Abstract

In this experiment, organic chemistry laboratory students synthesized derivatives of their own design of the plant auxins indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Their syntheses varied from making ester to amide derivatives. After optimizing their synthesis, the organic chemistry student groups shared their products with a student group from the biochemistry–cell biology lab. The biochemistry–cell biology students compared the development of Ceratopteris richardii gametophytes on three types of sterile medium: medium without hormones, medium with 10-5 M NAA, and medium with 10-4 M of an auxin derivative synthesized in the organic chemistry lab. The organic syntheses were performed over a four-week period, and observations of C. richardii gametophytes were done for a two week period, after which the gametophyte measurements where analyzed quantitatively using Microsoft Excel. The project terminated in a poster session presented by both the organic chemistry and biochemistry–cell biology classes during which the students discussed their results and compared any structure activity relationships that were evident. Results from this bioassay of auxin derivatives typically fall into four groups: (i) there is an effect on gametophyte growth similar to that of known auxins, (ii) there is no effect on the growth of the gametophyte, (iii) there is a novel effect on gametophyte growth, or (iv) the auxin derivative is lethal to the gametophyte.