Living" anionic, cationic, metalloporphyrin and ring-opening metathesis polymer izations have been used to prepare well-defined side-chain liquid crystalline homopolymers, block and graft copolymers and statistical copolymers. This paper analyzes their successes and failures by reviewing the mechanistic aspects and experimental conditions of each type of polymerization, and identifies other classes of mesogenic monomers that could be polymerized in a controlled manner in the future. The emerging structure/property relationships are then identified using well defined SCLCPs in which only one structural feature is varied while all others remain constant. The the:rmal transitions of liquid crystalline polymethacrylates, polynorbomenes and poly(vinyl ether)s reach their limiting values at less than 50 repeat units, which are generally equal to those of the corresponding infinite molecular weight polymers:Increasing spacer length depresses the glass transition of SCLCPs, and consequently often uncovers mesophases that are not observed without a spacer. The crystalline melting of tactic SCLCPs also tends to decrease (with odd-even alternation) with increasing spacer length. Without additional order within the polymer backbone due to high tacticity, mesogenic side-chains generally do not crystallize until the spacer contains at least nine carbon atoms. As the flexibility of the polymer backbone increases, the glass transition temperature decreases, and the side chains are able to crystallize at shorter spacer lengths and form more

The facile production of acid sensitive aldehydes and ketones via photochemical intramolecular &hydrogen atom transfer in 1-alkoxy-and l-(benzyloxy)-9,10-anthraquinones (1) was investigated. Irradiation of 1 in argon purged methanol generates the primary photoproducts, l-(RCH(OMe)O)-and l-(ArCH(OMe)O)-9,1O-anthrahydroquinones (2), respectively. Upon exposure to air, the intermediate anthrahydroquinone is rapidly converted to the corresponding aldehyde and l-hydroxy-9,lO-anthraquinone (3), which can be recycled. Aldehydes containing an acetal or ketal were prepared in high yields using this photoprocess. Apparent rate constants for the photodemethylation of l-methoxy-2-X-9,lO-anthraquinones (X = H, Me, Et, Pr, Bu, i-Bu, and benzyl) were measured and found to vary by a factor of IO separating the slowest anthraquinone (X = H) and the fastest (X = benzyl), indicating a strong dependency upon the size of the substituent at the 2-position.These rate constants are ascribed to equilibrium populations of conformers in the geometry required for reaction in the n,n* triplet state.

Teaching the processes of transcription and translation is challenging due to the intangibility of these concepts and a lack of instructional, laboratory-based, active learning modules. Harnessing the genetic code in vitro with cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) provides an open platform that allows for the direct manipulation of reaction conditions and biological machinery to enable inquiry-based learning. Here, we report our efforts to transform the research-based CFPS biotechnology into a hands-on module called the "Genetic Code Kit" for implementation into teaching laboratories. The Genetic Code Kit includes all reagents necessary for CFPS, as well as a laboratory manual, student worksheet, and augmented reality activity. This module allows students to actively explore transcription and translation while gaining exposure to an emerging research technology. In our testing of this module, undergraduate students who used the Genetic Code Kit in a teaching laboratory showed significant score increases on transcription and translation questions in a post-lab questionnaire compared with students who did not participate in the activity. Students also demonstrated an increase in self-reported confidence in laboratory methods and comfort with CFPS, indicating that this module helps prepare students for careers in laboratory research. Importantly, the Genetic Code Kit can accommodate a variety of learning objectives beyond transcription and translation and enables hypothesis-driven science. This opens the possibility of developing Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) based on the Genetic Code Kit, as well as supporting next-generation science standards in 8-12th grade science courses. Keywords: biochemical education, learn by doing, cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), in vitro transcription and translation, synthetic biology (synbio), central dogma of molecular biology (CDMB), chemical education and teaching, augmented reality (AR) Abbreviations: CFPS, cell-free protein synthesis; CUREs, course-based undergraduate research experiences; sfGFP, superfolder green fluorescent protein.

Twenty years ago, a major curriculum revision at a large, comprehensive university in the Western United States led to the implementation of an integrated lecture/laboratory (studio) experience for our engineering students taking general chemistry. Based on these twenty years of experience, construction of four purpose-built studio classrooms to house the majority of the remaining general chemistry courses was completed in 2013. A detailed study of the effects of the entire ecology of the studio experience on student success was initiated at that time. Data from content knowledge pre- and post-tests, learning attitudes surveys, and student course evaluations show positive effects on student performance, the development of more expert-like learning attitudes, increased student engagement, and increased student–instructor interactions vs. the previous separate lecture and laboratory instruction for non-engineering students. Our data also show that an associated new peer Learning Assistant program increases student engagement while also having positive impacts on the Learning Assistants themselves.