4 ECTS credits
120 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4023305FNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.
The student teams will select one of the proposed topics and they will independently carry out the study during the first halve of the second semester of the Master of Science program. The proposed topics are directly related to actual research projects which are running in the department of Chemistry.
On the experimental (i.e. chemical synthesis) side, example of topics include the (asymmetric) synthesis of custom non-canonical amino acids, the preparation of medicinal chemistry-relevant scaffolds/templates, transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions carried out on the above templates, or more complex biomolecules such as peptides or oligonucleotides. Further topics could be the preparation of an organocatalyst starting from the chiral pool or the synthesis of a stable analogue of a reactive intermediate.
Insight into the experimental results will be gained through the expert use of state-of-the-art computational modeling.
Methods used can range from classical force field methods (for larger systems of interest) to ab initio methods, both in a static or a dynamic approach. Relevant calculations might involve the study of molecular structures, reactivity indices (atomic charges, electrostatic potentials, frontier molecular orbital), reaction paths and transition states, molecular properties or spectroscopic properties (IR frequencies, NMR chemical shifts and NMR coupling constants).
AIM:
These approximately ten days of integrated practical sessions have the general aim to put all theoretical subject matter of the first semester into practice. Importantly, the students will not only set-up computational protocols of hypothetical molecules, but a direct coupling to synthesized organic molecules will be made. Teams of 2 or 3 students will receive a topic which needs to be explored theoretically, but also practically by means of chemical synthesis. As such, the students will be able to carry out specific reactions steps and fundamentally understand the experimental outcome of the chemical steps.
The student has a clear understanding of the chemical procedures and laboratory techniques needed to carry out the synthetic steps;
The student is able to make a risk assessment of the chemical steps and hence he/she is able to safely perform the experiments;
The student can expertly setup an appropriate state-of-the-art computational protocol to gain insight into and fundamentally understand the obtained experimental data;
The student can correctly interpret the results from computational methods.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
PRAC Report determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the PRAC Report category, the following assignments need to be completed:
As a team, the students submit a comprehensive report (circa 10 pages) including all experimental data and the associated theoretical calculations/modeling data. Additionally, a brief introduction of the scientific problem needs to be included, as well as a concise conclusion.
The submitted report accounts for 100% of the end grade.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Chemistry: Chemical Theory, (Bio)Molecular Design and Synthesis