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Session 1347

Protein Titration Control and Monitoring System: A Collaborative, Real-world Course Project

Anthony Vaughan, Tomoki Abe, Krishna Kurpad, Richard Thurlkill, Jay Porter, Joseph Morgan Texas A&M University

Abstract

Currently, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine uses a manually-operated system for the pH titration of histidine penta-peptides, model compounds and proteins. The data collected from this system will be used to determine the pKa of the histidine side-chain in these different compounds. This information will be added to the world- wide data base of pKa’s collected and will contribute to our understanding of how pKa’s are affected by their local environment and will contribute to the development of new drugs and/or drug delivery systems. To increase data collection efficiency, the Health Science Center approached the Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Technology Programs about automating the titration system. The Protein Titration Control and Monitoring system was assigned as the course project in an undergraduate data acquisition and process control class that is taught at the junior-level. The students were required to work in four to five-person teams to develop a complete system-level design, implement the design in hardware and software, and test and deliver an operational system to the sponsor. The software was designed and implemented using National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development environment and a standard data acquisition card installed in a desktop computer. The system accepts inputs from the researcher, automates the entire titration and data collection process, databases the pertinent information, and correctly terminates the experiment. The system can be operated in a local mode or the experimenter can initiate a data collection session, monitor the progress of the experiment in real time, and access the recorded results via the Internet using LabView Data Socket technology.

Introduction

Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Technology (EET/TET) students at Texas A&M University take a series of technical courses each of which includes an integrated laboratory experience. After receiving feedback and recommendations from industries that hire EET/TET graduates, more emphasis is being placed on laboratories where teams of students are required to design, implement, test, and analyze a project. The experience is concluded with the documentation of the results of each project in both written and oral format. This approach begins in selected sophomore-level courses and continues through the capstone senior design project with less and less faculty intervention and control as the students progress in their curriculum. One of the courses that utilize this approach is a junior-level Computer-based Data Acquisition and Control course. The focus of this course is to learn and apply fundamental data

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright  2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Abe, T., & Thurlkill, R., & Kurpad, K., & Porter, J., & Vaughan, A., & Morgan, J. (2001, June), Protein Titration Control And Monitoring System: A Collaborative, Real World Course Project Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9698