A multidisciplinary group of teachers and scientists from the Faculty for Higher Education (FES) Zaragoza from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is dedicated to the continuous improvement of biochemistry teaching within the programme of chemistry, pharmacy and biology (QFB) at our University. To provide our teachers with modern teaching abilities is our top priority. Therefore, we offer various activities to promote their continuous scientific and didactic updating. We also encourage self-awareness on the strong need for continuous adaptation and utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) that have become very popular among young generations. Teaching is not an isolated discipline. On the contrary, teaching is intimately related with social and economic circumstances. Teachers and students must be aware of their social environment, continuously improving their capability to approach national problems with an accurate utilization of national resources. Research and development have to be linked to the best teaching techniques that stimulate teachers and scientists to grow as educators and experimenters. Our scientific meetings and courses on scientific topics and teaching techniques have contributed not only to promote individual teaching and scientific capabilities but also to update the study programme from the QFB curricula at our University.

Biochemistry education requires laboratory sessions where theoretical knowledge may be put on test. At the same time, there is always some risk due to exposure to toxic materials, dangerous chemicals storage and waste disposal. Compliance with new regulations to prevent environmental contamination may also constitute a real hindrance for biochemistry teaching as experimental science. Therefore, we have designed microscale techniques, in order to reduce costs as well as the negative impact of laboratory practical sessions due to risk and environmental contamination. To develop microscale techniques does not only mean to reduce equipment size and amount of the reagents that are required for the usual experiments. Microscale techniques serve particularly well as a motivating approach to experimental biochemistry teaching that produces highly motivated students at the same time that requires minor costs and decreases working time, laboratory space, amount of reagents and dangerous waste. We have demonstrated all these positive effects in biochemistry teaching and prompted the formal implementation of microscale techniques into the formal activities from the Cell and Tissue Biochemistry Laboratory I (BCT-I) from the Chemistry, Pharmacy and Biology (QFB) curricula at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). First, we reviewed the BCT-I manual, choosing all the laboratory practices that might be microscaled. Then, we elaborated and validated all García-del-Valle et al. (2015)

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