Green and Smart: Hydrogels To Facilitate Independent Practical Learning

A laboratory experiment was developed to enable students to investigate the use of smart hydrogels for potential application in targeted drug delivery. This is challenging for students to explore practically because of the extremely high risks of handling cross-linking agents such as glutaraldehyde. Genipin is a safe and green alternative that has been combined with chitosan and poly(vinyl alcohol) to form a pH-sensitive hydrogel. In this problem-based learning mini-project, students can study the swelling behaviors, oscillatory functionality, gelation, fluorescence, optical, and release properties of this system. Students in the third year of an undergraduate chemistry degree program have successfully conducted this laboratory experiment as part of a problem-based learning mini-project.