types of research in chemistry

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Undergraduate Research in Chemistry

Undergraduate research in chemistry is self-directed experimentation work under the guidance and supervision of a mentor or advisor. Students participate in an ongoing research project and investigate phenomena of interest to them and their advisor.

There is a broad range of research areas in the chemical sciences. Today’s research groups are interdisciplinary, crossing boundaries across fields and across other disciplines, such as physics, biology, materials science, engineering and medicine.

Basic or Applied Research?

Basic research The objective of basic research is to gain more comprehensive knowledge or understanding of the subject under study, without specific applications in mind. In industry, basic research is defined as research that advances scientific knowledge but does not have specific immediate commercial objectives, although it may be in fields of present or potential commercial interest.

Applied research Applied research is aimed at gaining knowledge or understanding to determine the means by which a specific, recognized need may be met. In industry, applied research includes investigations oriented to discovering new scientific knowledge that has specific commercial objectives with respect to products, processes, or services.

• Undergraduate Research Opportunities
• International Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (IREU)
• Opportunities

What is research at the undergraduate level?    

At the undergraduate level, research is self-directed work under the guidance and supervision of a mentor/advisor ― usually a university professor. A gradual transition towards independence is encouraged as a student gains confidence and is able to work with minor supervision. Students normally participate in an ongoing research project and investigate phenomena of interest to them and their advisor. In the chemical sciences, the range of research areas is quite broad. A few groups maintain their research area within a single classical field of analytical, inorganic, organic, physical, chemical education or theoretical chemistry. More commonly, research groups today are interdisciplinary, crossing boundaries across fields and across other disciplines, such as physics, biology, materials science, engineering and medicine.

What are the benefits of being involved in undergraduate research?

There are many benefits to undergraduate research, but the most important are:

• Learning, learning, learning. Most chemists learn by working in a laboratory setting. Information learned in the classroom is more clearly understood and it is more easily remembered once it has been put into practice. This knowledge expands through experience and further reading. From the learning standpoint, research is an extremely productive cycle.
• Experiencing chemistry in a real world setting. The equipment, instrumentation and materials used in research labs are generally more sophisticated, advanced, and of far better quality than those used in lab courses
• Getting the excitement of discovery. If science is truly your vocation, regardless of any negative results, the moment of discovery will be truly exhilarating. Your results are exclusive. No one has ever seen them before.
• Preparing for graduate school. A graduate degree in a chemistry-related science is mostly a research degree. Undergraduate research will not only give you an excellent foundation, but working alongside graduate students and post-doctorates will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn what it will be like.

Is undergraduate research required for graduation?

Many chemistry programs now require undergraduate research for graduation. There are plenty of opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in research, either during the academic year, summer, or both. If your home institution is not research intensive, you may find opportunities at other institutions, government labs, and industries.

When should I get involved in undergraduate research?

Chemistry is an experimental science. We recommended that you get involved in research as early in your college life as possible. Ample undergraduate research experience gives you an edge in the eyes of potential employers and graduate programs.

While most mentors prefer to accept students in their research labs once they have developed some basic lab skills through general and organic lab courses, some institutions have programs that involve students in research projects the summer prior to their freshman year. Others even involve senior high school students in summer research programs. Ask your academic/departmental advisor about the options available to you.

What will I learn by participating in an undergraduate research program?

Conducting a research project involves a series of steps that start at the inquiry level and end in a report. In the process, you learn to:

• Conduct scientific literature searches
• Read, interpret and extract information from journal articles relevant to the project
• Design experimental procedures to obtain data and/or products of interest
• Operate instruments and implement laboratory techniques not usually available in laboratories associated with course work
• Interpret results, reach conclusions, and generate new ideas based on results
• Interact professionally (and socially) with students and professors within the research group, department and school as well as others from different schools, countries, cultures and backgrounds
• Communicate results orally and in writing to other peers, mentors, faculty advisors, and members of the scientific community at large via the following informal group meeting presentations, reports to mentor/advisor, poster presentations at college-wide, regional, national or international meetings; formal oral presentations at scientific meetings; or journal articles prepared for publication

How do I select an advisor?

This is probably the most important step in getting involved in undergraduate research. The best approach is multifaceted. Get informed about research areas and projects available in your department, which are usually posted on your departmental website under each professor’s name.

Talk to other students who are already involved in research. If your school has an  ACS Student Chapter , make a point to talk to the chapter’s members. Ask your current chemistry professor and lab instructor for advice. They can usually guide you in the right direction. If a particular research area catches your interest, make an appointment with the corresponding professor.

Let the professor know that you are considering getting involved in research, you have read a bit about her/his research program, and that you would like to find out more. Professors understand that students are not experts in the field, and they will explain their research at a level that you will be able to follow. Here are some recommended questions to ask when you meet with this advisor:

• Is there a project(s) within her/his research program suitable for an undergraduate student?
• Does she/he have a position/space in the lab for you?
• If you were to work in her/his lab, would you be supervised directly by her/him or by a graduate student? If it is a graduate student, make a point of meeting with the student and other members of the research group. Determine if their schedule matches yours. A night owl may not be able to work effectively with a morning person.
• Does she/he have funding to support the project? Unfunded projects may indicate that there may not be enough resources in the lab to carry out the project to completion. It may also be an indication that funding agencies/peers do not consider this work sufficiently important enough for funding support. Of course there are exceptions. For example, a newly hired assistant professor may not have external funding yet, but he/she may have received “start-up funds” from the university and certainly has the vote of confidence of the rest of the faculty. Otherwise he/she would not have been hired. Another classical exception is computational chemistry research, for which mostly fast computers are necessary and therefore external funding is needed to support research assistants and computer equipment only. No chemicals, glassware, or instrumentation will be found in a computational chemistry lab.
• How many of his/her articles got published in the last two or three years? When prior work has been published, it is a good indicator that the research is considered worthwhile by the scientific community that reviews articles for publication. Ask for printed references. Number of publications in reputable refereed journals (for example ACS journals) is an excellent indicator of the reputation of the researcher and the quality of his/her work.

Here is one last piece of advice: If the project really excites you and you get satisfactory answers to all your questions, make sure that you and the advisor will get along and that you will enjoy working with him/her and other members of the research group.

Remember that this advisor may be writing recommendation letters on your behalf to future employers, graduate schools, etc., so you want to leave a good impression. To do this, you should understand that the research must move forward and that if you become part of a research team, you should do your best to achieve this goal. At the same time, your advisor should understand your obligations to your course work and provide you with a degree of flexibility.

Ultimately, it is your responsibility to do your best on both course work and research. Make sure that the advisor is committed to supervising you as much as you are committed to doing the required work and putting in the necessary/agreed upon hours.

How much time should I allocate to research?

The quick answer is as much as possible without jeopardizing your course work. The rule of thumb is to spend 3 to 4 hours working in the lab for every credit hour in which you enroll. However, depending on the project, some progress can be achieved in just 3-4 hours of research/week. Most advisors would recommend 8-10 hours/week.

Depending on your project, a few of those hours may be of intense work and the rest may be spent simply monitoring the progress of a reaction or an instrumental analysis. Many research groups work on weekends. Saturdays are excellent days for long, uninterrupted periods of lab work.

What are some potential challenges?

• Time management . Each project is unique, and it will be up to you and your supervisor to decide when to be in the lab and how to best utilize the time available to move the project forward.
• Different approaches and styles . Not everyone is as clean and respectful of the equipment of others as you are. Not everyone is as punctual as you are. Not everyone follows safety procedures as diligently as you do. Some groups have established protocols for keeping the lab and equipment clean, for borrowing equipment from other members, for handling common equipment, for research meetings, for specific safety procedures, etc. Part of learning to work in a team is to avoid unnecessary conflict while establishing your ground to doing your work efficiently.
• “The project does not work.”  This is a statement that advisors commonly hear from students. Although projects are generally very well conceived, and it is people that make projects work, the nature of research is such that it requires patience, perseverance, critical thinking, and on many occasions, a change in direction. Thoroughness, attention to detail, and comprehensive notes are crucial when reporting the progress of a project.

Be informed, attentive, analytical, and objective. Read all the background information. Read user manuals for instruments and equipment. In many instances the reason for failure may be related to dirty equipment, contaminated reagents, improperly set instruments, poorly chosen conditions, lack of thoroughness, and/or lack of resourcefulness. Repeating a procedure while changing one parameter may work sometimes, while repeating the procedure multiple times without systematic changes and observations probably will not.

When reporting failures or problems, make sure that you have all details at hand. Be thorough in you assessment. Then ask questions. Advisors usually have sufficient experience to detect errors in procedures and are able to lead you in the right direction when the student is able to provide all the necessary details. They also have enough experience to know when to change directions. Many times one result may be unexpected, but it may be interesting enough to lead the investigation into a totally different avenue. Communicate with your advisor/mentor often.

Are there places other than my institution where I can conduct research?

Absolutely! Your school may be close to other universities, government labs and/or industries that offer part-time research opportunities during the academic year. There may also be summer opportunities in these institutions as well as in REU sites (see next question).

Contact your chemistry department advisor first. He/she may have some information readily available for you. You can also contact nearby universities, local industries and government labs directly or through the career center at your school. You can also find listings through ACS resources:

• Research Opportunities (US only)
• International Research Opportunities
• Internships and Summer Jobs

What are Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites? When should I apply for a position in one of them?

REU is a program established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support active research participation by undergraduate students at host institutions in the United States or abroad. An REU site may offer projects within a single department/discipline or it may have projects that are inter-departmental and interdisciplinary. There are currently over 70 domestic and approximately 5 international REU sites with a chemistry theme. Sites consist of 10-12 students each, although there are larger sites that supplement NSF funding with other sources. Students receive stipends and, in most cases, assistance with housing and travel.

Most REU sites invite rising juniors and rising seniors to participate in research during the summer. Experience in research is not required to apply, except for international sites where at least one semester or summer of prior research experience is recommended. Applications usually open around November or December for participation during the following summer. Undergraduate students supported with NSF funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. Some REU sites with supplementary funds from other sources may accept international students that are enrolled at US institutions.

• Get more information about REU sites

How do I prepare a scientific research poster?

Here are some links to sites with very useful information and samples.

• Anatomy of an Ace Research Paper
• Getting Ready for the ACS National Meeting
• Survivng Your First ACS Undergraduate Poster Presentation
• Six Ways Research Can Fire Up Your Chapter

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1.1 Chemical Information Three Ways: The Big Picture Of Big Information

1.2 approaching the literature: principles to bear in mind when you are searching for chemical information, 1.2.1 scholarly literature is evaluated to uphold scientific integrity and vitality, 1.2.2 data provenance and evaluation is a critical part of the research process, 1.2.3 scientific literature is considered intellectual property, 1.2.4 scholarly literature is structured to facilitate research, 1.2.5 the literature is a web of potential, 1.2.6 libraries and other information providers offer disambiguation, 1.3 getting started with the chemical literature, 1.3.1 your literature research is only as good as your input and process, 1.3.2 how to use the literature to be a more efficient chemist, chapter 1: introduction to the chemical literature.

• Published: 22 Oct 2013
• Special Collection: 2014 ebook collection , RSC eTextbook Collection Product Type: Textbooks
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L. McEwen, in Chemical Information for Chemists: A Primer, ed. J. Currano and D. Roth, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013, pp. 1-27.

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To begin, we will consider the ways in which literature is involved in the research process, how scientists are involved in the production and consumption of this literature, and the role of information providers and the library. The scholarly communication cycle is at the core of the scientific endeavor for both research and teaching purposes and is standard practice across the disciplines. Published literature is the lasting product of scientific research. It captures and documents the ideas, methods, results, implications and applications of projects and makes this information available to the broader research community and society to further research developments, grants, products, marketing, competitive advantage, etc .

I recently welcomed a new group of chemistry graduate students with an orientation to the library at Cornell University. We started with a discussion of the role of literature in research, focused on the scope of specific library resources and services available, and highlighted a few key things the students could do right away to get started with their research. The idea was to funnel the vast world of chemistry-related literature into something bite-sized and immediately useful while not losing sight of how much is possible and how important robust literature research is to chemistry. We hope this book will accomplish something similar: provide a highly useful volume for a broad range of information-related needs across the chemistry research process. In this introduction, we hope to cover both the big picture of how information fits into the chemical enterprise and a few useful things to keep in mind when delving into the literature.

To begin, we will consider the ways in which literature is involved in the research process, how scientists are involved in the production and consumption of this literature, and the role of information providers and the library. The scholarly communication cycle is at the core of the scientific endeavor for both research and teaching purposes and is standard practice across the disciplines. Published literature is the lasting product of scientific research. It captures and documents the ideas, methods, results, implications and applications of projects and makes this information available to the broader research community and society to further research developments, grants, products, marketing, competitive advantage, etc. It is important for researchers to determine exactly when in their research process to disseminate their findings to the community and which of the many available avenues of communication is most appropriate. These decisions are influenced by place of work (academic, government, industry), job level, and practices in various chemistry sub-disciplines. The resulting published literature in chemistry is as varied and complex as the science it represents, and includes articles, patents, technical reports, conference proceedings, book chapters, and data sets.

Other complexities of publishing research lie in impact and prestige, discoverability and re-use, and availability and persistence. Tying one's name to research, being published and noted, is important to the success of many scientists. As purveyors of the literature publication process, publishers are also interested in procuring the most critical observations and ideas with the best potential. In addition to channeling the discovery of this research, they have high stakes in assuring the quality of research they publish and upholding the standards of scientific integrity. Peer-review is a long established and well-respected feature of scientific publication across most publishers. Clustering articles by disciplinary interest and novel potential further impacts discovery of worthy research. Well-respected publishers add value to the publication process through careful management of these and other editorial processes.

In addition to furthering knowledge itself, quality scientific research can also lead to new industrial applications and product development, improvements in scientific literacy and education, and informed public policy and national security. The field of chemistry is relatively unique, as it is both an academic discipline and an industry active in research and development. The extensive industrial sector is a heavy consumer of the published research literature, as well as a producer of its own research, primarily expressed in the form of patents. Commercial processes place special demands on presentation, authority, and accessibility of chemical information, which in turn significantly impacts the focus of government research and the experience of the academic chemistry research environment. In addition to publication of primary research, government contribution to the chemical information landscape includes high-quality data sets, standards for processes and safety, and education guidelines. Scientific societies such as the American Chemical Society in the US or the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK play major roles in advocating and focusing on infrastructure for producing, re-using and building on quality scientific information.

The availability and persistence of published literature has a profound impact on the research process. Libraries and other information providers are concerned with the practical issues around discoverability and utility of published information. A variety of commercial and non-profit entities offer specialized tools to help researchers sift through the vast primary chemistry literature of journals, patents, registered compounds, and data sets. Abstracts are increasingly available online at no cost, publishers provide electronic alerts and news feeds, and conferences and social networks further highlight the availability of new research publications. In chemistry fields, most published content requires payment for access, reflecting both the expense to ensure quality and the potential for high-value re-use. With the advent of electronic information, pricing options have shifted from outright sale of copies to licensed access, which in turn has implications for ownership and responsibility of long-term archiving. Libraries remain major access points to and stewards of the chemistry literature; they maintain a high awareness of quality, and advise and collaborate with service providers.

In addition to providing researchers with access points to scientific information, libraries have historically taken on the task of preserving the scholarly literature to enable future use. It is easy to overlook the importance of older publications, but they constitute a significant portion of the accumulated scientific knowledge, and are responsible for supporting scientific development over the past several hundred years. In chemistry, where structural and reaction principles do not change drastically over time, older publications are very often still vital to current progress in a field, and in interdisciplinary research areas, past work is often re-considered from different perspectives. Research libraries worldwide store vast collections of journals in hard copy, often in state-of-the-art, climate-controlled, high-density storage facilities with sophisticated inventory control for easy retrieval. Publishers are also making digital back-files of older articles available for purchase or licensing, and libraries and publishers are working together to pursue preservation solutions, including the development of third-party archiving services, that will ensure access to the content in any future, foreseen or otherwise.

It is as important to develop good literature practices for your work as it is to improve your experimental and technical research skills. Good literature practices in scientific research require regular time spent reading or searching for journal articles and other relevant literature reviews.  One should cultivate this practice to build competence in a new area, keep abreast of activity in areas of interest, become aware of exciting new possibilities and strong research groups, and scope out advantageous opportunities for collaboration and publication. Be aware of the scope of literature and information sources available to support both the theoretical and experimental developments of your research endeavors. The remaining chapters of this volume will introduce and guide you through a broad array of the most critical information resources and searching methods in chemistry research. It is well worth a systematic read to be aware of the landscape, and frequent referral for more focused guidance as you practice your research.

Before proceeding farther into the landscape, there are a few general background areas worth delving into more deeply to better understand the literature resources you will use: basic information evaluation concepts; copyright and other intellectual property matters; how the published literature is structured; connectivity potential in the digital age; how libraries and other information providers can support your research; and the scientific input and approach you bring to your search process.

A basic distinction of scholarly literature is that it has been evaluated to some extent before publication. It is important to the quality of one's own research process to ascertain up front the quality of related research in a discipline. The researcher must ultimately make the final determination if a work is worth looking at, starting with an assessment of how it has already been evaluated by the larger scientific community.

The most common type of primary publication of scientific information for academics is the journal article, and the first entity that decides what primary research is published in journals is usually the journal's editor-in-chief. Editors of scientific journals look for research that is original, scientifically important, and that fits the journal's scope in subject matter and treatment. Further review of manuscripts by published peers in the same research area serves to “flag what's important, set aside what's pedestrian, and abjure what's fraudulent”. 1   A published article that has undergone a robust peer review and editorial process should contain data that tell a story and results that move the state of knowledge forward. The introduction of the article should set the stage for the story of the data analysis, and the novelty and intellectual interpretation of the research should be hammered home in the conclusion, giving a sense of the quality of thinking of the author.

Peer review is not a comprehensive evaluation system; reviewers do not generally repeat the experiments described, although review of supporting data is required in some characterization journals. The actual review process is not fail-safe and varies widely across publishers, which can significantly impact the reputation of a journal. The primary literature may be beset with a myriad of quality issues, including premature publication, lack of novelty, lack of focus or unclear explanation, inadequate review of the relevant literature, inadequate characterization of compounds created or altered in the research, missing or poorly designed experimental controls, failure to address alternate explanations, or unjustifiably strong statements.

Pre-reviewed research content is increasingly available online; conference proceedings, pre-print servers, research manuscript repositories associated with funding agencies, and community-supported, openly accessible and openly reviewed journals are a few of the examples. In the chemical disciplines, first disclosure and peer review of research findings carry significant weight in consideration of provenance, quality, and intellectual rights and are important considerations for the reputation and authority of the researchers themselves and particularly critical for commercial vitality in the industrial sector. Initial publication in an open or pre-peer-reviewed public venue may preclude later publication in journals with higher reputations or patenting to claim exploitable rights.

Even peer-reviewed journals vary widely in their reputation for quality and visibility of the research they publish, which in turn reflects on the reputation of the authors. One indicator of journal performance in contribution to scientific research is the number of citations by other research to the articles published in a particular journal. This principle underlies the Thomson Reuters Journal Impact Factor, which is often used by a broad range of literature users such as publishers trying to attract authors, institutions considering tenure for research faculty, researchers identifying top journals to monitor, and libraries attempting to prioritize access and preservation of journal content. Discovery service providers also consider the provenance of published literature and data, but tend to include a fairly broad approach to sources to give the chemical researcher the fullest information of the activity potential in their research area. Promising new journals may not be indexed until they have proven their potential, maybe through a high Journal Impact Factor, which takes two years to calculate.

Many research areas in chemistry generate and analyze significant volumes of data. Data associated with chemical research can appear directly in articles, in supplementary files referenced by articles, as part of compiled data sets, and in repositories of specialized types of chemical information. The provenance and quality of compound characterization and other published data are particularly important to chemistry research. Results and interpretation are only as good as the data on which they are based, and their potential for meaningful contribution to scientific knowledge depends on their correlation to other evidence or revelation of abnormal observations. As you work with both your own data and those you are re-using from other sources, it is critical to ascertain that they actually represent what they are purporting to and are reliable, based on the quality of the measurement process. The opportunity to apply promising methodologies on large production scales in the commercial sector hinges on adherence to standards and regulations of practice. You can imagine areas of chemistry, such as the development of drug formulations and construction materials, where lack of attention to safety, consistency, and reliability can not only compromise the outcome of the experiment but could potentially endanger vast numbers of people.

Quality data start with robust data collection practices, including documentation, using multiple sources of measurement, calibration of equipment, and using controls and/or standard reference data. It is most important for users of data to know how it was collected to determine if it is relevant, if it actually measures what was intended, and if its collection was executed in a sufficiently accurate and precise manner for re-use in the new context. Good documentation should include careful notation of all the parameters in which the data were measured, including equipment, conditions, methodology, characterized standards, and experimental context. Multiple sources of a measurement re-enforce the quality of the measurement technique and specific execution, and normalize inherent variability within and across chemical systems. Calibration to well-characterized standards also maximizes the technical quality of a measurement. The use of controls within an experiment or comparison of results to standard reference data establishes the value of the measurement that is distinct to a sample and of interest for further analysis. For example, the use of standard reference data to identify values related to specific structural characteristics of compounds is relevant to spectra searching, for example.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concerns itself with supporting robust chemical and physical data evaluation and addresses standards across four stages: data collection, basic evaluation, relational analysis, and modeling. 2   How data is collected, documented and stored can impact later accessibility to that data. Basic evaluation questions generally focus on the reproducibility of the data using the same collection methods. Relational analysis is concerned with consistency of the data at hand with other data that describe the material, such as related properties or independent reports of a particular property. Modeling calculations can indicate the predictability of the data as an indicator for this property under the conditions at hand. In practice, processes for assessing and assuring quality of data are especially well developed in materials research and production. Depending on your need when looking at published data, you might require quality indicators ranging from general specifications for a class of material to certified standards of specific compounds. In active research, you might find yourself working with commercial data with specifications provided by the manufacturer, or with preliminary data from collaborating projects.

NIST provides a decision tree to classify property data and determine appropriateness in the context of purpose and use. This protocol is freely available as a simple interactive assessment tool originally developed for the NIST Ceramic WebBook and is a reasonable check-list when working with any published data where quality and provenance is a consideration. 3   Indicative questions for literature and data evaluation include:

Is the source journal peer reviewed?

Are the experimental methods adequately described to be repeatable?

Are any compounds characterized well enough to identify?

Are the results consistent with other indications in the published literature?

Does the explanation build on previously published research?

Do the authors address alternate explanations of the data with further experiments?

As with the scientific research process in general, the provenance of the resulting observations and explanations is important when considering whether the information is of sufficient quality. If little is known concerning the who, what, why, where, when, and how aspects of a research project, it could be considered of indeterminate quality and therefore unacceptable for reference. Referencing the original source of the data, as well as any available provenance, lets the reader make a judgment about the quality and applicability of these data.

Data management is of increasing interest to research-granting agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), which as of 2011 requires all granted projects to include a data management plan. In 2009, an Interagency Working Group on Digital Data developed recommendations for managing data, including some general components to consider for a management plan: “provide for the full digital data life cycle and…describe, as applicable, the types of digital data to be produced; the standards to be used; provisions and conditions for access; requirements for protection of appropriate privacy, confidentiality, security, or intellectual property rights; and provisions for long-term preservation”. 4   More or less specific guidelines are being developed by the various US funding agencies; the NSF is primarily leaving this to be determined at the level of peer-review and program management to reflect best practices for disciplines and other “communities of interest”. 5   The provenance documentation practices discussed above should be rigorous enough to cover most data management plan requirements.

Ultimately, the purpose of scientific research is to contribute to the greater scientific knowledge base in a useful way and lead to applications for society. The ideas and efforts towards this process are considered property of an intellectual nature and are governed through their documentation. The legal framework of intellectual property is to translate the association of scientists with novel ideas and processes into terms that can serve in the practicable everyday world of business, including documentation for provenance and remuneration. In legal terms, intellectual property is about ownership and the potential benefits therein. It was designed by Congress to address Article 1 of the United States Constitution: “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Tımes to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries”. 6  

Novelty is a core consideration in supporting scientists’ and companies’ rights to own an idea or a process. The definition of novelty in most jurisdictions is delineated by first public disclosure: anywhere, in any venue, for any purpose. Because of the high potential for value, most publishers in the field of chemistry will not accept work that has been extensively disclosed in a public venue. Patent applicability can hinge on the date and nature of disclosure and becomes especially critical when coordinating rights globally. Ideally, the first public appearance of an idea that is well enough researched to enter the scientific record should be well documented, most often in a published article or patent application. These forms of communication are readily citable, with fairly rigorous presentation of content. However, the first public disclosure of one's research may often be much less rigorous, such as a presentation at a conference. As a result, chemists need to be mindful of future plans to publish in journals or file patent applications as they prepare their presentations.

Scientific research, particularly chemical research, is expensive. Public and private monies earmarked for basic research are available competitively. The chemical industry is interested in productive chemical technologies to make a return on the investment of development. Publications, including patents, are professional scientists’ and chemical companies’ key to sustainable funding and growth through claim to ownership. Most scientific publications are considered under one of two flavors of intellectual property, copyright, or patenting.

1.2.3.1 Copyright

In its legal form, copyright is at least two levels removed from the everyday world of scientific research. It does not relate to experimental design, nor does it contribute to the process of good writing. For most authors, it only seems to come into play when one is trying to publish, and then it often appears as a barrier. Why would a chemist want to have anything to do with copyright or even think about it? It comes down to basic issues surrounding the sharing of creative work with others and, in turn, re-using their work. Your greatness as a scientist lies in your ideas, but these remain in your head and might as well be mist unless you express them in a form that resonates with those whose attention you want. Once your audience takes notice, it will be of the idea, and, in the excitement, you want to be remembered as its originator. Copyright law provides a recognition stamp for a piece of work that captures an idea and governs the ways in which these ideas may be re-used by other scientists.

Copyright protects the expression of any creative act such as music, art, journalism, fiction writing, and many other endeavors where people may want to seek compensation and/or credit for their work. The author originally owns the rights to his or her work, meaning that, for the work to be “copyrighted”, he or she does not need to do anything more formal than capture it in a tangible medium (including online). However, as a legal tool, copyright must be able to stand up in court if the rights of ownership are in dispute. Every researcher hopes their work will be of sufficient interest in his or her discipline that it will be discovered and read by other researchers, granting agencies, and chemical businesses. The potential value of a paper is tied up in where it is exposed and what can then be done with the content, activities overseen by copyright. As the initial copyright owner, the author needs to consider how best to manage the exposure and re-use of the work to meet his or her personal and professional needs.

Copyright is automatically assigned to an idea “the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device”; 7   the rights and opportunities thereby granted are up to the owner to manage and stipulate to the public world. Currently, one of the primary roles of scientific publishers is to formally establish the first public disclosure of a work that invokes those rights, and reputable publishing houses are knowledgeable in both the scientific discipline and the ways of copyright. Publishers also provide additional value by coordinating with the vast network of publishing peers in a discipline to review the quality of the contribution and by placing the work among others of good quality in reputable journals, thus increasing the collective potential to be noticed by the right people. To manage and guarantee all of these services, publishers want a specified relationship with copyright that oversees the legal status of all these activities. In exchange for publishing your article, most scientific publishers will require transfer of your copyright: in effect, transfer of ownership of the work. As the original copyright owner, you always have the option to self-publish if you are prepared to manage your rights, the evidence of first disclosure and any further development and if you believe your work is strong enough to stand on its own.

For the vast majority of scientific articles published in traditional journals, once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it is likely that the authors will be asked to sign an agreement or contract that includes language regarding the copyright of the work. Many contracts require the author to transfer copyright to the publisher, meaning that they will then own all the rights to the article. To do anything further with the article, authors and readers alike will need to seek permission from the publisher as the new rights holder. This includes posting copies of the article on a website, sharing it with colleagues, and using figures in presentations or classes, even if the author is the one teaching them. It also includes reusing any of the content subsequently in a thesis or dissertation. Given the original intention of copyright to support the creativity of the original author and the rather dire impact of cutting you off from your work by transferring all such rights, many publishers will return several rights under the same contract, generally giving permission for the author to share copies with individual colleagues and re-use figures in presentations, classes and dissertations. Because the publisher continues to be the copyright owner, they will usually ask you to provide a citation or a copyright notice in the new venue for any part of your article that you re-use. The American Chemical Society presents FAQs and other learning materials on copyright for publishing authors. 8  

It is always an option to seek permission to do anything that is not specified in a contract, and most scientific publishers will grant this for non-profit oriented uses, especially by the original authors. To use other people's work, you will also need to seek permission from the copyright owner. It is not usually difficult to gain permission for common types of re-use, such as reproducing figures or quoting a brief section of text, many publishers now have automatic permissions systems, such as the RightsLink service used by the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society ( http://pubs.acs.org/page/copyright/permissions.html ) and other major publishers, which can be used to grant permission for certain pre-determined uses. It is important to note that the requirements for re-use will differ from publisher to publisher, so it is important to follow the form through to the end. Individual scientists in academic institutions making copies of articles (print or digital) for their own general reading purposes usually do not need to seek direct permission from copyright owners to keep these copies. This type of use is provisioned in the Copyright Act as “fair use”. The Fair Use provision addresses a number of types of re-use commonly associated with academic, educational and other non-profit endeavors, such as limited and restricted copies for individual research and teaching. The general understanding is that the use will be small scale and not translate to commercial potential that is still protected for the owner. For more information on acceptable fair use, see The Factsheet on Fair Use, 9   the Circular 21 from the U.S. Copyright Office, 10   or consult a legal authority.

1.2.3.2 Managing Rights in the Digital Environment

Rights associated with intellectual property are not defined relative to format or genre. However, in the digital environment, the scope of the playing field is changed. There is much broader access potential and a much richer technical environment for re-use and re-purposing of content, such as in data-driven research. Simultaneously, the global political and economic environment has encouraged increased participation in scientific research and the chemical enterprise. There are vastly more scientific manuscripts produced than the expanding journal options can absorb, and the peer-review system is swamped. There is a rapidly increasing readership and increasing pressure to publish manuscripts directly online to increase speed and availability. Emerging data-driven approaches to research and development demand greater technical treatment and access to content.

Players on the field have responded to these drivers accordingly by intensifying their approaches with overall compounding effects on the flow of information. Higher potential for global-reaching commercial value coupled with perceived higher competitive threat spurs content owners to tighten rights management measures. In the absence of acceptable standard practice, such measures have tapped into other legal tools such as contract law, and technically based restrictions on access and use, currently enforced through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). Typically, these restrictions limit use far more than with analog information sources. The most visible restriction to researchers is the amount that can be downloaded from various information sources, including database result sets, journal articles, and book chapters. Printing, saving, filing in reference management tools, or forwarding to colleagues may all be restricted or disallowed altogether.

There are other subtler, but no less critical impacts on long-term access and use as specifications of ownership and hosting of the scholarly literature are shifting. Most electronic scholarly journal content is made available to users through license rather than sale as print subscriptions had been. Libraries have negotiated new terms for access in perpetuity to fulfill their mission to make sure that articles are available in the long term. Since publishers remain the content owners, they, rather than libraries, are now also responsible for archiving. Third-party services are emerging to support the ongoing technical integrity of electronic information.

The online environment has increased the potential for the sharing of work; however, it is still important to the integrity of a work to manage the rights of re-use and provenance even if the content is openly available for the initial use of reading. Creative Commons is a non-profit organization developing a new approach to managing and communicating terms of copyright of work in the digital space. The underlying principle is that the work will be openly available for public dissemination and use with a variety of conditions specified by the owners. Several licenses are available with various combinations of specifications for attribution, sharing and commercial purposes. Creative Commons licensing is based on copyright and provides the legal code to uphold it. Additionally the licenses include versions of the terms expressed for owners and users not legally trained and also in machine-readable form to communicate and functionally enable rights and permissions in the digital context; see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ for more information. As the global legal climate surrounding intellectual property establishes itself in the digital environment, content authors, owners, and users juggle a complicated information landscape.

1.2.3.3 Ethics

Authors have certain ethical obligations to the scientific enterprise. Publishing contracts will often include requirements that the work submitted presents original research, an accurate account of the research performed, and an objective discussion of its significance. They further stipulate that all coauthors must be aware of the submission, that the authors submit their work to only one journal at a time, and that they disclose the submission history of the manuscript. 11   Original work should not plagiarize text or figures from other published works, even if prepared by the same authors. The tendency towards self-plagiarism is particularly problematic as researchers build on their own previous work, but each newly published work should have enough novelty to stand as a separate and distinct contribution. Connections to previous work, by the authors or others, should be fully attributed and referenced. Permissions for more extensive use of previous content, such as figures in a review article should be sought from the copyright owner, as discussed above. Such practices constitute a code of conduct and personal responsibility that is core to the definition and ongoing integrity of chemistry research. For further reading on best practices for scientists, see “On Being a Scientist”, freely available from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. 12  

1.2.3.4 Patenting

Patenting is another approach to intellectual property that focuses on the design of technology, human-invented approaches to accomplishing a specified task. This type of intellectual protection involves a different form of documentation, and the resulting patent literature constitutes the primary contribution of the chemical industry. Rights owners are trading public disclosure of their approach for a limited period of exclusivity to develop any commercial potential. Patents allow the public to benefit in the longer term through healthy competition and additional development, while still supporting the pursuit of commercial viability by the originator. Otherwise, owners of commercial processes might keep successful technologies secret indefinitely. A granted patent supports this right for the first party to file, even if others come up with similar ideas independently, as long as the invention is novel. The United States also requires that the invention have utility and offer a non-obvious change to existing technology. Assignees have twenty years to develop and market the technology without competition should they pursue it.

The chemical syntheses and refinement processes developed in industry are patentable, which makes the window of exclusivity a highly valuable right in the commercial sector. As a result, patents are carefully construed to cover a broad a range of potential approaches within each technology to give companies flexibility and multiple stepping-stones to pursue. Technologies developed within the scope of academic research are also patentable, and universities will often contract with commercial partners to scale and market promising technologies. A few technologies out of millions of patents prove to be of high market value, and the owning companies will fiercely defend their exclusive advantage. While development rights are exclusive, the disclosed design is public information, and, although the patent is written in such a way as to obfuscate the critical pieces as much as possible, it can still be very useful for indicating the direction of proprietary research in a given area, as well as providing other important chemical information, such as characterization properties. As a result, patents are a rich body of chemical literature publically available to every research chemist and worthy of serious consideration; approaches to using patent literature are more fully discussed in a later chapter of this book. For further reading on patenting relevant to chemistry, see the handbook “What Every Chemist Should Know About Patents”, available from the American Chemical Society. 13  

1.2.4.1 Primary Literature

The first time an observation or idea appears in a public medium constitutes first disclosure and is categorized as primary literature. This is the important point for discovery and the critical point at which an idea has enough scientific potential behind it to become part of the development of a scientific discipline: “if your research does not generate papers, it might just as well not have been done”. 14   The primary literature represents the state of a research area and will supply you with information on methods and protocols. In chemistry, many primary publications appear in the form of research articles, clustered in journals ranging from general or multidisciplinary to specialized by sub-discipline, methodology, or nationality. Patents, conference papers, and technical reports also constitute a significant portion of the primary literature globally across the chemistry sub-disciplines. The authors, editors, and reviewers of the various primary resources have reviewed the information and deemed it publishable, but it remains to the researcher to locate it and decide if it is relevant to his or her own work.

1.2.4.2 Secondary Literature

Over one million primary publications are indexed by the Chemical Abstracts Service each year in chemistry and its related fields. 15   It is not possible to follow the developments or even find relevant information in any one area without additional organizational tools. Publications that parse, abstract, index, or otherwise break down and group the information and ideas appearing in the primary literature are categorized as secondary literature. There are two general types of secondary literature, depending on the content and purpose. Abstracting and indexing services facilitate research of ideas by organizing the bibliographic information of the primary literature. These tools tend to be large-scale resources, covering a broad range of primary sources to facilitate multidisciplinary and comprehensive research. Databases extract and aggregate specific information from the primary literature to create high-value collections of experimental, analytical, or preparative information. These collections tend to be fairly specialized by type of information or research methodology.

Opportunities for searching in an area of interest simultaneously across multiple information sources and types are becoming more prominent in the web-enabled, digital information environment. Chemical Abstracts Service is one of the most prominent secondary literature providers, specializing in thorough coverage and indexing of the chemistry literature through a variety of systems, including SciFinder and STN (Science & Technology Network). SciFinder links different types of bibliographic, characterization, and preparative information from within the primary literature to enhance the research process from idea to experimental design. Successful use of the secondary literature tools will contribute to your knowledge of a research area. Developers of these tools carefully manage the inclusion and organization of primary literature sources based on scope and perceived quality, but no additional value-based judgment is offered beyond this. The intellectual process of identifying what specific articles and information is relevant information remains to the researcher.

1.2.4.3 Tertiary Literature

Even with the vast number of primary publications in the chemistry-related disciplines and the wide variety of secondary tools available to navigate them, a scientist may still seek additional input to ascertain the gestalt of the research in an area before trying to search it directly. Such scenarios could include a scientist pushing into an unfamiliar research area, a lab group changing its approach to an experimental methodology, or a chemistry graduate student learning to practice research. There are several types of literature in chemistry designed to give an overview of a research area, methodology or practice, these resources are referred to as tertiary literature. Review articles and chapter-books give an overview of a research field at a given time. They are written by experts in the field, long-time practicing scientists, and can cover the development of the primary theories, branches into other fields, applications in industry, primary educational models, future directions with high research potential, and even research lines that didn’t work out. Treatises and handbooks meticulously review the developments of specific research methodologies or experimental best practices in various areas of chemistry, such as organic synthesis. Graduate-level texts, encyclopedias and other primers, such as this book, are another type of tertiary literature designed to introduce an inexperienced researcher to a particular field. Tertiary literature sources offer expert value-based judgments of the published literature and assessment of data in the research area under consideration. It is important to keep in mind that these sources are out of date as soon as they are written in terms of the state of the science in any given area; they are a great starting point to a new area of research but not a robust finishing point for preparing your own experiments and publications.

Each published article has potential in the scientific enterprise, waiting to be found and read by another scientist who sees its potential and can build on it. A key aspect of this path to successful contribution is how other scientists who would be interested in the content of an article happen upon it. An early part of the discovery process for many researchers is the groupings of articles that make up issues of journals that are read regularly. There are many other points of connectivity; the units of the primary literature and the research experiments, observations and conclusions that they represent do not exist in isolation within their host journals. Research articles and patents build on previous reportings, and, in turn, influence those who subsequently read them; the scientific ideas in each article are linked to other published articles. There are many different ways that individual scientists approach their literature practice and process of finding new articles of relevance to their current research projects. However, they are all based on some kind of link from one article to another, one scientist to another, or one idea to another, with each subsequent link related to the former in some way.

For a specific research project, an idea may start with one article read by a scientist. The scientist may then read some of the article's references for better background, then find papers that cite the starting article to see how others have built on it, then examine articles that cite the same references as the original article to see how others have built upon the earlier research, and so on. Much like a pearl that builds up in layers upon the initial stimulation of a grain of sand, this technique of building up a cadre of articles and research awareness through following links is referred to as “pearl growing”, or “the Iterative Approach to literature searching.” 16   Common link paths highlighted by the discovery services in the secondary literature include journals, publishers, authors, institutions, sub-discipline, methodology, type of application, compounds, and physical properties, as well as both references and citations. It is the prerogative of the researcher to navigate the various paths to find the best literature for their particular purpose. The networked online environment is having a profound impact on the ability of researchers to move along these links to aid discovery of information and build knowledge bases. The majority of chemical information resources are available online. As more standards emerge and develop for encoding text and other information to appear on the Web, more links are being activated between common information elements across resources that go well beyond the traditional journal, author, and references.

Chemical information is in a unique position in terms of development potential in the online environment, influenced by a variety of factors that complicate the realization of this potential. The chemistry field is actually one of the earlier pioneers of online representation of information, with machine-readable encoding systems for chemical compounds dating back to the line notation systems of the late 1940s. Chemical information is also exceedingly complex and nuanced in what it represents; structural characterization of compounds, chemical and physical properties of compounds, preparation and purification methodologies, and analytical techniques are all considered by chemical scientists in their research. This intensity around information has been accompanied by elaborate representation schema for various aspects of the information since the heyday of alchemy. In 1919, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry was formed to more systematically consider and review chemical information representation and apply standardization in some critical areas internationally, including chemical compound notation for both human and machine reading purposes. 17   The latest example of efforts in this area is the IUPAC International Chemical Identifier (InChI), which provides interoperable chemical structure encoding between different publishers and chemical information systems. 18  

Robust and standardized machine-readable encoding of information has also enabled the emergence of new and powerful data-driven approaches to research. Informatics, as this type of science is generally called, is touching on many fields, including chemistry. Research processes that were previously managed by the researcher, such as data collection and management, are increasingly automated, and ultimately the computer can activate a variety of links among and between data sets to indicate patterns of potential interest. It is still up to the human researcher to make some determination of the value and to pursue further research of any of these patterns.

As these computer systems become increasingly sophisticated, they are beginning to perform more of the valuation themselves, “learning” from patterns of previously assigned values and performing self-assessment based on error rate analysis. This area, in which the computer applies value-based analysis to research input, is referred to as semantic processing. This approach is not only being applied to numeric or other non-textual research data, but to the linking patterns used by scientists when searching the literature, as well as the early stages of analysis of text in the primary literature and, by extension, a kind of analysis of the intellectual contribution of individual scientists. This sounds very much like the literature research process for individual humans that we have been discussing throughout this chapter. What could be lost with the automation of more processes formerly performed by educated chemists, and what more could those researchers do beyond what is possible now with more time freed from automated tasks? As more data, including the direct intellectual contribution of researchers, is presented online and linked to other information, pattern recognition and evaluation is enabled and the impact of these considerations will become increasing prominent. There certainly are implications regarding productivity value and re-use of material considered to be intellectual property and therefore protected by copyright or patent law. There may also be implications for what is considered by the chemistry community to be acceptable standards of practice when balancing machine and human analysis and valuation to further the research enterprise.

Amidst the complexities and complications of the chemical information landscape, libraries focus primarily on enabling use of scholarly materials. An ideal goal for searching the literature for researchers and information providers to strive for might be 90% unassisted use 24/7 anywhere, complemented by detailed support the remaining 10% of the time. Information providers are in the business to consider highly dis-intermediated experiences for researchers to enable the most efficient approach within a researcher's individual process and point of need. Both content and access are key components of a dis-intermediated research process, through combination of clearly defined scope of content, expert curation, value added content analysis, and automated organizational structure. Expert curation is the highest value added to most chemistry resources, involving scientists and other field experts to determine what content to include and highlight, what links to include and highlight and how to put these together to clarify the opportunities and potential indicators for researchers.

Researchers’ needs not covered by 90% solutions require expert assistance. These needs should not be underestimated; they could translate to “aha moments” for researchers, critical learning opportunities for students, or indicators of emerging areas of chemistry research and potential in the information landscape. The questions you are asking may be cutting edge and unique enough to not be represented in standard ways in searching tools. In a well-meant effort to maximize the opportunities of the online environment, database and information providers often try to make tools more intuitive. In reality, expert search functions are often diminished, resulting in more difficulty finding relevant information. If you have spent over 20minutes in fruitless searching, this is not good use of your time; ask for help. There are experts who search for information for a living; they often have access to better tools and have invested time to develop better work-arounds; they can save you a lot of time.

This volume is authored by chemistry-focused librarians across the United States and Canada who perceive a need to more broadly support graduate students and researchers in chemistry with their literature use. In addition to expertise in the literature landscape of chemistry, librarians have access to networks of other experts, and participate in a variety of services and activities to further broaden both the support and expertise they can provide. They curate specialized finding tools in chemistry, such as properties finders and virtual shelf browsers; offer training, guides, and feedback opportunities with specific resources and search techniques; and actively participate in scientific societies and liaise with publishers and other professional development programs for chemists. All of this expertise is only as good as it is useful for chemists; we welcome the opportunity to assist your literature research in a variety of ways. Another useful volume addressing the broad issues of publication is the ACS Style Guide, 3 rd edition published in 2006 by the American Chemical Society. 19  

The balance of supporting researchers in a robust searching process through independent options coupled with specified assistance represents a moving target as the research landscape continuously changes. Iterative development is critical for information providers to aim for a successful highly dis-intermediated environment. Follow-up analysis of assisted experiences is needed to assess what is indicated about gaps in dis-intermediated solutions or potential new service areas. Such are the requirements of robust information systems and services and chemistry information providers tend to invest significant resources into ensuring robust content, organization, support, and other added value. As the digital markup of chemical information improves, more direct engagement is possible with non-tactile literature and libraries transition support of print-based research processes to online-based research processes.

A literature search is a significant part of the overall research process. It is up to you to leverage the structure of the literature, discovery tools, pearl growing, valuation, and good tracking skills to tap its potential. If you do not take the time and care to plan your process up front, you will quickly be swamped by the vastness of the literature, and likely miss key findings or painstakingly recreate experimental methods previously published. Please remember Frank Westheimer's aphorism, “Why spend a day in the library when you can learn the same thing by working in the laboratory for a month?” 20  

When searching through the literature, the information you have in hand – previous research, active authors, chemical structural information – can serve as starting and linking points. Since your search of the literature may be for background information, a comprehensive sweep of previously characterized compounds of interest, a specific set of physical properties, or a particular synthesis route, what you already know will help identify which information resources are best suited to help. The remainder of this book provides some description of the more commonly used chemical information resources designed to help the researcher determine which to use and how best to get started for various needs.

Given the complex nature of chemical compound characterization and the breadth of research fields that touch on chemistry, some types of chemical information are more complicated and require advanced searching methodologies. Good starting places and best practices for more specialized searching are detailed in the later chapters of this book. This is not a comprehensive sweep of all potential approaches to searching in chemistry, so as you specialize in your area of research, becoming thoroughly competent in the relevant advanced searching methodologies will be critical for a robust research program.

Reviewing and assessing the results requires an understanding of what additional relevant information may be available, evaluating new search leads, such as other associated compounds, and recognizing better index terms. Reviewing specific result records will indicate what can be expected in that information resource, and gives a sense of how structural, reaction or property information is encoded. To quote from the conclusion of the physical properties chapter: “important skills for a searcher are persistence, creativity, and a sense of what avenues are most likely to be successful and which ones are unproductive… not unlike the qualities of a good detective”. 21  

So what are some practical tips for mastering your work with the chemistry literature? At Cornell University, we have created a guide titled, “7 Ways to Be a More Efficient Chemist” that boils down several key activities you can set up right away to help yourself in the literature aspects of your research ( http://guides.library.cornell.edu/7chemistry , original guide by Kirsten Hensley, 2008). The guide points to specific resources at Cornell University, but the principles apply anywhere for any chemist at any stage of research.

1.3.2.1 Streamline Your Connections to the Literature Resources You Use Regularly So You Can Access Them Anywhere, Any Time, and from Any Device

Most research libraries have a proxy system in place for connecting to resources when you are off-campus; many also provide bookmarklets or apps for re-loading web pages with your institutional authentication so you can log in from anywhere. Set up bookmarks in your web browser of choice, or use a webroot or some other system with your most frequently and regularly used resources, using the links provided by your library, which should include the proxy authentication. Apps covering a variety of literature resources and searching options are also increasingly available if working on smaller mobile devices fits into your work style.

1.3.2.2 Organize the Hundreds of Articles and References You Collect in Your Literature Research

Many citation management programs are available with various organizational features and costs ranging from free to reasonable educational discounts. You can group references by topic, project or specific question you are researching. Most will import PDF files and some will pull out the bibliographic information for you so you can organize the papers. Some allow for collaborative work. Most literature databases will export references in formats directly importable to these programs; some programs can even be used to search other content or linked into directly.

1.3.2.3 Regularly Monitor the Contents of the Top Journals in Chemistry and Your Specific Sub-discipline Once You Start Actively Researching

Most scientific journals provide email or RSS feed alerts of issue content for free. JournalTOCs ( http://www.journaltocs.ac.uk/ ) collects thousands of feed links to scholarly journal tables of contents, and you can create groups of journals to monitor from this free service. If you are not familiar with the journals in a particular sub-discipline, you can get an initial list to start by exploring the Journal Citation Reports ISI Impact Factor rankings if your institution subscribes to this assessment tool. These rankings are based on numbers of citations to a journal relative to the number of articles published within a fixed time-frame, roughly indicating how much impact the research published therein is having on informing further research in a given area. Review journals tend to show the highest impact with this measure, as they are broad in scope and can be particularly helpful for reference when new to a research area.

1.3.2.4 Set up Alerts in the Literature Databases to Monitor New Research by Topic

This technique will cut across journals and other literature sources and allow you to zero in on specific methodologies or compounds of interest on a more specific level. Most databases, such as SciFinder, Web of Science, MEDLINE, etc. , offer alerts based on your searches of interest. You can also save searches and come back to them to build up a critical mass of literature in an area to export to your citation management program.

1.3.2.5 Read Books and Review Articles for Background Material

You will be expected to build up knowledge of various areas pretty quickly as you begin more research. These could be the state of current research areas, chemical reaction or other experimental methodologies, or potential for application. Treatises and review journals as mentioned above are available that cover all these types of information, as well as periodic review articles in primary journals for more specific or timely topics.

1.3.2.6 Be Familiar with the Options for Acquiring the Full Text of Articles through Your Library or Information Center

Most research libraries have fairly robust collections of electronic journals that will be directly available to you or will provide document delivery for needed articles. Finding these links among thousands of others will vary by local institution. No research library has direct access to all published literature, digital or hard copy, but there are a number of collaborative systems that research libraries use to make content available among institutions. Most libraries participate in some kind of inter-library loaning system for hard copy, photocopies, and increasingly for electronic content as well. Systems for article sharing tend to be national or international, many regional approaches also exist for books, including service from joint storage facilities.

1.3.2.7 Ask for Help from Librarians with All of the above Tasks and More

If we don’t know specifically how, we will find the right assistance for you. This is the top priority and core responsibility of the public services librarians in any library. Most research libraries will have librarians who specialize their service in key disciplines, including chemistry, which tends to be a literature-heavy discipline.

1.3.2.8 Bonus: Be Aware of Specialized Electronic Reference Resources for Reaction Specifications, Physical Properties, and other Scientific Data

More and more of the data supporting chemistry research are becoming available in online venues. The traditional reference collections in research libraries supporting chemistry tend to be expansive and well used but cumbersome and probably not as well discovered as they could be for supporting experimental and technical work. As these resources become more available online and libraries are able to support them, it can have a positive impact on your workflow.

Overall, remember that the library is intended to support your literature research, in accessing content, improving your searches, and helping you become a more efficient and better prepared chemist.

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1.3: Pure and Applied Research

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• Page ID 204155

• Elizabeth Gordon
• Furman University

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In science, we usually talk about two types of research: pure and applied. Pure research focuses on answering basic questions such as, "how do gases behave?" Applied research would be involved in the process of developing specific preparation for a gas in order for it to be produced and delivered efficiently and economically. This division sounds like it would be easy to make, but sometimes we cannot draw a clear line between what is "pure" and what is "applied".

Examples of "Pure" Research

A lot of "pure" research is of the "what is this?" or "how does it work?" variety. The early history of chemistry contains many examples. The ancient Greek philosophers debated the composition of matter (earth? air? fire? water? all of the above?). They weren't going to do anything with their knowledge - they just wanted to know.

Ancient Greek philosophers."A Greek Philosopher and His Disciples", Antonio Zucchi

Studies on the elements (especially after Mendeleev's periodic table was published) were primarily "pure" research types of experiments. Does this element exist? What are its properties? The scientists did not have any practical application in mind, but were curious about the world around them.

Examples of "Applied" Research (Technology)

There is a great deal of "applied" research taking place today. In general, no new science principles are discovered, but existing knowledge is used to develop a new product. A good example of this type of research is the application of x-rays in medicine. In the last 1800's, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered how to produce x-rays by using a cathode ray type. He noted that this new ray could go through the body. Realizing this, Röntgen believed that x-rays would be very helpful in diagnosing and determining disease and injury in the body.

Röntgen is the father of the X-ray. while working with experiments and procedures of previous scientists, Röntgen noticed that even through secured champers for light, and unknown energy was emitted that reacted with phosphorescent materials he was using in his experiments. his discovery and subsequent papers earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. He used his wife's hand to determine if the new rays could pass through the body.

Some "In-Between" Examples

Sometimes it is hard to differentiate between pure and applied research. What may start out as simply asking a question may result in some very useful information. If scientists are studying the biochemistry of a microorganism that causes a disease, they may soon find information that would suggest a way to make a chemical that would inactivate the microorganism. The compound could be used to learn more about the biochemistry, but could also be used to cure the disease.

Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen in the bloodstream. Scientists studied hemoglobin simply to learn how it worked. Out of this research came an understanding of how the protein changes shape when oxygen attaches to it. This information was then applied to help patients with sickle cell anemia, a disorder caused by an abnormal hemoglobin structure that makes hemoglobin molecules clump up when oxygen leaves the protein. Basic knowledge of protein structure led to an improved understanding of a wide-spread disease and opened the door for development of treatments.

What is an applied science or research is relative perspective depending on the field. Image used with permission (CC BY-NC 2.5; xkcd.com ).

Who Can Do Research?

Anyone can perform research, not just chemists, physicists, and other scientists. There are many opportunities to be a "citizen scientist." You can be a participant in research studies, work with others to design research, or even perform research as part of your work or personal life. How will you incorporate research in your life?

• Pure research focuses on understanding basic properties and processes.
• Applied research focuses on the use of information to create useful materials.
• Sometimes there is no clear line between pure and applied research.

Contributors

Elizabeth R. Gordon (Furman University)

Chemistry Research Guide

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Scholarly vs Popular Sources

Researching an assignment topic, research tips, empirical research, identifying empirical research, reading and analyzing information sources, atkins resources.

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The scope of the literature search and type of information required will depend on the requirements of the assignment.

Books provide a useful starting point for an introduction to the subject. Books generally also provide an in-depth coverage of a topic.

Journal articles : for current research or information on a very specific topic, journal articles may be the most useful, as they are published on a regular basis. it is normally expected that you will use some journal articles in your assignment., free web publications : useful information can also be found in free web publications from government or research organizations. any web publications should be carefully evaluated. you are also required to view the whole publication, not just the abstract, if using the information in your assignment., empirical research is research that is based on experimentation or observation, i.e. evidence.  such research is often conducted to answer a specific question or to test a hypothesis (educated guess)..

Research articles that consist of empirical research are written in a specific manner.    They are always divided into the following sections: title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references.   Each of these sections may be further divided into subsections.   One quick way to determine if you are looking at an article that consists of empirical research is to see if it has these sections.

Title – offers a brief description of the research and includes the author(s).

Abstract – is a brief but comprehensive summary of the research, usually a paragraph long.  .

Introduction – this section gives background information about the research problem.   It often includes information on similar studies, explains the reason(s) for conducting the research and offers any additional information that might be needed to understand the research problem or research that is being described in the paper.   Sometimes the Introduction section isn’t titled, but it is always present.

Methods – gives a detailed description of how the research was conducted.   Some methods that could be used include surveying, experimentation and observation.   This is occasionally titled Methodology instead.

Results – the ‘answer’ to the research question.   the results section shows, describes and analyzes the data found by the research., discussion – discusses the implications of the results found.   the discussion section may also compare, contrast and discuss the data obtained to other research articles on similar topics.   it is sometimes called the conclusion or divided into a ‘discussion’ section and a ‘conclusion’ section ., references – is a list of citations for other books, journal articles, reports or studies mentioned in the article. sometimes called works cited or bibliography..

 Various phrases or keywords can identify articles that use empirical or qualitative research.  These include:

• How to Read Scientific Articles This link provides strategies for the active reading of an article.
• Critical Appraisal of Information Should the chosen material be included as a resource? Use this information to do a critical review of each item.
• Evaluating Information A guide for evaluating information from various sources.
• Case study: Reading a Primary Research Article from Plant Physiology Illustrative process of evaluating an article from the journal, Plant Physiology
• International Centre for Allied Health Evidence Critical Appraisal Tools A list of links to critical appraisal tools designed to be used when reading research. more... less... University of South Australia
• Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Critical Appraisal Tools Information and worksheets to assist in critical appraisal of clinical research papers
• Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine CATmaker CEBM's computer-assisted critical appraisal software for the creation of Critically Appraised Topics
• Research Evaluation for Computer Science A viewpoint regarding the computer science research culture and bibliometrics. Note that ISI has changed to the Journal Citation Reports found in the Web of Science.

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The synthesis behind the 2023 Nobel Prize

In 1993, a new route for the synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals was reported that exploited organometallic chemistry to afford nearly monodisperse particles. 30 years later the award of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry can be directly traced to this single publication.

Catalytically faster power

Improving zinc–air batteries is challenging due to kinetics and limited electrochemical reversibility, partly attributed to sluggish four-electron redox chemistry. Now, substantial strides are noted with two-electron redox chemistry and catalysts, resulting in unprecedentedly stable zinc–air batteries with 61% energy efficiencies.

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Types of Research – Explained with Examples

• By DiscoverPhDs
• October 2, 2020

Types of Research

Research is about using established methods to investigate a problem or question in detail with the aim of generating new knowledge about it.

It is a vital tool for scientific advancement because it allows researchers to prove or refute hypotheses based on clearly defined parameters, environments and assumptions. Due to this, it enables us to confidently contribute to knowledge as it allows research to be verified and replicated.

Knowing the types of research and what each of them focuses on will allow you to better plan your project, utilises the most appropriate methodologies and techniques and better communicate your findings to other researchers and supervisors.

Classification of Types of Research

There are various types of research that are classified according to their objective, depth of study, analysed data, time required to study the phenomenon and other factors. It’s important to note that a research project will not be limited to one type of research, but will likely use several.

According to its Purpose

Theoretical research.

Theoretical research, also referred to as pure or basic research, focuses on generating knowledge , regardless of its practical application. Here, data collection is used to generate new general concepts for a better understanding of a particular field or to answer a theoretical research question.

Results of this kind are usually oriented towards the formulation of theories and are usually based on documentary analysis, the development of mathematical formulas and the reflection of high-level researchers.

Applied Research

Here, the goal is to find strategies that can be used to address a specific research problem. Applied research draws on theory to generate practical scientific knowledge, and its use is very common in STEM fields such as engineering, computer science and medicine.

This type of research is subdivided into two types:

• Technological applied research : looks towards improving efficiency in a particular productive sector through the improvement of processes or machinery related to said productive processes.
• Scientific applied research : has predictive purposes. Through this type of research design, we can measure certain variables to predict behaviours useful to the goods and services sector, such as consumption patterns and viability of commercial projects.

According to your Depth of Scope

Exploratory research.

Exploratory research is used for the preliminary investigation of a subject that is not yet well understood or sufficiently researched. It serves to establish a frame of reference and a hypothesis from which an in-depth study can be developed that will enable conclusive results to be generated.

Because exploratory research is based on the study of little-studied phenomena, it relies less on theory and more on the collection of data to identify patterns that explain these phenomena.

Descriptive Research

The primary objective of descriptive research is to define the characteristics of a particular phenomenon without necessarily investigating the causes that produce it.

In this type of research, the researcher must take particular care not to intervene in the observed object or phenomenon, as its behaviour may change if an external factor is involved.

Explanatory Research

Explanatory research is the most common type of research method and is responsible for establishing cause-and-effect relationships that allow generalisations to be extended to similar realities. It is closely related to descriptive research, although it provides additional information about the observed object and its interactions with the environment.

Correlational Research

The purpose of this type of scientific research is to identify the relationship between two or more variables. A correlational study aims to determine whether a variable changes, how much the other elements of the observed system change.

According to the Type of Data Used

Qualitative research.

Qualitative methods are often used in the social sciences to collect, compare and interpret information, has a linguistic-semiotic basis and is used in techniques such as discourse analysis, interviews, surveys, records and participant observations.

In order to use statistical methods to validate their results, the observations collected must be evaluated numerically. Qualitative research, however, tends to be subjective, since not all data can be fully controlled. Therefore, this type of research design is better suited to extracting meaning from an event or phenomenon (the ‘why’) than its cause (the ‘how’).

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research study delves into a phenomena through quantitative data collection and using mathematical, statistical and computer-aided tools to measure them . This allows generalised conclusions to be projected over time.

According to the Degree of Manipulation of Variables

Experimental research.

It is about designing or replicating a phenomenon whose variables are manipulated under strictly controlled conditions in order to identify or discover its effect on another independent variable or object. The phenomenon to be studied is measured through study and control groups, and according to the guidelines of the scientific method.

Non-Experimental Research

Also known as an observational study, it focuses on the analysis of a phenomenon in its natural context. As such, the researcher does not intervene directly, but limits their involvement to measuring the variables required for the study. Due to its observational nature, it is often used in descriptive research.

Quasi-Experimental Research

It controls only some variables of the phenomenon under investigation and is therefore not entirely experimental. In this case, the study and the focus group cannot be randomly selected, but are chosen from existing groups or populations . This is to ensure the collected data is relevant and that the knowledge, perspectives and opinions of the population can be incorporated into the study.

According to the Type of Inference

Deductive investigation.

In this type of research, reality is explained by general laws that point to certain conclusions; conclusions are expected to be part of the premise of the research problem and considered correct if the premise is valid and the inductive method is applied correctly.

Inductive Research

In this type of research, knowledge is generated from an observation to achieve a generalisation. It is based on the collection of specific data to develop new theories.

Hypothetical-Deductive Investigation

It is based on observing reality to make a hypothesis, then use deduction to obtain a conclusion and finally verify or reject it through experience.

According to the Time in Which it is Carried Out

Longitudinal study (also referred to as diachronic research).

It is the monitoring of the same event, individual or group over a defined period of time. It aims to track changes in a number of variables and see how they evolve over time. It is often used in medical, psychological and social areas .

Cross-Sectional Study (also referred to as Synchronous Research)

Cross-sectional research design is used to observe phenomena, an individual or a group of research subjects at a given time.

According to The Sources of Information

Primary research.

This fundamental research type is defined by the fact that the data is collected directly from the source, that is, it consists of primary, first-hand information.

Secondary research

Unlike primary research, secondary research is developed with information from secondary sources, which are generally based on scientific literature and other documents compiled by another researcher.

According to How the Data is Obtained

Documentary (cabinet).

Documentary research, or secondary sources, is based on a systematic review of existing sources of information on a particular subject. This type of scientific research is commonly used when undertaking literature reviews or producing a case study.

Field research study involves the direct collection of information at the location where the observed phenomenon occurs.

From Laboratory

Laboratory research is carried out in a controlled environment in order to isolate a dependent variable and establish its relationship with other variables through scientific methods.

Mixed-Method: Documentary, Field and/or Laboratory

Mixed research methodologies combine results from both secondary (documentary) sources and primary sources through field or laboratory research.

This post explains where and how to write the list of figures in your thesis or dissertation.

In this post you’ll learn what the significance of the study means, why it’s important, where and how to write one in your paper or thesis with an example.

The scope and delimitations of a thesis, dissertation or paper define the topic and boundaries of a research problem – learn how to form them.

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The scope of the study is defined at the start of the study. It is used by researchers to set the boundaries and limitations within which the research study will be performed.

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The 5 Main Branches of Chemistry

One of Several Ways Chemistry Can Be Divided Into Categories

ThoughtCo / Derek Abella 

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• Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
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There are many branches of chemistry or chemistry disciplines. The five main branches are organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and biochemistry.

Branches of Chemistry

• Traditionally, the five main branches of chemistry are organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and biochemistry. However, sometimes biochemistry is considered a subdiscipline of organic chemistry.
• The branches of chemistry overlap those of physics and biology. There is also some overlap with engineering.
• Within each major discipline there are many subdivisions.

What Is Chemistry?

Chemistry, like physics and biology, is a natural science. In fact, there is considerable overlap between chemistry and these other disciplines. Chemistry is a science that studies matter. This includes atoms, compounds, chemical reactions, and chemical bonds. Chemists explore the properties of matter, its structure, and how it interacts with other matter.

Overview of the 5 Branches of Chemistry

• Organic Chemistry : Organic chemistry is the study of carbon and its compounds . It is the study of the chemistry of life and reactions occurring in living organisms. An organic chemistry might study organic reactions, the structure and properties of organic molecules, polymers, drugs, or fuels.
• Inorganic Chemistry : Inorganic chemistry is the study of compounds not covered by organic chemistry. It is the study of inorganic compounds, or compounds that don't contain a C-H bond. A few inorganic compounds do contain carbon, but most contain metals. Topics of interest to inorganic chemists include ionic compounds, organometallic compounds, minerals, cluster compounds, and solid-state compounds.
• Analytical Chemistry : Analytical chemistry is the study of the chemistry of matter and the development of tools to measure properties of matter. Analytical chemistry includes quantitative and qualitative analysis, separations, extractions, distillation, spectrometry and spectroscopy, chromatography, and electrophoresis. Analytical chemists develop standards, chemical methods, and instrumental methods.
• Physical Chemistry: Physical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that applies physics to the study of chemistry, which commonly includes the applications of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics to chemistry.
• Biochemistry : Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes that occur inside of living organisms. Examples of key molecules include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, drugs, and neurotransmitters. Sometimes this discipline is considered a subdiscipline of organic chemistry. Biochemistry is closely related to molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics.

Other Branches of Chemistry

There are other ways chemistry can be divided into categories. Depending on who you ask, other disciplines might be included as a main branch of chemistry. Other examples of branches of chemistry include:

• Astrochemistry : Astrochemistry examines the abundance of elements and compounds in the universe, their reactions with each other, and the interaction between radiation and matter.
• Chemical Kinetics : Chemical kinetics (or simply "kinetics") studies the rates of chemical reactions and processes and the factors that affect them.
• Electrochemistry : Electrochemistry examines the movement of charge in chemical systems. Often, electrons are the charge carrier, but the discipline also investigates the behavior of ions and protons.
• Green Chemistry : Green chemistry looks at ways of minimizing the environmental impact of chemical processes. This includes remediation as well as ways of improving processes to make them more eco-friendly.
• Geochemistry : Geochemistry examines the nature and properties of geological materials and processes.
• Nuclear Chemistry : While most forms of chemistry mainly deal with interactions between electrons in atoms and molecules, nuclear chemistry explores the reactions between protons, neutrons, and subatomic particles.
• Polymer Chemistry : Polymer chemistry deals with the synthesis and properties of macromolecules and polymers.
• Quantum Chemistry : Quantum chemistry applies quantum mechanics to model and explore chemical systems.
• Radiochemistry : Radiochemistry explores the nature of radioisotopes, the effects of radiation on matter, and the synthesis of radioactive elements and compounds.
• Theoretical Chemistry : Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that applies mathematics, physics, and computer programming to answer chemistry questions.
• Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
• Laidler, Keith (1993). The World of Physical Chemistry . Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-855919-4.
• Skoog, Douglas A.; Holler, F. James; Crouch, Stanley R. (2007). Principles of Instrumental Analysis . Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Thomson. ISBN 978-0-495-01201-6.
• Sørensen, Torben Smith (1999). Surface Chemistry and Electrochemistry of Membranes . CRC Press. ISBN 0-8247-1922-0.
• Streitwieser, Andrew; Heathcock, Clayton H.; Kosower, Edward M. (2017). Introduction to Organic Chemistry . New Delhi: Medtech. ISBN 978-93-85998-89-8.
• Overview of the Branches of Chemistry
• Periodic Table Definition in Chemistry
• Chemistry Major Courses
• Medicinal Chemistry Definition
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• What Is Inorganic Chemistry and Why Does It Matter?
• The Different Fields of Physics
• General Chemistry Topics
• Chemistry 101 - Introduction & Index of Topics
• What Is the Hardest Chemistry Class?
• Best Quotes About Chemistry
• Topics Typically Covered in Grade 11 Chemistry
• AP Chemistry Course and Exam Topics
• Engineering Branches List
• Teach Yourself Chemistry Today
• What Is the Definition of a Solid?

RSC Advances

Progress in process parameters and mechanism research of polymer emulsion preparation.

* Corresponding authors

a Hunan Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Novel and Carbon Neutral Road Material, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha 410114, China

b Science and Technology Affairs Center of Hunan Province, Changsha, China E-mail: [email protected]

c College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

d Huaihua Dongxing Concrete Co., Ltd, Huaihua 418000, China E-mail: [email protected]

As a new type of concrete admixture, polymer emulsion is mainly used to strengthen the properties of concrete by adhesion and physical and chemical crosslinking with cement in concrete. Under the background of construction in the new era, it is of great significance to elucidate all aspects of concrete performance under the action of polymer emulsion. In this paper, the main formation process of polymer emulsion is reviewed, the influence of synthetic materials required for polymerization on the polymerization process is discussed, and the regulating effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, admixtures, and treatment methods on the synthesis process of polymer emulsion are analyzed. The action mechanism of polymer emulsion on concrete was deeply investigated, and the synthesis method was studied to provide an important experimental and theoretical basis for the preparation of new emulsion materials and the process of emulsion polymerization. The problems of polymer emulsion raw materials, synthetic conditions, and synthetic methods are introduced. The future development trend of polymer emulsion is predicted and the future research ideas are put forward.

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S. Xiang, Z. Cheng, W. Shi, T. Zheng, Yingli gao, J. Zhang and L. Huang, RSC Adv. , 2024,  14 , 16024 DOI: 10.1039/D4RA01844C

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Frozen human brain tissue can now be revived without damage

Using a new approach, scientists have successfully frozen and thawed brain organoids and cubes of brain tissue from someone with epilepsy, which could enable better research into neurological conditions

By Christa Lesté-Lasserre

15 May 2024

Thawed brain organoids shown via an imaging technique called immunofluorescence staining

Weiwei Xue et al.

A new technique has allowed scientists to freeze human brain tissue so that it regains normal function after thawing, potentially opening the door to improved ways of studying neurological conditions.

Brain tissue doesn’t usually survive freezing and thawing, a problem that has significantly hindered medical research. In an effort to overcome this, Zhicheng Shao at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, and his colleagues used human embryonic stem cells to grow self-organising brain samples, known as organoids, for three weeks — long enough for the development of neurons and neural stem cells that can become different kinds of functional brain cells.

The researchers then placed these organoids — which measured 4 millimetres across on average — in different chemical compounds, such as sugars and antifreeze, that they suspected might help keep the brain cells alive while frozen and able to grow after being thawed.

Restoring the brain’s mitochondria could slow ageing and end dementia

After storing these organoids in liquid nitrogen for at least 24 hours, the team thawed them and looked for cell death or the growth of neurites — the “branches” of nerve cells — over the following two weeks.

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The combination that led to the least cell death and most growth was a blend of chemical compounds called methylcellulose, ethylene glycol, DMSO and Y27632 — which the scientists named “MEDY”. They suspect MEDY interferes with a pathway that otherwise programs cellular death.

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We are finally starting to understand brain fog and how to treat it

Being able to freeze human brain tissues could lead to better investigations of brain development in the lab for health research, says Roman Bauer at the University of Surrey in the UK.

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Journal reference:

Cell Reports Methods DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100777

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How to make ubiquitous plastics biodegradable

Understanding the function of a specific bacterial enzyme has paved the way for the biotechnological degradation of styrene.

Polystyrene is made from styrene building blocks and is the most widely used plastic in terms of volume, for example in packaging. Unlike PET, which can now be produced and recycled using biotechnological methods, the production of polystyrene has so far been a purely chemical process. The plastic can't be broken down by biotechnological means, either. Researchers are looking for ways to rectify this: An international team headed by Dr. Xiaodan Li from the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, in collaboration with Professor Dirk Tischler, head of the Microbial Biotechnology research group at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, has decoded a bacterial enzyme that plays a key role in styrene degradation. This paves the way for biotechnological application. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Chemistry on May, 14, 2024.

Styrene in the environment

"Several million tons of styrene are produced and transported every year," says Dirk Tischler. "In the process, some of it also gets released unintentionally into the environment." This is not the only source of styrene in the environment, however: It occurs naturally in coal tar and lignite tar, can occur in traces in essential oils from some plants and is formed during the decomposition of plant material. "It is therefore not surprising that microorganisms have learned to handle or even to metabolize it," says the researcher.

Fast, but complex: microbial styrene degradation

Bacteria and fungi, as well as the human body, activate styrene with the help of oxygen and form styrene oxide. While styrene itself is toxic, styrene oxide is even more harmful. Rapid metabolization is therefore crucial. "In some microorganisms as well as in the human body, the epoxide formed by this process usually undergoes glutathione conjugation, which makes it both more water-soluble and easier to break down and excrete," explains Dirk Tischler. "This process is very fast, but also very expensive for the cells. A glutathione molecule has to be sacrificed for every molecule of styrene oxide."

The formation of the glutathione conjugate and whether, or rather how, glutathione can be recovered is part of current research at the MiCon Graduate School at Ruhr University Bochum, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Some microorganisms have developed a more efficient variant. They use a small membrane protein, namely styrene oxide isomerase, to break down the epoxide.

Styrene oxide isomerases are more efficient

"Even after the first enrichment of styrene oxide isomerase from the soil bacterium Rhodococcus, we observed its reddish color and showed that this enzyme is bound in the membrane," explains Dirk Tischler. Over the years, he and his team have studied various enzymes of the family and used them primarily in biocatalysis. All of these styrene oxide isomerases have a high catalytic efficiency, are very fast and don't require any additional substances (co-substrates). They therefore allow rapid detoxification of the toxic styrene oxide in the organism and also a potent biotechnological application in the field of fine chemical synthesis.

"In order to optimize the latter, we do need to understand their function," points out Dirk Tischler. "We made considerable progress in this area in our international collaboration between researchers from Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands and Germany." The team showed that the enzyme exists in nature as a trimer with three identical units. The structural analyses revealed that there is a heme cofactor between each subunit and that this is loaded with an iron ion. The heme forms an essential part of the so-called active pocket and is relevant for the fixation and conversion of the substrate. The iron ion of the heme cofactor activates the substrate by coordinating the oxygen atom of the styrene oxide. "This means that a new biological function of heme in proteins has been comprehensively described," concludes Dirk Tischler.

• Biochemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Alternative Fuels
• Geochemistry
• Environmental Policy
• Environmental Science
• Hazardous Waste
• Polyethylene
• Model rocket
• Economic growth
• Water rocket
• Biodegradation
• Dead zone (ecology)

Story Source:

Materials provided by Ruhr-University Bochum . Original written by Meike Drießen. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Basavraj Khanppnavar, Joel P. S. Choo, Peter-Leon Hagedoorn, Grigory Smolentsev, Saša Štefanić, Selvapravin Kumaran, Dirk Tischler, Fritz K. Winkler, Volodymyr M. Korkhov, Zhi Li, Richard A. Kammerer, Xiaodan Li. Structural basis of the Meinwald rearrangement catalysed by styrene oxide isomerase . Nature Chemistry , 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41557-024-01523-y

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