Students can perceive the laboratory environment in a variety of ways that can affect what they take away from the laboratory course. This qualitative study characterizes undergraduate students’ perspectives of a project-based Organic Chemistry laboratory using the theoretical framework of phenomenography. Eighteen participants were interviewed in a semi-structured format to collect their perspectives of the Organic Chemistry lab. Eight qualitatively different ways in which students perceived the lab were uncovered and an outcome space was derived. The findings of this work are intended to inform the design of the undergraduate laboratory curriculum in chemistry that facilitate better student learning. Implications and suggestions for design of laboratory courses based on the results of this work are also presented.

•A series of novel bis-tertiary amines targeting CXCR4 were designed and synthesized.•The bis-tertiary amine framework maintained the potent anti-CXCR4 activity.•Ten compounds displayed potent binding affinity with EC values from 1 to 100 nM.•Five compounds exhibited stronger invasion inhibitory activity than AMD3100, a clinical lead compound.•Compound IIn showed a 50.3% suppressive effect in a paw inflammation animal model.CXCR4 inhibitors are promising agents for the treatment of cancer metastasis and inflammation. A series of novel tertiary amine derivatives targeting CXCR4 were designed, synthesized, and evaluated. The central benzene ring linker and side chains were modified and optimized to study the structure–activity relationship. Seven compounds displayed much more potent activity than the reference drug, AMD3100, in both the binding affinity assay and the blocking of Matrigel invasion functional assay. These compounds exhibited effective concentration ranging from 1 to 100 nM in the binding affinity assay and inhibited invasion from 65.3% to 100% compared to AMD3100 at 100 nM. Compound IIn showed a 50% suppressive effect against carrageenan-induced paw inflammation in a mouse model, which was as effective as the peptidic antagonist, TN14003 (48%). These data demonstrate that symmetrical bis-tertiary amines are unique CXCR4 inhibitors with high potency.

Organic Chemistry is recognized as a course that presents many difficulties and conceptual challenges for students. To combat the high failure rates and poor student attitudes associated with this challenging course, we implemented a “flipped” model for the first-semester, large-enrollment, Organic Chemistry course. In this flipped course, lectures were replaced by short videos, which were delivered via a course management system, and class time was reserved for problem solving and other active learning activities. We assessed the impact of the flipped course on course grades and failure rate compared to historical course data. The results showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in A and B grades and a decrease in failure/withdrawal rates for the flipped course. We also assessed students’ attitudes toward the course using a valid and reliable instrument, the Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory Version 2 (ASCIv2). The results showed a statistically significant increase in students’ emotional satisfaction and intellectual accessibility for the flipped course compared to those for traditional lecture courses. The flipped format of the course provided students with increased access to course material, which increased time for in-class group learning and discussion. We believe that this aspect of the course format led to a reduction in cognitive load, thereby increasing students’ emotional satisfaction and intellectual accessibility in the course. Our results demonstrate that the flipped course model can be adopted for challenging, large-enrollment courses.Keywords: Chemical Education Research; Curriculum; Organic Chemistry; Second-Year Undergraduate;

General chemistry is the first undergraduate course in which students further develop their understanding of fundamental chemical concepts. Many of these fundamental topics highlight the numerous conceptual interconnections present in chemistry. However, many students possess incoherent knowledge structures regarding these topics. Therefore, effective assessments are needed to identify these interconnections. The use of concept-mapping and think-aloud interviews to investigate the knowledge structures of undergraduate organic chemistry students' regarding bonding concepts is the focus of this research study. Herein, we spotlight the bonding concepts of electronegativity and polar covalent bonds. In essence, the study found that understanding of electronegativity was weak among students with low concept map scores (LS students) compared to students with high concept map scores (HS students). Additionally, several common misconceptions of electronegativity were revealed through student interviews. An examination of LS student interviews further revealed that a lack of understanding of electronegativity led to a misunderstanding of polar covalent bonding. The think-aloud interviews were a reflection of the connections students made with the concepts of electronegativity and polar covalent bonding in their concept maps. Implications for the chemistry curriculum are also presented.