21 Jun Riley Embrey – University of Houston Week Three

During the Week:

Chemical Cabinet!

On Monday, me and my lap partner, Brylea, started bright and early to get to the lab in time to participate in more NMR titrations. While the process was pretty much the same as last time, we used macrocycles with different properties and two types of anions to see the differences in the binding constants. We slowly added more of the anions N3 and Cl to two different samples, running NMRs on each one to record the overall shifts of each proton. We then analyzed the spectrums, and started creating a presentation with all of the data we have collected in the last two weeks. We assembled many spectrums into a stack, showing a progression of the protons slowly deshielding. This is when I was introduced to a new software, called Chemdraw. You may have gathered by the name, but this software allows the user to draw different molecules and gather different information from it like the molecular weight, molecular formula, detect errors in the drawing, and create easy to understand models for use in publishings. In the same presentation, I drew all of the macrocycles we have run through the NMR, and gathered important information like the molecular weight and formula.

On Tuesday, I modified the NMR spectrums and made them easier to understand and analyze the data. This is very time-consuming, so along with reading more research papers, I worked on these spectrums for the whole of Tuesday. After double checking my work with my mentor, sometimes I also had to go back and redo the whole process because my integration numbers were off.  

Synthesis of a macrocycle with fluorescent properties

Wednesday was a very busy day in the lab. We started to learn the ins and outs of a very important skill, TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography). The samples we are using are not visible to the naked eye, so we had to use a special UV light to see its fluorescence. I found it so interesting how these PhD students work with molecules with such a wide range of properties, and seeing how those properties are dealt with will always amaze me. After lunch, another PhD student showed us how to correctly pack a column for column chromatography. In the classroom I have already learned about the stationary and mobile phases, but having the experience of choosing which substances to use and physically packing it was a vital experience of actually working in a lab. We used silica gel for the stationary phase, and a mixture of hexane and ethyl acetate for the mobile phase that will go down through the column. Although this day I did end up breaking some of the glassware, it still ended up being a valuable lesson that taught me to be okay with making mistakes, as well as trying to be more careful.

Thursday was my last day that week in the lab, as Friday was Juneteenth. In the morning, I worked on getting my presentation all together by labeling graphs, models, and the molecules. Later, me and Brylea had both finished our work for the day, so we decided to go into the lab and ask if we could help with anything or watch a PhD student work. We ended up helping this girl carry out one of her own reactions. Her project also dealt with synthesizing a macrocycle, and if successfully synthesized, it would be much larger than any other ones I’ve seen or dealt with so far. However, this reaction was very, very reactive to water, so the entire reaction had to happen in a closed system. Water is all around us in the air, especially because of how humid it is in Houston. Thus, we used dry ingredients and injected them into sealed flasks using syringes to prevent the chemicals inside from reacting with water. After setting up this reaction, we must wait 48 hours to see if it worked, so we went home, and Monday we will see if it was successful or not.     

Outside of the Lab:

Around the campus, almost everything closes at 5 or 7pm. This leaves you with a lot of free time, and not a clue of what to do with it. Through these few weeks, and especially this one, I think I’ve played more cards than I have in my entire life. Along with many board games and long conversations, it has been really freeing to have time to explore my interests. Of course there is still a lot of studying and reading outside of the lab, but that makes you appreciate your time away from screens that much more valuable.

I also have finally been able to get a membership at the Rec center, allowing me to workout everyday after my lab. Sitting for 8 hours a day really does take a toll on your body, so having this center where I can move my body has been a life saver. I spent the week exploring different parts of the rec from the machinery upstairs to all of the different areas downstairs such as the volleyball, basketball, and badminton courts, as well as the climbing wall. On Saturday, most of the Welch students also met at the rec to play volleyball. We ended up spending 5 hours goofing off and playing almost every sport ever made. Writing this (On Sunday), I am still so sore from yesterday, but very happy I got to play with all of my new group!

Making friends with the apartment next door 😛

Altogether, this week has been very productive yet very rewarding. All of the new people I have met here
have turned into some of my favorite people to spend my time with, and I am so excited to see what we do these few final weeks. Although my heart breaks thinking of when we all have to go our own directions, I am glad I still have some time left as a group. Thank you Pinhead, and I’ll see you in the next blog!