The BOMM program

The BOMM program is an integrated laboratory experience incorporating authentic laboratory research in drug discovery. BOMM stands for biology, organic chemistry, and mathematical modeling as it combines the courses BIO 212 Introduction to Biology II and CHM 221 Organic Chemistry I with appropriate mathematical modeling for the project during recitation.

The project

Students in the BOMM start the laboratory project by assaying compounds from a library for biofilm inhibition activity against five different species of bacteria. The initial assay is a crystal violet assay in 96-well microplates (see image below). After analyzing their results, secondary screens are run on potential hit compounds to ensure biofilm inhibition is independent of bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity. The students then combine their new data with previously collected data in a database and use this information to guide the design of new potential biofilm inhibitors. Using a general synthesis layout and a set of available building blocks, the students design their own compounds for synthesis.

With designs in hand, the students come to the organic laboratory and conduct the synthesis found within this documentation. This is the fourth iteration of the synthesis—moving from a solid-phase design into a parallel solution-phase setup in order to produce more of each compound in a pure form for the extensive biofilm assays.

After completion of the synthesis, the pure compounds are taken back to the biology lab and tested in the same way as before. Thus, students are able to directly see how well their designs work at biofilm inhibition. They can evaluate the hypothesis they used in the design phase as well as add more data to the database to help guide future research efforts. The laboratory project culminates with students preparing a written manuscript of the project, as well as presenting their results to the class and invited guests.