White Rachel, Joyner P Matthew
From the Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, 90263.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2020 Jan;48(1):61-66. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21303. Epub 2019 Sep 18.
Flow cytometry has become an important tool in the life sciences and medical fields, yet there are often few opportunities for undergraduate students to receive training with this type of instrumentation as part of life science curricula at many colleges and universities. We describe a straightforward laboratory exercise designed for a college-level biochemistry course that uses flow cytometry to investigate changes in bacterial membrane potential and cell viability in response to various treatments. Anecdotally, we have noticed that many students often have difficulty understanding the concept of membrane potential and the essential role that it plays in cellular processes. Therefore, this exercise also provides a pedagogical tool for visualizing changes in cellular membrane potential as way to enhancing students' comprehension of this abstract concept. Students' understanding of flow cytometry and membrane potential was assessed using a preactivity and postactivity quiz; the results indicate that the students' understanding of these concepts significantly improved after they completed this laboratory exercise. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 48(1):61-66, 2020.
流式细胞术已成为生命科学和医学领域的一项重要工具，然而，在许多学院和大学的生命科学课程中，本科生很少有机会接受这种仪器的培训。我们描述了一个为大学水平的生物化学课程设计的简单实验室练习，该练习使用流式细胞术来研究细菌膜电位和细胞活力对各种处理的反应变化。根据经验，我们注意到许多学生常常难以理解膜电位的概念及其在细胞过程中所起的重要作用。因此，这个练习还提供了一种教学工具，用于可视化细胞膜电位的变化，以此来增强学生对这个抽象概念的理解。通过课前和课后测验评估学生对流式细胞术和膜电位的理解；结果表明，学生在完成这个实验室练习后，对这些概念的理解有了显著提高。© 2019国际生物化学与分子生物学联盟，48(1):61 - 66, 2020。
