Analysis of Amylase in the Kitchen: An At-Home Biochemistry Experiment for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maqsood, Sehrish; Kilpatrick, Samuel M.; Truong, Chloe D.; Lefler, Scott R.

doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01236

Cited by 25 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…For a few scenarios where performance metrics were compared between different cohorts who both completed a hands-on lab (i.e., 2019 spring semester students in f2f school laboratories vs 2020 at-home laboratories), the instructor indicated a lack of a significant difference between the cohorts. 49,54,64 Different cohort…”

Section: Both Handsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

LAB Theory, HLAB Pedagogy, and Review of Laboratory Learning in Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kelley

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

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The role and efficacy of the laboratory in chemical education have recently been a subject of renewed discussion as researchers are called upon to address the question of whether laboratory education lives up to expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced most of the global student population to temporarily adopt remote learning, offers an unparalleled case study to investigate types of outcomes resulting from a variety of adjustments made to laboratory education. This scoping review article focuses on the reports of laboratory learning in chemistry and closely related disciplines during COVID-19 to analyze the types of adjustments made to laboratory curricula and the immediate effect of these adjustments on students. The aggregated findings suggest that a lack of hands-on laboratory experience was detrimental to certain types of learning and engagement but that other types of learning were successfully achieved remotely. For researchers, departments, and university administrators, the differentiation in these findings could help inform the ongoing discussion about the future of laboratory education. For instructors and student support staff, the findings indicate potential areas of deficiency and strength for the COVID-19 student cohort going forward. Finally, a laboratory learning theory and pedagogy are proposed to guide the use of the laboratory in chemical education and potentially in other laboratory-based sciences as well.

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Section: Both Handsonmentioning

confidence: 99%

LAB Theory, HLAB Pedagogy, and Review of Laboratory Learning in Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kelley

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

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“…In 2020−2021, some laboratory experiments were carried out using digital images. We could cite polymer degradation, 12 determination of iron(III) in water, 13 calculation of food dye adsorption isotherms, 14 quantitative analysis of food dyes, 15 determination of biodiesel content in diesel oil, 16 the analysis of salivary amylase using starch from food as a substrate, 17 and determination of starch in banana. 18 Pol et al 2 quantified nitrite in surface water using the Griess assay and digital images obtained using a smartphone.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of Nitrite in Food and Water Samples Using the Griess Assay and Digital Images Acquired Using a Desktop Scanner

Filgueiras¹,

Jesus²,

Borges³

2021

J. Chem. Educ.

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The Griess assay is widely used by regulation agencies as an official method for nitrite quantification in water and food samples. In Brazil, the official method, which has been used to determine nitrite in food, was described by Instituto Adolfo Lutz (283/IV) in 1984. It uses 8 mL of reactants and provides 50 mL (reactants plus sample) of waste per sample analyzed. Here, students scaled down the official method 50 times and quantified nitrite in water and food samples by using just 0.2 mL of the Griess reactant and 1 mL of sample. Quantitative analysis was carried out using absorbance measured at 540 nm (standard method) and 96-well-plate images (proposed method) obtained with a desktop scanner. The nitrite was extracted from solid food samples by heating it in a water bath. After heating, sample color and turbidity were eliminated by addition of K4[Fe(CN)6] and ZnSO4 solutions and filtering. During samples preparation, students evaluate the heating time effect in nitrite extraction from sausage samples using hypothesis tests. Students did a series of matrix matched samples to observe the matrix effect. Students also calculated the detection limit (DL) and the quantification limit (QL) for the proposed method (1.35 and 4.1 μmol/L nitrite, respectively) and for the standard method (1.1 and 3.4 μmol/L nitrite, respectively). DL and QL were determined using the standard deviation of the lowest concentration point on the standard curve. The major pedagogical value of this laboratory class was to scale down the official method and use it to prepare and analyze a solid food sample. As a learning model, finding real water samples, which have nitrite concentrations larger than method QL, was a hard task, but all sausage samples analyzed had larger nitrate concentrations than the method QL and nitrite quantification in sausages was a good learning model.

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“…Also using webcam readings to estimate absorption, Maqsood et al ( 2021 ) taught their students to follow amylase-catalyzed degradation of starch and its inhibition. The amylase samples came from the students' own saliva, whereas black tea was proposed as an inhibitor.…”

Section: Diy Heaven For Laboratory Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Technologies Assisted Science Learning at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abriata

2022

DNA and Cell Biology

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As most other aspects of life, education was strongly affected by the lockdowns imposed to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers at all levels of education suddenly faced the challenge of adapting their courses to online versions. This posed various problems, from the pedagogical and psychological components of having to teach and learn online to the technical problems of internet connectivity and especially of rethinking hands-on activities. The latter point was especially important for subjects who involve very practical learning, for which teachers had to find out alternative activities that the students could carry out at home. In the subjects dealing with natural sciences, impaired access to instrumentation and reagents was a major limitation, but the community turned out very resourceful. Here I demonstrate this resourcefulness for the case of undergraduate chemistry and biology courses, focusing on how do-it-yourself open technologies, smartphone-based instruments and simulations, at-home chemistry with household reagents, online video material, and introductory programming and bioinformatics, which helped to overcome these difficult times and likely even shape the future of science education.

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Analysis of Amylase in the Kitchen: An At-Home Biochemistry Experiment for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 25 publications

References 37 publications

LAB Theory, HLAB Pedagogy, and Review of Laboratory Learning in Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

LAB Theory, HLAB Pedagogy, and Review of Laboratory Learning in Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Quantification of Nitrite in Food and Water Samples Using the Griess Assay and Digital Images Acquired Using a Desktop Scanner

How Technologies Assisted Science Learning at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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