Overview
This research project is to be used as a culminating activity in the last three to four weeks (seven 80 minute class periods) of marking period four. Researching and designing technologies or strategies to reduce the cost of prescription drugs will engage students while incorporating various chemistry concepts they havelearned throughout the year (the relationship between structure and function, pH, activation energy, the relationship between temperature and reaction rate, catalysts, inhibitors, etc.). Costs of healthcare and prescription medications continue to rise and remain a significant portion of individual’s annual spending. Students will work to solve this problem by researching and designing their own technology or strategy to lower the costs of prescription medications to consumers. They may choose one of many way to tackle this including repurposing old drugs, improving stability of current drugs, the design and use of biosimilars, and improving production efficiency. Students will need to present their findings and their plans in a research paper and will also be required to present this research to the class. Students will work individually or in pairs to complete these tasks. A significant portion of their grade will be determined by their ability to effectively demonstrate that their technology or strategy may have a potential use case. Consequently, students will need to provide calculations in their paper showing how much their technology/strategy is estimated to save consumers. Learning objectives, a timeline of the unit, materials needed, the components of the research paper, and an example grading rubric for the unit have all been provided below.
Learning Objectives
SWBAT identify and understand basic economic factors that influence healthcare and drug costs
SWBAT research the drug industry and potential ways to lower costs
SWBAT use chemistry concepts to design money saving technologies and/or strategies in the drug industry
SWBAT discuss the value of repurposing old drugs for new uses
SWBAT calculate estimated cost savings to consumers
SWBAT analyze potential benefits and limitations to their proposed technologies
SWBAT effectively present their findings to their classmates
Timeline
Teacher checks will be required after completion of each of the following stages to help keep students on pace.
Stage 1: Research on their technology or technologies of interest and submission of proposal (1 day)
Stage 2: Writing of research paper and submission of rough draft (2 days)
Stage 3: Preparation for presentations (designing of PowerPoints, building of models, etc) (1 day)
Stage 4: Presentations and submission of final paper (1 days)
Two preparatory days will be included before the start of these stages to help prepare students for the research component and to help inspire ideas. To prepare for their research, one day will be spent in the library learning the effective research techniques and proper citation methods. Additionally, one day will be spent doing a lab, ideas for which are discussed below.
Students will investigate drug degradation in a one day laboratory activity. There are several possibilities for analytes and methods of decomposition and measurement. No one method will be suggested here, but rather several methods will be discussed and example protocols will be referenced. One option is to degrade hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by heating and to measure the remaining H2O2 via titration with Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4). Heating causes H2O2 to decompose into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). The amount of H2O2 can be determined through calculation based on the volume of 0.2M KMnO4 required to titrate with the H2O2. An example protocol can be found on Microsep’s website37. Another option is to again use heat to decompose Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) into salicylic acid and acetic acid. The amount of salicylic acid formed can be measured through spectroscopy. For every one mole of acetylsalicylic acid decomposed, one mole of salicylic acid will form, making calculation of the percentage degraded quite simple. An example protocol written by Dr. Stephanie Farrell may be found at pharmahub.org38. In the absence of a UV spectrometer it may be possible to detect degradation via subtle pH changes using a well calibrated pH meter. The goal of an activity such as one of those mentioned above is to get students thinking about drug stability, what affects it and how it can be measured. Coupled with the addition of a stabilizing factor, one of these methods could be used to help determine interventions that may improve the stability of a drug.
Another optional lesson that could be included would be to have students read an article on examples of old drugs that have been repurposed to help give them some ideas. The article can then be discussed as a class. An article such as "Repurposing Old Drugs, like Ketamine, Saves Time and Money," written by David Potter and posted on StatNews.com on April 26th, 2016, would be a good example39.
Materials
It is recommended to have students work in no more than pairs (individually if they prefer) to maximize engagement. Chromebooks or other computers will be necessary for students to conduct research on their technology or strategy. Necessary materials for the laboratory activity will depend on the analyte and methods chosen. Comprehensive lists can be found within the referenced protocols37,38.
Research Paper and Presentations
Research papers are expected to be between 3-5 pages with included calculations and figures. The following components must be included in their research papers:
- Description of the general problem at hand and a rationale behind their efforts
- Introduction to their technology/strategy
- Detailed description of how their technology/strategy could be implemented
- Justification for why their technology or strategy would theoretically work based on chemistry concepts they learned throughout the year
- Discussion of potential societal or safety concerns related to their technology/strategy, as well as any other challenges or limitations they predict may be an issue
- Calculation of estimated cost savings their technology/strategy would bring to consumers
Students will present their findings and their technologies/strategies to the class. Presentations are expected to be 5 minutes in length. Presentations could include a demonstration, a poster board, a video, a PowerPoint, or other means of presentation. The following components must be included in their presentations:
- A professional nature in terms of preparedness and conduct during presentation
- A description of their technology/strategy, how it may help, and a discussion of how chemistry is related
- An estimation for cost savings to consumers and how they reached this estimate
- A significant effort to teach the class something new
Grading Rubric
| Component |
Percentage |
| Proposal |
10 |
| Research Paper |
- |
| Rationale |
5 |
|
Introduction to Technology / Strategy
|
|
| Implementation |
10 |
| Discussion ofChemistry Concepts |
15 |
| Limitations |
5 |
| Cost Reduction Analysis |
15 |
| Presentation |
- |
| Professionalism |
10 |
| Discussion of ChemistryConcepts |
5 |
| Cost Reduction Analysis |
5 |
| Novelty |
10 |
