Chemical cross‐linking of a variety of green fluorescent proteins as Förster resonance energy transfer donors for Yukon orange fluorescent protein: A project‐based undergraduate laboratory experience

Abstract

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is the basis for many techniques used in biomedical research. Due to its wide use in molecular sensing, FRET is commonly introduced in many biology, chemistry, and physics courses. While FRET is of great importance in the biophysical sciences, the complexity and difficulty of constructing FRET experiments has resulted in limited usage in undergraduate laboratory settings. Here, we present a practical undergraduate laboratory experiment for teaching FRET using a diverse set of green‐emitting fluorescent proteins (FPs) as donors for a cross‐linked Yukon orange FP. This laboratory experiment enables students to make the connection of basic lab procedures to real world applications and can be applied to molecular biology, biochemistry, physical chemistry, and biophysical laboratory courses. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA., 46(5):516–522, 2018.

An inquiry‐based approach in large undergraduate labs: Learning, by doing it the “wrong” way

“…Project‐based labs have been found to enable better retention of concepts by allowing critical and independent thinking, especially during the experimental troubleshooting. However, these labs are often difficult to implement for large‐sized undergraduate classes with limited flexibilities in their times and schedules . PBL approaches are student‐driven and open‐ended with neither the instructor (who is a facilitator) nor the students knowing the outcomes of the interventions.…”