1) All good things must come to an end, so the saying goes. And just like that, my summer research is drawing to a close. It has been an absolute privilege working at the Apjohn Chemistry Research Laboratory, under my Principal Investigator, Dr. Darren Griffith.
2) Less than two months ago, I started work here as a summer research student, under the RCSI Research Summer School programme. My project was entitled, "Novel Bismuth Compounds as Potential Antimicrobial Drugs". We wanted to combine the antimicrobial properties of bismuth with the Fe-binding properties of iron chelators.
3) And here to help me throughout that journey was Mr. Donal Keogan, a final year PhD student. Under their superb tutelage and guidance, my love for chemistry and research as a whole grew. I've a newfound appreciation for the researchers working long shifts in the labs; uncertain if their reactions would turn out successful or not.
4) Most of the time, my day would begin at around 9.00am, where I'd set up an experiment. Sometimes analysis of a product was required, so we'd head over to York House to do mass spectrometry or NMR spectroscopy. Other analytical methods such as X-ray crystallography and elemental analysis had to be sent off to various labs for testing, as we didn't have the required facilities.
5) I'll cherish the growth and progress that I've made throughout my eight week tenure here. I vividly remember being unable to recall any of the reactions that I had done, to learning how to write them on my gloves, and finally being able to draw the structures of the compounds themselves from memory. Thin layer chromatography (RF values), separation using separating funnel (Partition coefficients), vacuum filtration, reflux, mass spec (molecular ion peak) and NMR spectroscopy - these were things whose theory we learnt in A-levels, but now I had the first hand experience of carrying them out in the labs.
6) At the end of the day, research in the labs has provided me with a different perspective on what goes on behind the scenes of every prescribed pill. I understand better how researchers working at the forefront of drug discovery would complement the very doctors who are the first line of contact for patients. And given a chance, I would love nothing better than to pursue this avenue of research to greater depth. Here's keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a great day. Cheers!
Donal, Me, Dr. Griffith
Aptly arranged alcoholic aperitif => craic = 90
Beef goulash at AK Henry's today
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