Course Specifics:

Instructor:        Dr. Jason C. Hurlbert
                          Office:  Sims 301B
                          Office hours:  MWF 11-12 and by appointment
                          Phone:  323-4928
                          E-mail:  hurlbertj@winthrop.edu

Meeting Times:
All Sections: Prelab Lecture Mondays, 12:30 - 1:20 PM

Section 001 : Laboratory Tuesdays, 2:00 - 4:50 PM
Section 002 : Laboratory Wednesdays, 2:00 - 4:50 PM

Textbook: None. Handouts and Scientific articles will be provided.

Additional Required Materials: Scientific calculator, laboratory notebook, safety goggles

 

Course Outline:       
We will cover recombinant protein production and purification, enzymological analysis and the solution structure of enzymes in several experiments over the course of the semester. As we perform the experiments, I hope you will gain an appreciation of the various techniques performed in modern biochemical research. Upon completion of the course, you will be familiar with many of the basic principles of modern microbiology, protein chemistry and protein bioinformatics. You will also have a much better idea of the databases and software available for use in your own research and studies.

Week of Topic / Procedure Aug 19 Course Overview and Semester Plan - Lab Sections WILL MEET Aug 26 Exp 1) Practical Bioinformatics: Looking AND Seeing with Entrez/BLAST and Chimera Sept 2 Exp 2) Spectrophotometric Assays Sept 9 Exp 3a) Protein Expression and Purification: Cell Lysis Sept 16 Exp 3b) Protein Expression and Purification: FPLC: Ion Exchange Chromatography Sept 23 Exp 4) Analysis of Protein Purification: SDS-PAGE and Western Blot Sept 30 Exp 5) Analysis of Polymer Depolymerization Kinetics by reversed phase HPLC Oct 7 Exp 6) Kinetics I: Spectrophotometry I: Influence of [Substrate] on enzymatic reactions Oct 14 No Class - Fall Break Oct 21 Exp 7) Kinetics II:  Spectrophotometry II: Influence of pH on enzymatic reactions Oct 28 Exp 8) Kinetics III: Spectrophotometry III: Influence of Protein Structure on Enzymatic Reactions Nov 4   Nov 11 Exp 9) Mass Spectopmetry: MALDI-TOF MS Analysis of Purified Proteins Nov 18 Final Lab Report Preparation Nov 25 Thanksgiving Break - Prelab Meets but Lab Sections DO NOT MEET Dec 2 Final Exam

 

Grading for the Course

Prelab Assignments

Due to the tight schedule we will follow during the semester, you will be given assignments at the conclusion of the Monday afternoon prelab lectures that must be completed before you may begin work on your scheduled laboratory session. This requirement is necessary to ensure that you will be able to perform the myriad tasks that need to be accomplished in the laboratory each week. Failure to complete the prelab assignments AND bring the completed work to class with you will result in you being barred from the lab for the week. This will, in turn, result in you not being able to complete the assigned work and being unable to complete the Section Writeup which will seriously lower your overall grade. Take the Prelabs and Assigned readings seriously!

Section Writeups

Four different section writeups will be due during the semester.  These writeups will be due at the start of the lab period indicated on the detailed course schedule.  Each weekly writeup must include the following sections:  1)  Materials and Methods, 2)  Results and Discussion, 3)  Conclusions and 4)  References. The Results and Discussion section will contain all necessary Figures and Tables in addition to scientific explanations of the data. All Figures and Tables must be prepared in accordance to the guidelines provided to authors in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (www.jbc.org).

Final Report

A final report will be due on the last prelab meeting of the course (December 3).  This report will be a compilation of the corrected section writeups you turned in during the semester with Abstract and Introduction sections.  The entire report must be formatted in the style of an article from the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Despite the fact that much of the material will already be written, you will need to construct a laboratory report that is coherent, logical and accurately describes what you have done during the semester.

Laboratory Notebook

A laboratory notebook is one of most important tools a scientist has and is just as important in this class. You must carefully document all of the procedures and reagents you use as well as the data you collect during the semester. Any of your peers should be able to pick up your lab notebook and be able to reproduce what you did without any problem. Keep this in mind should you have any questions about what you should enter into your notebook. We will discuss how to properly keep a notebook in the first prelab session and examples will be provided.

Final Exam

A cumulative final exam will be given on the final week of the semester and it will cover the background material, theories and practices covered during the semester.

Final Grade

Prelab Assignments: 10 x 10 pts = 100 points
Section Writeups: 4 x 30 pts = 120 points
Homework Assignments: 3 x 20 pts = 60 points
Final Paper: 50 points
Laboratory Notebook:  20 points
Final Exam: 30 points
Total: 380 points

Grading Scale:

A: >90% of the total Points
B+: 87 - 89.9% of the total Points, B: 80 - 86% of the total Points
C+: 77 - 79.9% of the total Points, C: 70 - 76.9% of the total Points
D: 60 - 69.9% of the total Points
F: <60% of the total Points

Technology in the Classroom

You will need to make certain that you bring a scientific calculator to the lab each session, and, more importantly, you must know how to use the linear regression mode of you calculator. No laptop computers or cellular phones may be used in the laboratory when class is meeting as the distractions they cause present a significant safety hazard. Anyone caught using these devices during class without prior permission will immediately be asked to leave the laboratory.

Student Code of Conduct
As noted in the Student Conduct Code: “Responsibility for good conduct rests with students as adult individuals.” The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in the “Student Conduct Code Academic Misconduct Policy” in the online Student Handbook.

Students with Disabilities

Students with Disabilities

Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education.  If you have a disability and require specific accommodations to complete this course, contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 323-3290.  Once you have your official notice of accommodations from the Office of Disability Services, please inform me as early as possible in the semester.