Students investigate the use of biological molecules as materials and use enzymes as chemical sensors in the design of diagnostic tests for peroxide, cholesterol, and glucose.

By incorporating everyday materials into science lessons, the Materials World Modules (MWM) program at Northwestern University has found the solution to getting students excited about learning science while helping teachers meet national and state education standards.

The modules are easy to organize and inexpensive to run. They can be incorporated into any science class because of the breadth of subjects covered in the Activity and Design Project sections. Each module is a supplemental science unit that takes 1-3 weeks of class time (approximately 10 hours) to complete.

MWM will give students an opportunity to understand the world around them in a way they have never experienced before. The modules promote an awareness of the roles science and technology play in society and guide students to take increased control of their work.

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Activity 1: Investigating Biological Molecules and Bioluminescence
Students experiment with dried firefly samples to see whether or not they produce light and under what conditions they do so. They discover that biological molecules, such as those that produce light in fireflies, can be used as materials outside the organism that produced them.

Activity 2: Investigating Enzymes and Indicator Molecules
By observing the signals produced by peroxidase-catalyzed reactions between peroxide and four different indicator molecules, students gain an understanding of enzymes and indicator molecules, two materials commonly used in biosensors. Students learn that enzymes are biological molecules that act as catalysts and compare how long it takes for a reaction to occur with or without an enzyme catalyst.

Activity 3: Making a Peroxide Biosensor
Students learn about biosensor design by using peroxidase and an indicator molecule to make a peroxide biosensor. They learn about the concepts of dynamic range, detection limit, and biosensor accuracy by testing their biosensor to determine whether or not it can measure different concentrations of peroxide.

Activity 4: Testing a Cholesterol Biosensor
Students use two linked enzymatic reactions and an indicator molecule to make a cholesterol biosensor. They then use their biosensor to try to determine the cholesterol levels in "patient" samples of unknown concentrations.

Activity 5: Evaluating a Home-Use Cholesterol Biosensor
Students consider aspects of biosensor design from the point of view of consumers and product designers. After designing their own cholesterol biosensors on paper, student read and article about a commercial biosensor design team and the cholesterol biosensor they designed for home use. Students learn about the challenges the team faced and evaluate the team's design.

Activity 6: Researching Biosensors
Students research and write a formal report about a biosensor of their choice. The report should include a history of the biosensor's development and an explanation of how it works and how it is used. From their research, students should gain an understanding of the ways in which science, technology, and society are linked.

Design Project: Designing a Glucose Biosensor
Students use what they have learned about enzymes, indicator molecules, and biosensors to design, test, and evaluate a glucose biosensor.

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Materials World Modules are simple to organize and inexpensive to run. They are designed to be easily incorporated into any middle school science or high school science lab or lecture course. The chart below lists the subjects covered in the Activities and Design Projects sections of this module.

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Sharon McCoy talks about the Biosensors Module
Real Player:  low | mid | hi QuickTime:  low | mid | hi Short clip (about 30 seconds)	Real Player:   low | mid | hi QuickTime:  low | mid | hi Full length (4 min 28 sec)

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