GCIP Madrid: ICMM internship: Group of Bioinspired Materials

Prior to my arrival in Spain, and my arrival at the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, the only information I had about my practice for the next two weeks was this (quoted from an email from the coordinator of our internships at the Instituto de Ciencias Materiales de Madrid):
"Group of Bioinspired Materials
Responsible: Francisco del Monte

The student will be at the laboratory preparing, with the phd students new materials. He/she will be involved in the preparation and characterization of eutectic mixtures.

Study of phase segregation processes in eutectics mixtures

Use of eutectic mixtures in polycondensation reactions."

Although I have learned a lot in my Biology and Chemistry classes at St. George's, I had little idea what any of this meant (in English, much less in Spanish). Therefore, I went into my internship at the ICMM with an open mind, contented with my high-school level of preparation but fully aware that I was not going to completely understand the advanced concepts that the PhDs were toying with. Indeed, I was correct. My first day on the job, I received basic explanations of the lab processes and the work that the group does--which for me, were far from basic. When I was asked, in Spanish, of course, if I was familiar with the different types of "enlaces"and shook my head, members of the group went wide-eyed. I guess it would have helped to learn some basic Spanish science vocab beforehand, particularly "enlace," the word for chemical bond.

Amongst many other things, I have learned many lab vocab words, some of which I'm not even sure how to translate to English, and some of which are cognates. Here are a few: "Compuesto" is compound, "células" are cells (another essential), "campaña" is hood (for experiments that are dangerous or require a sterile environment), "congelador" is freezer, "pipeta" for pipette, "cultivo" for culture, "muestra" for slide/sample, and "tripsina" for "trypsin."

From what I've gathered, there are two parts to the Bioinspired Materials group. The larger part, which works in the bigger lab, experiments with and creates the actual bioinspired materials (I guess these would be the "eutectic mixtures"mentioned above). In simpler terms, it looks a lot like cooking plastic-looking substances. The basic process I have observed is: chemicals are mixed, usually in liquid form, then placed in an oven or a burner to cook, or solidify. Sometimes they are also frozen. The materials made in the lab are potentially used in both biomedical and energy-efficiency applications. The other part of the group, deals more with biology, using live cells in a much smaller lab.

The majority of the work I've observed in the big lab has been with "Grafeno," or Graphene. Julian, the scientists who works with Graphene, has explained to me the basics of what the material does and how it's made. Graphene is a form of carbon that can form a layer of hexagonal carbon atoms just one atom thick. As a material, is also very strong and a good conductor, giving it the potential to make several products and devices, such as airplanes and solar panels, lighter and more efficient. Graphene might also facilitate the growth of cells, giving it the potential to be used in processes like tissue regeneration in biomedical fields (to read more about Graphene, click here: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2010/press.html). The process of making the Graphene is quite interesting, and surprisingly resembles baking a cake, with a recipe to follow and everything. The process starts with an oxidation reaction. First, Julian combines carbon and sulfuric acid in this funky-shaped vial. Slowly, purple permanganate is added, and then water. While the water is being added, purple permanganate fumes are emitted (my favorite part- it resembles a witches' brew). During the whole reaction process, Julian is careful to keep the temperature controlled (at times high, at times low), because the reaction can be dangerous. After this reaction, the liquid is "cleaned" with acid and placed in a centrifuge to separate the desired carbon from other liquids. The Graphene is later frozen with a mechanical arm using liquid nitrogen, creating the desired spaces between the layers of Graphene. Later, the ice in between the layers is converted straight into gas in a process of sublimation, and a spongy-looking solid remains. The whole process takes about two days. Julian has given me two vials of "my" Graphene to take home (one liquid, one solid)! We'll see how the TSA feels about this.

In the smaller lab, I have worked with Maria Conception (Conchi, for short), a biologist who works with cell cultures in order to test the synthetic materials on living cells. Conchi's lab is sterile, to prevent contamination, complete with a hood that prevents air exchange and creates a sterile environment to work with the cels, and my favorite part: a biohazard trash can. This, combined with my lab coat, face mask, glasses, and gloves, fulfilled my nerdy dreams of working in a real-life science lab. I'll admit, I got a thrill out of working "under the hood" to prevent contamination. Conchi works with mostly rat and pig cells, and keeps them in an incubator or a freezer. During my days with Conchi, I helped (hands on) transfer, plant, freeze, and unfreeze cell cultures. To test synthetic materials on cells, Conchi places a drop of cells into the material (which looks like a white powder), and then freezes the tiny droplet. Later, we unfreeze and view the cells under the microscope to see how they are doing. Conchi records everything in her notebook.

In the past two weeks, I have learned a lot of material, received almost completely in Spanish. Though at times my brain is overloaded, Bioninspired Materials is fascinating and engaging. Every day, I come away satisfied that I have learned something new (and that I have dressed the part of a scientist). I am extremely grateful to all of my mentors for taking the time to pause and explain every step of the process, answering my questions, and for being patient with me and my level of knowledge (in both Spanish and science). After each day and each project, my mentor for that day almost always showed me photos to explain what we had done that day, or a publication to give me a bigger picture. I have discovered that the experimental work done in the lab, however small it might seem, is part of a larger process with an important goal. I hope one day I will be able to read about the developments resulting from the use of bioinspired materials (and maybe understand all of the jargon, too).

Here are some photos from the lab: