Vietnam National Universities – HCMC

International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

Course of Biomaterials
Semester 1 2022-2023

LAB #1
INTRODUCTION (REPORT, SAFETY, SOLVENT CHOICE AND
EXPERIMENTAL CALCULATIONS)

I. Objectives
 Overview of lab course and required format of a scientific lab report.
 Understand lab safety measures.
 Understand the concept of polarity and how to choose appropriate solvents for materials
 Understand common experimental calculations

II. Lab course introduction

Course requirements
 Students are expected to attend all lab sessions and arrive on time.
 Absence is only allowed with prior approval.
Course outline
 Lab 1. Introduction
 Lab 2. Synthetic polymer (Polycaprolactone)
 Lab 3. Natural polymer (Chitosan)
 Lab 4. Bioceramic (Biphasic calcium phosphate)
 Lab 5. Metal (Silver) and UV-Vis spectroscopy
 Lab 6. FT-IR, XRD spectroscopy and material degradation
 Lab 7. Material morphology observation and contact angle measurement
 Lab 8. Viscosity and mechanical strength measurement
Grading breakdown (25% in total)
 In-lab quizzes (in group) and pre-lab assignments (individual): 10%
 Lab reports (in group) (Lab #2 to Lab #8): 15%
Lab report format
Introduction
Background information of the lab session.
(e.g. background of synthetic polymer, PCL, electrospinning technique, solvent casting
technique for Lab #2)
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

Materials and Methods

List out chemicals used, with source if possible.
(e.g. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), Xilong Chemical Ltd., China)
Summarize the experimental protocol by steps, including image(s) of used material/
equipment if necessary (other figures throughout the process are covered in the result
section), and detailed information of applied techniques and reaction conditions (such
as temperature, duration, etc.).
(E.g. Step 1. 15g NaOH salt was dissolved in 50ml distilled water by stirring at 24oC
for 5 minutes.)
Results and Discussion
Present results with digital images (taken during the experiments) and data graphs/
tables if necessary. Remember to add detailed caption. Explain the findings (even the
unexpected ones) and discuss the significance of the results.
Answer the questions given in the lab handout.
Conclusion
Summarize major findings of the experiments, provide future directions if possible.
References
Must be presented in a scientific manner (using EndNote, Zotero…).
Lab report submission
 Lab report is due at the beginning of the next cless (for example, Lab #2 report is due
at the beginning of Lab #3 class).
 Students must submit lab reports on Blackboard - don’t email instructors/ teaching
assistants with your individual reports.

III. Lab safety

Safety precautions must be always taken during lab sessions. Failure to follow the safety
guidelines will result in your dismissal from the lab.

A. CLOTHING:

 Wear lab coat, long pants and closed-toe shoes. Tie your hair back and put away
dangling jewelry. Short, short skirt, sleeveless garments, open-toed shoes are not
allowed.
 Vietnam National Universities – HCMC
International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

 More personal protective equipment (PPE) such as lab goggles must be worn in case of
conducting experiments with or transporting glassware of corrosive or flammable
chemicals.

B. HANDLING CHEMICALS, GLASSWARES AND EQUIPMENTS

 Only perform experiments under the supervision of an instructor or TAs.

 Always handle chemicals with experiment gloves to prevent direct exposure of
chemicals onto skin, chemical contamination or injuries due to glassware breakage.
Wear further insulated gloves when handling hot and cold glassware.
 Beware of using any kind of acid, base and other concentrated reagents. Never heat a
liquid in a test tube that is pointed toward you or another student.
 Never inhale gases or vapors unless directed to do so. If you must inhale the odor of a
gas or vapor, use your hand to waft a small sample toward your nose. Never taste
chemical or pipet by mouth, always use a mechanical suction device for filling pipets.
 Never return residual chemicals to their original containers since used chemicals might
contaminate original chemical. Used chemicals or broken glassware should be disposed
appropriately according to the instruction of TAs. Report cuts, spills and other problems
to the TAs or lab managers.
 Do not use or move any instruments in the lab unless directed to do so. Before using
read the equipment manual carefully.

C. BEHAVIORS

 Performing unauthorized experiments is forbidden.

 Never use an unknown or an unmarked reagent. Do not drink, eat, smoke in the lab area.
Lab materials, chemicals and any equipments should never be taken from the laboratory.
 All forms of pranks are never acceptable in the laboratory.
 Prepare notebook and pen/pencils for experiment recording. Phones, laptop and other
electronic devices are not allowed unless directed to use.
 Wash hands with soap after performing all experiments. Clean/ rinse work surfaces and
used equipment at the end of the experiment.

D. EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

If you experience a medical emergency, immediately inform teaching assistant, lab

manager and seek medical attention. Listed below are first aid guides for situations that
may occur in the lab.

 Heat burns: Wash the wound with cold water and cover with a clean bandage.
 Cold burns: Wash the wound with warm water and cover with a clean bandage.
 Cut & scrapes: Wash the wound under a flowing faucet until it stops bleeding. Sterilize
with ethanol 90o and cover with bandage.
 Bleeding: If bleeding does not stop, apply pressure with a clean bandage or cloth over
the wound until the bleeding stops. Further seek immediate medical help if bleeding
remains.
 Eye injuries: Remove contact lenses, flush out eyes with cold water for at least 15
minutes.
 Poisoning: If the person is still conscious, ask them to sit still while waiting for medical
help to arrive. If poison was ingested, spit out if possible. If poison was splashed on the
skin or clothes, remove contaminated items and wash the contaminated area with water
- be careful not to contaminate yourself.
 Electric shock: Shut off electric power, remove the victim from electric power, call the
ambulance, perform CPR if no pulse and breathing is detected.

IV. Polarity and solvent choice for materials

When atoms with differing electronegativity are bonded together, the electrons may spend
more time around one atom than the other, creating an unequal distribution of charge, such
as ionic bond and polar covalent bond.
In a polar bond, the electron-rich atom has a partial negative charge (δ−) and the electron-
poor atom has a partial positive charge (δ+). The dipole moment (μ) of a polar bond is the
product of the partial charge on the bonded atoms and the distance between them.
However, a molecule consisting of only polar bonds is not guaranteed to be polar. If the bonds
are symmetric, these dipole moments cancel out, resulting in a nonpolar molecule. The vector
sum of the dipole moments determines if the molecule is polar or not.
 Vietnam National Universities – HCMC
International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

Figure 1.1. Dipole moment values of water, methanol, and ammonia.

Figure 1.2. Polarity of methane, tetrachloromethane, and ethane.

Polarity determines whether a molecule is hydrophilic (from the Greek for water-loving)
or hydrophobic (from the Greek for water-fearing). Molecules with high polarity are
hydrophilic and mix well with other polar compounds such as water. Molecules that are non-
polar or have very low polarity tend to be hydrophobic and mix well with other non-polar (or
nearly non-polar) compounds such as organic solvents. In other words, they follow the rules of
“like dissolves like”.
We often perform our material synthesis in solutions. Thus, it is important to choose the
appropriate solvent that can dissolve our material of choice.
Below is a summary of common groups found in biomaterials and their polarity. Note that
charged species dissolve readily in polar solvents.
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

Table 1.1. Polarity of common functional groups

Solvents also have different polarities. Below is a summary of common solvents used in
synthesis.
Table 1.2. Polarity of common solvents

Polarity Solvent

Polar Water, ethanol, methanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone,

isopropanol, propanol, acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO),
dimethylformamide (DMF)

Somewhat Polyethylene glycol (PEG), tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethyl acetate,

polar dichloromethane (CH2Cl2)
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

Somewhat Chloroform (CHCl3), diethyl ether

nonpolar

Nonpolar Pentane, hexane, benzene, toluene

However, in reality, it is much more complex to predict if a certain compound is soluble in

water or organic solvents. Molecular weight (or chain length) also matters. For example, the
smaller alcohols dissolve easily in water. This is because the water is able to form hydrogen
bonds with the hydroxyl group in these molecules, and these bonds are stronger than the
alcohol-alcohol hydrogen bonds which are broken up. The longer-chain alcohols are
increasingly insoluble in water because they have larger nonpolar, hydrophobic regions. At
about four or five carbons, the unfavorable hydrophobic interactions begin to overcome the
hydrophilic effect, and water solubility is lost.

Figure 3. Solubility of alcohols with different numbers of carbons

Solubility of ionic compounds
Ionic substances follow a distinctive set of rules regarding solubility. Most of the time,
when we talk about solubility of ionic compounds, the solvent is water. It is hard to predict
solubility by looking at the molecular structure alone because different anion/ cation pairs have
different lattice energy and bonding energy with surrounding water molecules. Insoluble ions
can be dissolved by acids. From empirical observations, we have compiled the solubility of
common ionic compounds in the tables below.
Table 1.3. Soluble ionic compounds

Ion Exceptions

Alkali metals (Group I) (Na+, K+,

etc.)

Ammonium ions (NH4+)

Nitrates, acetates, chlorates, and

perchlorate (NO3-, C2H3O2-, ClO3-,
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

ClO4-)

Fluoride (F-)
Chloride, bromide, iodide (Cl-, Br-,
Silver, lead, and mercury (Ag+, Pb2+*, and Hg2+)
I-)
*Lead halides are soluble in hot water.

Barium, strontium, calcium, lead, silver, and

All sulfates (SO42-)
mercury (Ba2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, Pb2+, Ag+, and Hg2+)

Table 1.4. Slightly soluble ionic compounds

Ions Exceptions

Sulfates of lead, silver, and *Lead sulfate is poorly soluble.

mercury SO42- with Pb2+,
Ag+, and Hg2+

Hydroxides of alkaline earth Barium (Ba2+)

metals (Group II) (Ca2+, Sr2+, etc.)

Table 1.5. Insoluble ionic compounds

Ions Exceptions

Sulfides (S2-) Calcium, barium, strontium, magnesium,

sodium, potassium, and ammonium
(Ca2+, Ba2+, Sr2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and NH4+)

Hydroxides (OH-) Alkali metals (Group I), transition

metals, aluminum, and ammonium
(Na+, K+, Al3+, NH4+, etc.)

Carbonates, oxalates, Alkali metals (Group I) and ammonium

chromates, and phosphates
(Na+, K+, NH4+, etc.)
(CO3 2-, C2O42-, CrO42-, and PO4 3-)
*Lithium phosphate is poorly soluble
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International University
School of Biomedical Engineering

V. Calculation of concentrations