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Fats’ love–hate relationships: a molecular dynamics simulation and hands-on experiment outreach activity to introduce the amphiphilic nature and biological functions of lipids to young students and the general public
File | Description | Size | Format | ||
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![]() | Accepted version | 13.37 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open | |
![]() | Supporting information | 19.17 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open | |
ed9b00776_si_003.mp4 | Supporting information | 14.86 MB | Unknown | View/Open | |
Title: | Fats’ love–hate relationships: a molecular dynamics simulation and hands-on experiment outreach activity to introduce the amphiphilic nature and biological functions of lipids to young students and the general public |
Authors: | Tascini, AS Wang, S Seddon, JM Bresme, F Chen, R |
Item Type: | Journal Article |
Abstract: | Lipids are fundamental components of biological organisms and have important applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. Thus, it is important that young students and the general public properly understand the basic properties of lipids and how these relate to their biological and industrial roles. Here, we use molecular dynamics computer simulations and a simple, safe, and inexpensive popular hands-on activity, to communicate to participants why and how lipid molecules play a fundamental role in all living organisms and in our bodies. The activity is called “Fats’ Love–Hate Relationships”, to highlight how the different parts of amphiphilic lipids interact with water. This “love–hate relationship” is vital to the biological functions of lipids and drives the formation of lipid structures that can be visualized at molecular scale with the computer simulations. The participants were encouraged to investigate the interactions between milk lipids and soap surfactants, creating beautiful complex artwork that they could then take home. The hands-on activity was accompanied by a video of a molecular simulation that illustrates milk–soap interactions at a molecular scale and helps to explain how the amphiphilicity of lipids creates the beautiful artwork at a molecular level. The outreach activity has been performed in science festivals and in classrooms and has been well received by participants of all ages with multiple learner comprehension levels (primary and secondary school students and the general public). By combining molecular simulation, explanations of the amphiphilic structure of the lipids, and an engaging hands-on activity, we explained how lipids interact with water and surfactants and inspired discussions on the link between the structure of the lipids and their biological function, namely, their structural and protective roles as a key component of cell membranes. |
Issue Date: | 12-May-2020 |
Date of Acceptance: | 1-Apr-2020 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/78078 |
DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00776 |
ISSN: | 0021-9584 |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society (ACS) |
Start Page: | 1360 |
End Page: | 1367 |
Journal / Book Title: | Journal of Chemical Education |
Volume: | 97 |
Issue: | 5 |
Copyright Statement: | © 2020 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Chemical Education, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00776 |
Sponsor/Funder: | Commission of the European Communities Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) |
Funder's Grant Number: | 608184 EP/J003859/1 |
Keywords: | 03 Chemical Sciences 13 Education Education |
Publication Status: | Published |
Article Number: | acs.jchemed.9b00776 |
Online Publication Date: | 2020-04-13 |
Appears in Collections: | Chemistry Chemical Engineering Faculty of Natural Sciences Faculty of Engineering |