Shadowing Experience

On Wednesday, January 13th, I shadowed Ryan O. In his research, he is trying to convert different vegetable oils into usable biodiesel. With a better understanding of his background into the subject, I was better off understanding the similarities and differences we had in our separate experiments.
I asked Ryan a few questions on the background of his research. From his explanation and his Powerpoint on Friday, Ryan is trying to convert various oils (olive, vegetable, among others) into biodiesel using enzymes. He explained that to convert oils into biodiesel, you need some sort of catalyst. Two examples of catalysts in the conversion of biodiesel are enzymes and acid/base reactions. Since his mentor Dr. Maslowsky is already involved in converting oils into biodiesel with acid/base reactions, Ryan decided to take the other catalyst and use enzymes in his reaction. I asked what the purpose of his experiment was since scientists have already discovered ways to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel. He answered that although there are ways to convert vegetable oils into biodiesel, tweaking different chemicals, amounts, and procedures in the process could alter the biodiesel yield in his final product.
Leading up to today, Ryan tried to create biodiesel out of certain oils using 95% and absolute ethanol. With little luck in producing a significant amount of biodiesel, Ryan decided today to use methanol. He explained that the alcohols were used in the reaction to combine with the oils to exchange esters, leading up to

Process of converting oil into Biodiesel
http://utahbiodieselsupply.com/gettingstarted.php

 biodiesel. What he was working on at that moment was trying to immobilize his enzyme. From previous knowledge, Ryan knew that immobilizing an enzyme before using it in a reaction speeds up the reaction and would hopefully produce more biodiesel in his experiment. To immobilize the enzymes, Ryan dissolved his porcine enzyme powder in a phosphate buffer and combined that with Celite. He then placed the flask containing this solution into liquid nitrogen, flash freezing the solution. Ryan also believed that it might have sublimed as well. He then hooked up his flask to a vacuum filtration system and tried to separate the water crystals from the liquid enzymes to the best of his ability. While the solution was being vacuumed off, Ryan already had one product that was ready to be tested using the Infrared Spectroscopy. Looking at the results, Ryan found next to no biodiesel and a significant amount of water in his product. He thought that this may be due to the oil surrounding the water molecules and preventing them from evaporating out of his biodiesel product.
Comparing my experience with Ryan’s research and my own, we have a lot of similarities and differences. One thing with both shared is that we both had unforeseen speed bumps in our experiment. In his, he was working with the IR machine instead of the NMR. He was also using a vacuum filtration system that looked like a machine used in Thomas Edison’s time. He explained that as with the NMR, the newer and better vacuum was not working. He explained that this less efficient vacuum may poise consequences in his results. I also had issues, particularly my cells. With my first video, I used too much light with the microscope. This caused the Dicty cells to ball up instead of move towards the food gradient. We also shared mundane and drawn out procedures in our experiments. For Ryan, it was simply the time needed for his reactions to take place. He said that he would sometimes have to let some of his solutions sit out for days to get the water out of them. He also said the hours needed to incubate his solutions were a time consuming process.
The drawn out part in my experiment is the care needed to keep my cells alive. I need to make sure that they are not overcrowded on their dishes. So every day or two, I have to wash the Petri-dishes, pull the cells off, count how many cells there are, figure the concentration of cells needed, and then finally re-plate the cells.
We also have some unique differences in our research experiences. One of them is the amount of time the mentor is with us. I asked how much time Dr. Maslowsky is with him while he does the experiment. He said not very often, since Dr. Maslowsky has his own J-term. He said he’ll discuss problems or ideas, but for the most part he is solo in his experiments. This lone ranger approach is the opposite in my research. With Dr. Cooper heading this class as well as constantly running through the DNA lab helping other students, I can always find her and ask her question about my research, what procedures I should use, and what the significance of certain steps. Another difference is the research differences. The reason I chose to work with Ryan instead of Ty or even Kara, is that Ryan had chemistry as his central science in his research. I also had some chemistry in my research as well, but mine is predominantly a biological research experience. It was quite a difference going from strict cleanliness requirements to using only chemicals in your experiments.
I am glad I chose to shadow Ryan for my assignment this week. Ryan’s research gave me a break from the DNA lab and let me into a different form of research that was solely based in chemistry. It was also interesting to know that the biodiesel he is making is used in everyday life. Shadowing a fellow researcher definitely gave me an insight into another’s work, and broadened my conception of what research was all about.