K-12 Related Activities
Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Projects at NJIT- Summer 2007 The Simon group welcomes motivated high school and undergraduate students interested in computational approaches to chemical decontamination and physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. Through our Army Research Office-supported research, students can take part in authentic, mentored research and, where eligible, paid summer internships offered through the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP).
Research Experiences Through Simulation
Because our work is computational, students can engage with front-line research safely, without handling hazardous materials. Using our interactive simulation tools, a student can explore how a chemical penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream, investigate the "decontamination window" that determines when treatment is still effective, and see how a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model predicts the dose reaching different organs. Suitable activities include:
These projects give students a genuine taste of computational toxicology and introduce them to the Army's investment in science and engineering research. More information on eligibility and application is available through the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP).
Communicating Drug-Delivery Science to Students and Teachers
Drug-delivery science and pharmaceutical engineering also offer a rich setting for teaching core chemistry and physics. The modules below, developed with high school teachers and students, show how current research problems can be translated into hands-on classroom activities.
Detecting Antibiotics in Milk (HPLC)
Framed around the rise of antibiotic-resistant "super bugs," this module asks whether antibiotics given to cows can be detected in the milk we drink. Students prepare milk samples through a multi-step extraction (centrifugation to remove lipids, acid precipitation of proteins, filtration) and use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to detect the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole. The activity connects laboratory technique to a public-health question about how overuse of antibiotics spreads through the food supply.
Crystallization of Drug Nanoparticles (Antisolvent Technique)
Students prepare fine particles of common drugs, aspirin and ibuprofen, using liquid antisolvent precipitation. Working across chemistry, physics, and engineering, they explain antisolvent precipitation, determine the amount of antisolvent needed to precipitate particles at different active-ingredient (API) concentrations, and plot and interpret the relationship between antisolvent volume and API concentration, including the effect of surfactants on the optimum crystallization conditions.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Raman Scattering
This module uses the "dual nature of light" as an entry point to spectroscopy. Students first review the relationships between wavelength, frequency, and energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, then explore how light behaves both as a wave (reflection, energy transfer) and as a particle, a photon that can collide with molecules in elastic and inelastic "bounces." Raman scattering, or a simulation of it, is then introduced as a tool for identifying substances by the way they scatter light.
Mixing, Dissolution, and Controlled Release
Simple, observable systems make transport and release kinetics tangible. The "Bourne to Mix" module introduces pharmaceutical particulate research through straightforward reactions that touch on reaction rates, stoichiometry, acid-base chemistry, bonding, Beer's law, equilibrium, and drug delivery. Companion activities follow drug release by diffusion through a hollow-fiber membrane, measure a dissolution rate from the shrinking diameter of a dissolving candy, and study controlled release from a cylindrical lozenge.
Separation and Purification
Aqueous two-phase systems are used to separate and purify an enzyme, beta-glucosidase, showing students how a target product is isolated from a mixture, a step central to industrial bioprocessing.
Program Context
These classroom activities were developed with high school teachers and students through NJIT's Research Experience for Teachers (RET) and CAMP PHARMA programs and the American Chemical Society's Project SEED program, pairing participants with faculty mentors in pharmaceutical engineering. One mentored student earned first place at a science fair for work on dissolution and diffusion.
References
Kimmel, H.S., Hirsch, L., Simon, L., Burr-Alexander, L. and Dave, R. (2008). Implementing concepts of pharmaceutical engineering into high school classrooms. AIChE Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, Ref. 230a. Simon, L., Armenante, P.M. and Dave, R.N. (2007). Camp Pharma: a novel initiative to generate a pipeline of diverse student talents in pharmaceutical manufacturing. ASEE Mid-Atlantic Section Conference, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ. Simon, L., Dave, R.N. and Armenante, P.M. (2007). Pharmaceutical engineering: education, research and collaboration opportunities for high school science teachers. JETS TEAMS Competition, Newark, NJ. Khokhar, I., Aloia, M. (Teacher) and Simon, L. (Mentor) (2007). A study of dissolution and diffusion as fundamental mechanisms in the pharmaceutical industry. ACS Project SEED Poster Session, 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA. |