This is a literature discussion based on a 2018 Inorganic Chemistry paper from the Lehnert group titled “Mechanism of N–N Bond Formation by Transition Metal–Nitrosyl Complexes: Modeling Flavodiiron Nitric Oxide Reductases“(DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b02333).
In this experiment, students will synthesize and characterize one of three Ag(I) cyanoximate complexes as potential antimicrobial agents for use in dental implants. This experiment combines simple ligand synthesis, metalation and characterization, and a biomedical application. The complexes are both air and light stable.
This web resource is a TEDx talk about zinc and zinc's role in the early stages of the maturation of the egg. This would be a great introduction video for a gen chem, inorganic, or bioinorganic chemistry course. It introduces the idea that Zinc is stored in specific locations on the egg and then released all at the same time.
In this literature discussion, students read a paper about a cobalt metallopeptide that imitates the active site of the enzyme nitrile hydratase. Specifically, the model complex is oxidized by air to produce a coordination sphere with both cysteine thiolate and sulfinic acid ligands, much like the post-translationally oxidized cysteine ligands in the biological system.
This collection highlights the learning objects used at the 2014 VIPEr workshop on the Bioinorganic Applications of Coordination Chemistry to introduce participants to the field of bioinorganic chemistry. They provide essential background information on how metals bind to proteins as well as the techniques used in the research papers presented at the workshop. A list of learning objects created at the workshop based on the current research of our expert speakers can be found at:
This in class activity is designed to introduce students to how amino acid side chains can coordinate metal ions in proteins. It guides students through the exploration of several metal binding sites in proteins using the Ligand Explorer program on the Protein Data Bank (PDB) website. Essentially, it is a way for them to use the PDB to “discover” the information generally presented on this topic in the introductory chapters of bioinorganic textbooks. At the end it asks students to think about Hard Soft Acid Base theory and to see how that can be applied to the binding of metals in protei
This in-class activity requires that the students read an article in The Atlantic about an interesting (and modern) case of the plague. The article provides a great platform to showcase the Inorganic side of broad societal themes like evolutionary biology, environmental and hereditary influences on disease, and the collaboration between biology, medicine, and history. The article itself contains little chemistry, but can be used to guide students into learning about iron in bioinorganic chemistry.
Accompanying article found here:
Chemical acrostic is used as a teaching tool in descriptive inorganic chemistry. This is an active learning approach to engage the students with a fun classroom activity. The acrostics are designed by Simon Cotton and published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's education resource magazine "The Mole." The students are divided into groups of two or three to work on the acrostics. To come up with the answers, the students engage in meaningful group discussions that enhance conceptual understanding.