CHE 355 - Group Investigation in Organic Chemistry: Carbohydrates in Materials and Medicine

This course is designed to expose students to critical components of the organic chemistry research experience including reading and interpretation of the primary literature, writing literature reviews and proposals, completing an independent project around a guided question, and presenting results of their work in oral and written forms.

Methods covered in this course will be related to the instructor’s area of interest and expertise.

SPRING 2018
Instructor: N. Snyder

Carbohydrates and their corresponding glycoconjugates (e.g., glycoproteins and glycolipids) play critical roles in a number of biological processes from mediating cellular communication to preserving proteins under extreme environmental conditions. In the first half of this group investigation, you will learn about the roles of glycoconjugates in normal and abnormal physiological processes. We will specifically focus on innovative scientific developments using carbohydrate-based constructs for topics as diverse as the prevention and treatment of infections (bacterial, viral and parasitic) and cancer, to protecting proteins from extreme desiccation. Our discussions on these topics will provide a foundation for the second half of this group investigation, which will involve exploring the glycosphere in a laboratory setting. Each student will have the unique opportunity to contribute to the design and development of carbohydrate-based constructs for targeted applications.

Prerequisites & Notes
Chemistry 250.