This week was a shorter one as I had Thursday and Friday off because of the 4th of July. In terms of reactions, we continued to purify some compounds made last week. As we had a lot of material, the best way to purify is by running them through a column. The column is filled with around 250 ml of silica powder, then our material which is mixed and dried with Celite. A final top layer of sand is added to prevent any disruptions to the material as we continually add hexanes to the top of the column. As the hexanes run through, I had to fill and replace about 40 tests tubes worth of the mixture before we took a Chromatography of the components to see if the purification had worked. Once we find the specific test tubes with our product, we can empty the others into a liquid waste container to be properly disposed of. Hexanes are toxic so it is really important that these solvents get to the right place.
With this being my third week in the lab, my mentor is slowly transitioning me from just watching the reactions occur to now me fully carrying out the reactions with her supervision. Being able to be this hands on with the lab work has been great, as it is helping me understand the intricacies of each procedure and to fully learn the proper techniques. I exited to see what the next 3 weeks of my internship will hold.
Outside of the lab, on Independence day I met up with Philip, who is interning at UCSD, and we went to the Pacific beach and enjoyed the sun! Playing beach volleyball and spikeball for most of the day was super fun and a great way to enjoy the energy that all the people brought to the holiday. The firework show at Point Loma was spectacular and went for about 25 minutes. We also caught a glimpse of a drone light show down the coast that had incredible images of eagles and flags projected through an assortment of drones.
Also during this long weekend my host parents and I took their dogs to a neighbors pool and had some fun playing fetch in the water. This is Myles, one of their golden retrievers.
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