CHEM 360: BIOCHEMISTRY 3D PRINTING (1 credit hour)
Prerequisites: CHEM/BIO 361 or equivalent.
3D Printing has become a significant step in learning and discovering in science, and other institutes are getting ahead about this. JMU, therefore, should develop its education system by offering this CHEM 360 (Biochemistry 3D Printing) course.
Course Description: This course is a one credit elective course for students who are interested in advancing their knowledge in the Biochemistry. The course provides students an opportunity to put their knowledge into the touchable 3D objects, which will help them to have a better understanding about the concepts in Biochemistry. The focus of the course is to build the 3D organic and inorganic molecular models that can be applied into learning the chemical reactions in living systems.
Course Objectives: Students’ success will be determined according to the following abilities:
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Students are familiar with the softwares used in class (Thinkercard and Autodesk 123D) , and are able to create their own 3D printed models.
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Students know, and are able to follow the safety rules while working with mechanics in the class.
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Students are able to apply the printed models in describing and learning the concepts learned in the lecture class.
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Students complete the final project, which is printing their own molecular kit.
Methods: The Biochemistry 3D printing classroom will have ten stations and each station will be comprised of two students so that each student can have extended hands-on experience with creating and printing 3D molecular structures.The 3D printer at each station will be the CubeX Trio. The CubeX Trio is the largest print volume in its class and it can make basketball-sized prints. It is the only desktop 3D printer proven triple-color and multi-material printing which will be useful when printing different colored molecular structures. The CubeX is in durable ABS or sustainable PLA and has up to 9 different print modes which makes it very efficient. Despite its high-Tech features it is very easy to use.
Figure 1: CubeX Trio 3D printer.
Students will be exposed to Thinkercard as well as the Autodesk 123D Design and use whichever one they prefer to create their structures.
Figure 2: Autodesk 123D
Figure 3: Tinkercard
Students will be required to create and print their own molecular kit and other structures as their final project.
Future Image: CHEM 360 is an introduction of a practice of science that collaborates with 3D printing. However, it will lead students to a much more advanced progress in the science field such as a study done by The University of Texas about the 3D printing technique that allows them to track the chemical and physical interaction between bacterias, or the University of Western Ontario in Canada that have developed a versatile 3D printing technique where a bromine-containing acrylate is added to a 3D printing resin before acting as an initiator to allow polymer brushes to grow on the printed surface. This Printed 3D structures are then grafted into useful materials by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerisation.
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