A Chemist Doesn’t Die, He Simply Reaches Equlibirum

As finals are slowly creeping around the corner and classes are winding down, my research too is coming to an end.  My work over the past two semesters was recently culminated in one event: Undergraduate Research and Artistry Day.  This day brings out all undergrads who took part in any research over the year and allows them to showcase exactly what they have accomplished.  For me it was a blast even though many people gave my research poster rater puzzled looks.

Just the other day I was waiting in a chemistry professor’s office for a meeting and I noticed a sign on his door that read “A Chemist Doesn’t Die, He Simply Reaches Equilibrium.” I chuckled to myself, naturally, and made a connection with that sign.  Even though my involvement in the lab is over, it does not mean this is the end of my research. I’m simply in equilibrium.  This is exciting to me because our lab recently found a method on which we can rely to synthesize materials and I would not want to miss out on using that method to create highly anticipated compounds.  Only time stands between the lab and creating new products to be used in PET-Scans and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.  If I am able to continue with the Research Rookies program next year I will continue this project and hopefully we will be able to create something that will make a large advancement in the field of cancer treatment.

I would tell you a chemistry joke, but all the good ones Argon

It is my dream, of sorts, that one day I get an email  saying that someone laughed at a chemistry joke I posted.  I believe that it is not too much to ask, since as of recently  I’ve all but given up on trying to tell these jokes in person.  At best I’m met with a sympathetic “haha”. At worst the person at the other end of the joke tells me to just leave the room.  But by being the true chemist I am however, I pursue through this adversity and hope to one day find someone who meets my jokes with a sincere laugh.

Likewise, being the true chemist I am, I must pursue through adversity in my research.  For the past three weeks or so I have been stuck in a sort of “chemistry limbo” where all results seem to cease coming in.  What is more frustrating perhaps is knowing that I am so close to a final goal of my research. You may or may not recall from my first blog post that a unique property of the element boron makes it a perfect candidate for cancer therapy. The problem is how to insert that boron into cancer cells. Well, my research has provided a possible mechanism for transporting  boron into cancer cells. The only problem is…we can’t seem to attach the boron to it. It’s like we have the car but can’t find anyone who wants to drive it.  This is where I am in my research even to this day. However, there is hope. It is only a matter of time before we find a way to attach boron to our compounds with a high yield. It is not like we are stabbing in the dark, we know it is possible. We just have to search for the best method to do so.   And when we find that method we could very well make a big splash in the chemistry world.

What happens when you get a polar bear wet? It dissolves.

If you have a blank stare on your face after reading another bad chemistry joke I tried to pass off as a title, do not be concerned.  It’s a joke that not many people outside of the chemistry world would find funny. Even most of the people in the chemistry world think it really isn’t that funny. Except it touches on such an important aspect of my research, solubility. What can dissolve what? Such a simple and seemingly useless question drives nearly 95% of what I have been working on in the lab and it has amazed me with its complexity.

The wrong solvent (the thing that does the dissolving) could mean a total flop of a reaction.  If we would have used the wrong solvent for our initial reactant involving L-glutamine (an amino acid typical used in PET-scans) we would never have gotten to where we are now. Which, by the way, is having synthesized a compound that uses the same properties of PET-scans in brains on thyroids.  Think of it as a potential express diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Pretty neat stuff for the average person to read, but a typical scientist would want to know more about the details. If you are one of these scientist, or are just curious about the specifics of the reactions involved, I encourage you to email me at

Z1632649@students.niu.edu

I Think I Lost an Electron. Are You Sure? I’m Positive

I can’t think of a better way to begin my first blog than with a corny chemistry joke.  In just a simple blog title, you have already learned a fair amount about me. I am indeed interested in chemistry, I do enjoy a certain sort of “nerdy” humor, and if you are one of the very few who actually laugh at that pun then I share with you an appreciation for the less emphasized things in life.

This blog serves as an outlet for me to describe my progress as a freshman Research Rookie at Northern Illinois University.  Before I start to give details some of the typical background information must be given about my research first.  I work in a lab where an emphasis is placed on the element boron. Many would consider boron to be a relatively unappreciated element but it has several very unique properties. For example, if boron where to be present in a cell and that cell where to be treated with a beam of neutrons then that boron would “explode” and kill the cell without leaving any harmful radiation behind. Many researches look at this and see chemotherapy without the side effects.  It is that principle on which my personal research is based on. We are taking a molecule typical used in PET-scans, removing some of its parts, and replacing those parts with boron. In summary, we are turning PET-scan molecules into tiny cancer destroying bombs. Or at least we are trying.