Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010 - (Page 26)

Building a Better Hydrogel by Charles Ecker Nanobiotechnology at UConn’s Mentor Connection N THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT’S engineering building, my two lab partners and I waited anxiously in the nanobiotechnology lab. It was the first day in UConn’s Mentor Connection program, and we were about to learn to use equipment none of us recognized from our high school labs. A giant fan hummed in the background. The overhead lights shone brightly on the lab table, focusing our attention on the materials before us: red and blue solutions in containers of various shapes and sizes. One of our mentors, engineering professor Yong Wang, began stirring the liquids. Matt Snipes, his lab assistant, readied the encapsulation unit, a machine that would turn these liquids into tiny gel discs. The three of us I watched, fascinated, as the hydrogels emerged. Among other projects, Dr. Wang’s lab is working on creating hydrogels to deliver nanoscale drugs to specific areas within the body. And for the next three weeks, we would be learning how to make them. Immersed in Science I learned about the UConn Mentor Connection program while searching online for summer research opportunities in the spring of my sophomore year in high school. I read that participants live on campus in the UConn dormitories, work with university scientists in their labs, and choose from about 30 research topics. ck iSto 26 imagine L-R: The encapsulation unit that Charles and his lab mates used to turn liquid solutions into gel discs; newly created hydrogels from the encapsulation unit; hydrogels as they appeared under the lab’s microscope; Charles measures and photographs hydrogels with a high-powered microscope. Sept/Oct 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010

Imagine Magazine - John Hopkins - September/October 2010
Contents
Big Questions
Big Picture
In My Own Words
Biotechnology is
A Survival Guide for the Biotech Revolution
The Indiana Jones of Biotech
Stemming the Monster
Transgenic Animals
Building a Better Hydrogel
Immortal Cells & Bioethics
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Nights at the Museum
One Step Ahead
Middle Ground
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2010