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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2007  > July  >
In the Classroom
View from My Classroom
Connecting Acids and Bases with Encapsulation… and Chemistry with Nanotechnology
Brett Criswell
Department of Chemistry, Central Columbia High School, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
Cover
July 2007
Vol. 84 No. 7
p. 1136
Abstract
In January 2005 the first nanotechnology-based drug was approved by the FDA. Called Abraxane, it will be used in the battle against breast cancer. It works by encapsulating the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel in a shell of the protein albumin. The cancer cells are tricked by the albumin coating into taking in the nanospheres containing the cancer-fighting chemical. Much money and effort has been invested throughout the United States and the rest of the world into nanotechnology research, and a fair portion of that has gone into medically related applications. There are sure to be many nanotechnology-based pharmaceuticals to follow Abraxane in the next few years. It seems of paramount importance to make the next generation of citizens and, potential medical and scientific researchers, aware of the progress of such developments so that they can be make informed decisions about the utility of these products or, perhaps, be the creators of the next breakthrough. This article discusses a design approach to creating nanotechnology-related curricular materials through the construction of activity sets based on the FERA learning-cycle model. While a general discussion of the rationale and philosophy for this approach provides the foundation for the article, the ideas presented are grounded in the overview of a specific example of the approach in action. The specific example involves an activity set that focuses on building up traditional concepts of Arrhenius acid–base theory and weak versus strong acids and bases and then extends (applies) those ideas into a consideration of nanoencapsulation. This extension allows teachers to introduce students to some alternative methods of cancer treatment (to radiation and standard chemotherapy) such as nanoreactors and gold nanoshells.
Supplement
Teacher notes, including information about background, objectives, solution preparation, and sources of chemicals; student versions of the activities, along with rubrics for evaluating student work; and pictures to show the results at various stages of the encapsulation activity (both the chemistry and biology versions) are available.
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Contents
  JCE2007p1136W.pdf
 
JCE2007p1136W.zip
Folder JCE2007p1136W containing JCE2007p1136W_1.doc and JCE2007p1136W_2.doc. (Microsoft Word)
More Information
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Citation
Criswell, Brett. J. Chem. Educ. 2007, 84, 1136.
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Keywords
Acids / Bases; Applications of Chemistry; Curriculum; High School / Introductory Chemistry; Inquiry-Based / Discovery Learning; Medicinal Chemistry; Nanotechnology; pH
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
5/29/2007
6/7/2007
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