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The Chemistry of a PhD

The Chemistry of a PhD

Ramblings of a Drug Discovery PhD student who should really be in the lab or writing her thesis.

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Posted on March 31, 2019March 25, 2019

PhD Update: 2019 Q1

This is the last year I’ll be spending in the lab before writing up my PhD next year. I thought it would be useful for me to blog where I am now and what I still need to do in terms of my research about once a quarter. Now that we’re at the end of …

Continue reading "PhD Update: 2019 Q1"

About me

Hi there! Thank you for visiting my blog. My name is Fiona Scott. I am a PhD student at Sussex Drug Discovery Centre, based at University of Sussex on the south coast of the UK. I enjoy sharing my love of science and the highs and lows of PhD life on this blog – and also on Twitter and Instagram.

 

Instagram @thechemistryofaphd

👩🏻‍🔬Goodbye lab!👩🏻‍🔬 This morning I ran a couple of final analytical tests on a few compound samples then I packed up my desk and left uni. I’m officially out of the lab! From now on I’m writing up full-time and hoping to get my thesis together in a few months time. I didn’t feel overly sentimental hanging up my lab coat which confirms for me that for now, my next job shouldn’t be in a lab. While I do enjoy aspects of the practical nature of “wet” chemistry, there have been a lot of unenjoyable moments faffing around with experiments. I feel at peace with not continuing with a role at the bench at the moment. I’ve brought a load of new molecules into existence over these past few years and have added to the knowledge of what molecules can or can’t be made using certain recipes. I don’t need to keep doing that for the rest of my life if it’s not something I overly enjoy. I think I’ll be sticking to recipes in the kitchen for now - I never get to taste what I made in the lab. I left uni on a huge high but once I got home the exhaustion of the last few weeks really set in. I’m focusing on packing up my flat for the next day or so then hopefully I’ll be good to start writing very soon! How has your Monday been? Have you ever decided to walk away from a particular career path?
We’ve known about sulfur sing prehistoric times and its name has two possible origins: Sanskrit “sulvere” or the Latin “sulfurium”. The most common form of sulfur looks like yellow crystals or powder. If fellow Brits are confused why I’m spelling it “sulfur” instead of “sulphur”, the former has actually been the IUPAC (chemistry overlords) approved spelling for quite some time. Element number 16 is really important for life. There are two essential sulfur-containing amino acids in our proteins/enzymes. Essential amino acids are ones that we cannot make ourselves. We contain, on average about 140 g of sulfur and take in about 1 g a day mainly from other protein sources. Plants and algae take up sulfur in the form of sulfates found in soil/sea water. Commercially, sulfur is used to vulcanise black rubber. It is also used as a fungicide to treat fungal growth and in black gunpowder. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is the main product we use sulfur for, an important ingredient for making fertiliser. Eggy-smelling organosulfur compounds contain carbon-sulfur (C-S) bonds, some of which are added to odourless natural gas to make us take notice in the event of a leak! Paper can be bleached and food can be preserved using sulfites (SO3^2-). Sulfates (SO4^2-), which have a slightly different sulfur/oxygen ratio are used in many surfactants found in soaps and detergents. Cement and plaster also contain calcium sulfate, also known as gypsum. Sulfates are non-toxic, as is the pure element sulfur itself however carbon disulfide (CS2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are toxic to us. When SO2 is released in the atmosphere from burning unpurified fossil fuels, it can dissolve in the water vapour to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) i.e. acid rain which can destroy architecture and natural habitats. What’s your favourite element? How are you marking #IYPT2019 ? Let me know in the comments below. #atom #atoms #element #elements #internationalyearoftheperiodictable #pblock #chemistry #periodictable #mendeleev #scienceblog #scienceblogger #scicomm #postitperiodictable #sciencecommunication #featurethechemistry #sulfur #sulphur
🚨You couldn’t make it up🚨 Today was supposed to be my penultimate day in the lab. Instead, we have experienced an unexpected lab shut down so I haven’t been able to tidy away my lab space as planned. The reason the lab has been shut down is this bubble wrapped monstrosity here. The broken fire alarm I mentioned in my stories this morning is still going off and @see_llp campus maintenance have thus far failed to fix it. The lab is deemed unsafe to work in because we can’t raise the alarm in the event of a real fire. It’s less than ideal timing. The bubble wrap is an attempt to mute the noise of the alarm as it’s right outside our office. Most of my colleagues have gone home but I’m trying my best to do bits and pieces in the other lab and drown out the noise in my office with Christmas tunes. PhDs have their ups and downs and this certainly feels like a bit of a low moment. I was doing so well with wrapping up and I’m gutted that’s been stopped by a stupid siren. Hope you’re having a better day than I am. What’s the most irritating noise you can think of?
Oxygen is another blockbuster of the periodic table. It reacts with most things to form oxides and keeps us alive! Element number 8 was discovered in 1774 by two people independently: Joseph Priestly in the UK and Carl Wilhelm Scheele in Sweden. Its name comes from the Greek words “oxy” and “genes” which, when combined, mean “acid forming”. A carboxylic acid possessed the following arrangement of atoms – COOH – which is maybe where that name comes from. Pure oxygen exists in our atmosphere in two forms: Firstly, O2, which we breathe in as a key ingredient of respiration processes in our bodies that convert glucose and oxygen to CO2 and energy. It makes up about 21% of our atmosphere. Oxygen is a key ingredient in our bodies. About 2/3rds of the average human is made up of oxygen by mass and nearly half of the earth’s crust – in the form ox metal oxides and other minerals. Secondly, O3, ozone, forms a protective blanket in our atmosphere to prevent harmful radiation from the sun getting into the earth. Unfortunately manmade activities have damaged this layer but it foes seem to be recovering now that clorofluorinated carbons (CFCs) have been largely banned, which react with ozone. Besides keeping us alive, O2 is primary used to produce commercial steel, nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (HOOH). It is also used to make antifreeze (ethylene oxide, C2H2O) and polymers like polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyester used to make different plastics. Oxygen gas (O2) is also used in welding and to cut metals and increasingly, is use in sewage. Around 2 billion years ago, oxygen is believed to have appeared in the earth’s atmosphere due to algae finally working out how to carry out photsynthesis. This process involves using energy from the sun to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is able to dissolve in water and allows life that needs oxygen to survive to thrive in water. What’s your favourite element? How are you marking #IYPT2019 ? Let me know in the comments below. #atom #atoms #element #elements #internationalyearoftheperiodictable #chemistry #periodictable #mendeleev #scicomm #postitperiodictable #sciencecommunication #featurethechemistry #oxygen

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  • PhD Update: 2019 Q3 October 7, 2019
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  • PhD Update: 2019 Q2 July 11, 2019
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  • PhD Update: 2019 Q1 March 31, 2019
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