VA+Research+Report

Introduction
My name is Valentine Anyiam. I am in my Junior Year majoring in chemistry at Drexel University and I have been working in Dr. Bradley’s research group since the beginning of April 2012. During my time with Dr. Bradley’s research group, I learned the different techniques involved with determining the solubility of compounds in various solvents. I learned how to utilize the Density method as well as NMR to help determine the solubility of different compounds in different solvents. I also learned that the data from the measurements with a particular solvent could be used to help build a mathematical model that can help to predict the solubility of any molecule within the same solvent. I am also now aware of how the things that I have learned with Dr. Bradley, relate to the real world and how I can apply those things to the real world as well.

Techniques for use in Experimentation
Mixing the solutions within a boiling water bath was one of the first methods I had learned with Dr. Bradley that could help to determine the solubility of a compound in a solvent. My utilization of this technique is shown in EXP275, EXP277, EXP284, EXP288, EXP289 and EXP290. One of the drawbacks to this technique is that it is nearly entirely dependent upon the density of the solvent being used. I also learned how one could confirm the solubility of a compound in a solvent, if the claims online appear to be disputable, by measuring exact concentrations with a volumetric flask. In EXP293, I attempted to measure an exact concentration of benzoic acid in ethylene glycol in order to confirm if the results online were accurate due to the fact that I had received conflicting data with the results online from my past experiments. I also learned how to find the solubility of a compound in a solvent by utilizing the shake flask method which was accomplished in EXP295 and EXP296. This turned out to be much more effective at arriving at a more accurate solubility of a compound in a solvent than mixing the solutions within a magnetic stirrer which was attempted in EXP294. One of the only downsides to the shake flask method is that it can be very time consuming in comparison to the other methods for finding concentrations. One of the advantages to it though, is that it can also help to determine whether or not a solution is super saturated.

Different Methods for finding concentrations
Although, not as reliable as NMR, I learned that the Density method can still be an effective method to use in finding the concentrations of different solutes in different solvents. Even though is heavily dependent on the densities of the compounds in question, it is still an effective and also a much cheaper method to use to find the unknown concentrations in an NMR instrument is either unavailable or cannot be afforded. In EXP275, I successfully arrived at a value for the solubility of cinnamic acid in methanol which was very similar to the values that had already been obtained by people in the past. However, in almost every other experiment that I had completed with Dr. Bradley I had learned how to use an NMR instrument to obtain the NMR spectra of a solution and how to use the data contained within that spectra to arrive at the concentration of the solution. In EXP295, I had also begun to use a special two chamber NMR tube to contain the solution being analyzed within the inner chamber and the deuterated solvent within the outer chamber in order to avoid problems with certain solutions not being completely miscible with the deuterated solvent such as glycol containing solutions within CDCl3. This method yielded reproducible values that were comparable to value obtained measuring the solution within a regular NMR tube with another deuterated solvent such as MD4. This was also shown within EXP295.

Applications in real life
One of the great innovations that can come about from data obtained from the measurements of the solubility of a compound in a series of closely related solvents, is the creation of a mathematical model which can be used to predict the solubility of any compound dissolved in that solvent. EXP295 and EXP296 were done so that it could be used as a template in order to help create a mathematical model for the glycol solvents. This is especially significant in the health care industry seeing as how many of the drug concentrations developed for certain pharmaceuticals were brought from a mathematical model. In EXP295, the solubility of benzoic acid was measured within a series of glycol solvents from ethylene glycol to polyethylene glycol. This was especially useful seeing as how benzoic acid had never been measured before in any of the glycol solvents with the exception of ethylene glycol. Although the majority of the compounds I experimented with for solutes were all carboxylic acids, I believe that this experience has still given me an understanding and further insight onto how to work with other compounds for solutes when measuring their concentrations in certain solvents.

Conclusion
In conclusion, my research experience with Dr. Bradley has helped me to learn a lot about how to determine the concentrations of various kinds of solutions. I believe that this experience may become very significant in my future goals in my pursuit in the career of medicine. This experience will enable me to be better prepared to accurately determine the concentration of certain pharmaceutical drugs that may need to be administered to patients. It has also helped to broaden my understanding in the field of organic chemistry.