class. Nearing the end of my fall semester, my tutor, who claims to be more of a “cheerleader” than a tutor, recommended me to work with Dr. Etzkorn, a very highly respected professor in the Organic Chemistry department.
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r. Etzkorn and his team are working on (brace yourself) synthesizing complex halogenated isoindanones as a synthetic platform. The lab’s main focus is to study the effects of fluorine and other halogens in these molecular scaffolds. Fluorine, the “small atom with the big ego,” is a highly electronegative atom that can easily change a compound’s reactivity. Over the past few years, the lab has been able to optimize patented procedures and streamline the process to get the optimal percent yield. The target is to generate a compound called an isoindenone (different from the isoindanone), which is an unstable, cross-conjugated 10pi electron system. We want to generate these pure isoindenone intermediates as well as to see how the effects of halogens (especially fluorine) can affect the properties of a molecule.
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fter reading that, you can probably tell my first few days were pretty rough.
s of now, I’ve been in the lab for two months, working on Dr. Etzkorn’s team as one of his three students doing research. It’s been a privilege for me to be a part of this lab team because I have the opportunity to work with some incredible people, and it’s rare for a freshman to have the option to participate in organic chemistry research, or any undergraduate research for that matter. I go into the lab at least 2-3 times a week, and work an average of 6-8 hours a week. As I get into the higher chemical reactions, those numbers will increase.
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he lab is divided into two parts: pipeline and frontline reactions. For my first semester, I work on the pipeline reactions. This means that I run reactions to synthesize compounds that the frontline can use to conduct further and higher research. Specifically, I am responsible for a multi-part reaction that is a type of esterification. I have the opportunity to work with hazardous chemicals, perform extractions, increase my knowledge of potential chemical dangers, clean glassware efficiently using a base bath, run NMR spectroscopies, and improve my lab technique. The best part is being able to participate in hands-on applications of what I am currently learning in my Organic Chemistry II class. While deciding whether or not to become part of the lab, I thought I was going to be doing “flunky” work (i.e. cleaning all the dirty beakers), but I could not have been more wrong. Dr. Etzkorn has high expectations for all of us.
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ext semester I’ll hopefully be part of the frontline doing conversions to make our desired product. I can’t wait to be able to work by myself and maybe synthesize new compounds that have never been published before!
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