Advanced Chemistry Student Comments and Perceptions

Kristin Williams:

"Does the midgut of a tobacco hornworm larvae (Manduca Sexta) contain enough arachidonic acid for prostaglandin biosynthesis?"  Six months ago, this question was on the minds of eight Advanced Chemistry students (myself included) who had been given an opportunity to do research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Looking back, I realize the effects that the experience has had on my intellectual growth and on my commitment to academic pursuits.
Previous research had proven that the midgut of the tobacco hornworm can synthesize prostaglandins, oxygenated unsaturated cyclic fatty acids in animals (Buyukguzel, 2002).   We wanted to find out if this was a result of the presence of arachidonic acid, a required substrate for the synthesis.  The experiment was conducted on East Campus in Dr. Stanley's lab with the help of Dr. Hasan Tunaz and Mr. Sean Putnam, our teacher. 
We began by dissecting the Manduca Sexta.  Unfortunately, this had to be done while the worms were still alive.  Once the midgut had been removed we extracted the lipids.  Throughout this process I was able to use a tissue grinder, sonicator, vortex, and centrifuge.  On TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography) plates that had been prepared earlier that morning, we spotted three lanes with two lipid standards (for comparison) and our sample.  Once the bands had separated and revealed themselves in an iodine chamber, we were able to identify the sample's bands by looking at the lipid standards' (monoglycerides, diglycerides, cholesterol, free fatty acid, triglyceride, methyl oleate, and cholesterol oleate).  We scraped the phospholipids (near the origin) and diglycerides from the plate, removed the silicon, methylated the fatty acids, suspended them in isooctane, and ran them through a gas chromatograph.  Once the results had printed out, we assessed the lipids. I would not have traded this experience for anything.  It was a wonderful chance to do research in a lab setting outside of the classroom.  The application of what I had learned in my Advanced Chemistry class has helped me to understand why it is that we learn about lipids and prostaglandins.  Also, the fact that there had not been arachidonic acid in the midgut allowed me to hypothesize further.  The fact that I can ask questions and then actually find out the answers for myself is intriguing.  I am inspired to keep studying biochemistry because there are so many questions that have not even been asked yet. 
Now I realize that, in order to learn, I must take the initiative.  If I rely solely on textbooks and study guides, I will never fully achieve understanding.  I also realize that application is a lot more fun.  Who would sit at home and pour over a Chemistry book when they could be in a lab sonicating the guts of a tobacco hornworm?

Tri Huynh:

On the goals of the research project. I think that this research project accomplished its goals successfully. One of the goals was to introduce students to actual scientific research. I learned a lot about research. I learned that research takes a lot of planning and time and even with all that planning and times, things don't always turn out the way you want. Even though we didn't answer our question, the experience that I have gotten out of trying to find the answer is very rewarding. It showed me that high level scientific research is something that I am capable of doing. One thing that would be helpful if we could practice using the equipment before using it on actual samples.

Final thoughts: I personally enjoyed my experience a lot. I wished that we had more time and more

organization. We could have actually found the answer to our hypothesis. I hope that this project continues to get funding so future chem. student can have the same opportunity and experience that I had. Thank you Mr. Putnam for putting a lot of hard work into this project.

When I first heard of the project, I thought, 'Oh no, a project?!' I expected complicated stuff at levels of difficulty that I'd never be able to understand. The fact that it was going to be at UNL and that it's a 2-day thing didn't make it any better.  I was afraid that I wouldn't know what was going on, so I kind of dreaded the fact that I had to go. On the other hand, I was interested because I had never worked on the actual campus before, doing the "real stuff". After the project was all over, I was glad that I had the experience despite how much I learned (a fair amount).  Most of the discussions were basically way over my head, but at least I had the chance to be introduced to different scientists, equipment, environment and materials.  I can't say that I didn't get anything out of it, because I did, at least a little out of the 2-days. More importantly, I was exposed to getting to do real research and having the opportunity to apply what I knew and learn what I didn't (or at least tried to :).  One last thing, by doing this project, it also helped me to realize what I really want (and don't want) to study later on.

The actual exposure to actual lab conditions and procedures really enriched my understanding of the scientific process and chemistry.  We went through actual scientific procedures that weren't anything like handouts on how-to's of high school chemistry and we gained a better understanding of the complexities and multi-variable facets of scientific research on higher planes of knowledge and depth.  Personally, the part I liked best about the entire project was the basic idea behind it: advancing knowledge.