The Aspirin CURE: Learning Chemistry Through Medicine

2 Units

This Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) immerses students in the world of medicinal chemistry through one of history's most famous drugs--aspirin--and its natural precursor, salicylic acid. Students will synthesize, purify, and analyze aspirin while exploring how pH, solvent, and temperature affect its purity, solubility, and stability. Each experiment contributes to a collaborative semester-long research project that connects fundamental general-chemistry concepts to real-world pharmaceutical science. By the end of the course, students will have performed authentic research, interpreted spectroscopic data, and gained insight into how chemistry drives modern medicine. CHEM 114 will substitute for CHEM 113 for students looking for a more research based laboratory experience. A student cannot earn credit for both CHEM 113 and 114. Prereq or Coreq: CHEM 105 or CHEM 106 or CHEM 111 or ENGR 145 .