NEED STUDENTS DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC CONCEPT OF MAGNETISM TO IMAGINE MEDICAL APPLICATION OF

NANOPARTICLES?

New competencies of graduating students need profound changes of General Physics course taught to the students of interdisciplinary specialization in the area of bio or medical science. Learning outcomes as result of learning progression are related to the personal involvement of students in solving cognitive challenges and their intellectual satisfaction. The role of physics in building students understanding of medical applications of new nanostructured materials and nanotechnologies is obviouscrucial(pivotal). Magnetism is one of these topics with a relevant role in biotechnology for analysis and diagnostic and / or medical treatments using nanoparticles. In this framework magnetic field study as general property of vacuum is less relevant than magnetism in matter and especially at nanoscale structured materials. The learning progression had as milestones basic concepts of magnetism as magnetization, susceptibility, dia, para, ferro, ferri magnetism, hysteresis, and coercive filed to end with superparamagnetism of nanoparticles and relaxation processes of magnetization. Within research, the students of Biotechnology branch of University of Udine, after an introductory seminar in Magnetism and Magnetic Nano-Materials were asked to deepen the concepts taught by following literature describing medical applications of superparamagnetic particle and to draft a free 6 page scientific report. This problem based approach is considered beneficial for their motivation, intellectual satisfaction, professional knowledge and insertion. Fifty free forms reports written by the students were analyzed in the perspective of individuating: a. Concepts from Magnetism considered by the student relevant in description of different magnetic phenomena involved in medical techniques or application of nanoparticle in diagnostic and treatment; b. If students evidence the Interdisciplinary problems and ways of finding technological solutions; c. If students identify main relationship between physics, biology and engineering and future evolution; d. The students’ competence in understanding, resuming and describing by images the topics; e. If students realize the importance of knowledge of physics in the frame of future profession and long life learning competence. Main results of research use to design new learning outcomes, contents and instructional activities in future general physics course for biotechnology major students.

Keywords: concepts’ learning, interdisciplinary, magnetic nanoparticles, biomedical application

INTRODUCTIONNearly one hundred years after the launch of the term biotechnology, in 1991 by the Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky one can speak of a real revolution that engineering in this field has imposed on society at the planetary level. Biotechnology major imposed in the last 30 years all around the world in very different types of universities with very diverse focused programmes in the field Biotechnology and great diversity of visions, missions and strategy in implementing curriculum. [1]. These major differences are because the notion of Biotechnology became huge enough to cover self-standing sciences such as pharmaceutical and life, molecular biology, bioinformatics, genetics, proteomics, bioenvironment, etc. A degree in biotechnology can be a free ticket for a career in one of the many businesses and research facilities that make up the biomedical field. The array of programs offered is vast. Some focus on producing skilled researchers, managers, and laboratory technicians; others prepare the student for doctorates and post-doctoral work and research. [2]. For some of the fresh students enrolled in Biotechnology major is not easy to give the answer to a simpler question: “What don’t biomedical engineers do?” [3]. A Biotechnologist can work in industry, academic and research institutions, hospitals, and government agencies. They can contribute in designing, manufacturing, or testing pharmaceutical or medical products as can be magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery or hyperthermia [4 -6] or to improve the diagnostic (theranostic) methods developing computer software and magnetic contrast agent for enhancement of nuclear magnetic resonance imagery [7,8]. The students of Biotechnology major should be able after graduation to demonstrate deep knowledge of interdisciplinary subjects, to be able to understand concepts at different levels of reality starting with human and animal beings ending with cells at nanometer scale. Undergraduate science education in interdisciplinary reform has thirty years of history at the beginning as solitary effort following the Rogers’ model of diffusion of innovations [9] in which faculty members become aware of curricular innovations and subsequently adopt them without much modification to the actual strategies at transnational level achieving sustainable change on a broad scale by developing shared vision related to the graduated qualification. [10-13] tried to identify changes required by a competency-based reform of the undergraduate biology curriculum with the aim to integrate physical and biological sciences. Dozens of scientists in science education research involved in project facilitated a new approach to curriculum reform that focuses on the common goal of developing scientific competencies. The challenges associated with disseminating teaching innovations beyond their point of origin, an outcome that is essential to achieving broader science education reform, were to create a road map for other institutions that aspire to implement the vision of American Association for the Advancement of Science. [14]

In fact, in many universities across the academic world Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary major field based on interdisciplinary approaches of biology, physics, chemistry, technology, as well as engineering with the main aim to prepare the graduated students to become ready to address global issues such as food supply, sustainability, environment and health concerns. [15] To address this, educators are incorporating more engineering-based practices into the school curriculum to integrate biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and informatics with biotechnology in an interdisciplinary way. [16,17] Science is regarded by some academic staffs and students very fragmented but knowledge and concepts are crossing in a natural way the

disciplines borders and biotechnology is a highly multidisciplinary field of education and research.At international level, Physics is considered a basic prerequisite in advancing in biotechnology major but comparing with the credits distributed to other courses. Comparing the transferable credits allocated to General and Applied Physics courses with the numbers distributed to biology and chemistry, a physicist may consider that physics is regarded as a slavery. In USA in majority of universities Physics receive in a 4 years programme in Biotechnology 8 to 12 credits from 240, meaning a percent of 3 to 5%, Chemistry 20 to 30 credits meaning 8 to 12% of pie while biology and subtopics receive 60 to 84 credits representing 25 to 35% of the total credits. [18] In Europe situation is not very different. In the following, we will discuss the example of the B. Sc. Biotechnology Programme at the University of Udine. In this case the courses in Bio Area have allocated 91 of ECTS from 180 meaning 50% while General and Applied Physics have only 10 ECTS representing 3% and Chemistry 15 ECTS namely 6%. A special course in Biophysics valuing 6 ECTS can be considered an interdisciplinary approach of some physics and biology. Going deeply in the General Physics course contents and description of the activities only 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab of the total of 60 are allocated to the magnetism and electromagnetism issues representing 10% of the General Physics subjects addressed by the entire course.The question that born was how long it may be to the way of learning from fundamental concept in magnetism as magnetic field concepts, field lines, magnetic induction and magnetization to student understanding of the applications that magnetism and magnetic materials can have in biotechnology. How many of the students graduating a 3-year B. Sc. programme will master the knowledge and practice of the technologies they will need to develop in the near future.There are a lot of research that shows the effectiveness of creating learning pathway to recognize the conceptions that students initial bring in the classroom with and to use that information to develop instructional plans to move they towards a deep representations of the concepts that cross the disciplines and contribute to the understanding of the revolutionary ideas embedded in biotechnology [19-21]. There are some initiative in going deeply in actual topics as is Physics of nanomagnetism and some biomedical applications especially at M.Sc. or Ph. D. programmes. There a lot of resources on Internet for lecturing or practicing in classroom with students [Internet address and [22] but in our knowledge any paper in the field of teaching and learning pathway to introduce to the Biotechnology major students superparamagnetism concept and nanoparticles application in biotechnology and medicine.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKBiotechnologies, Nanotechnologies, Physics at nanoscale and their applications are part of day-by-day life of our students. [23] It is time for Biotechnology to become subject of learning and teaching in the classroom and their application must be devised for future engineers in the field. Recent researches in Physics Education tried to identify new approaches, strategies and best practices responding to the students’ needs when physics is taught related to nanostructured materials or nanoscale. [24] New curricula for General Physics courses in Biotechnology major [25] was designed in order to integrate new science, last advanced in Biotechnology in teaching Physics in B.Sc. programme [26].The major problem in teaching General Physics is the deepening of the representation of the concepts to be used in biotechnologies using nanostructures and / or “very unusual” applications.

The fresh students in Biotechnology major have in many cases a very low level of the representation of basic concept in magnetism [27,28] and have many difficulties in understanding the behavior of magnetic materials at the nanoscale. Not so many academics designing the students’ progress of learning are ready to map the pathway considering that decades of experience in the classroom is sufficient to ensure success of learning. Drawing a conceptual map starting with MAGNETS and ending with SUPERMAGNETISM or magnetic hyperthermia, contrast agents and magnetic drug delivery can highlight to the final goal, cognitive obstacles, and learning progression. [29] The students can be conducted to understanding, if is the case, why nanostructures behaves differently at the nanoscale over other scales and how new applications can be invented. [30]The present work try to contribute with a very coherent exampleon how magnetism can be addressed in General Physics course for Biotechnology students starting from basic concepts and ending with the last trends in magnetic nanostructured materials in biotechnology.

RESEARCH QUESTIONSThis work aims to answer the following research questions:RQ1. In which contexts can be introduced last progress in Biotechnology supported by nanostructured magnetic materials or magnetization phenomena at nanoscale?RQ2. Can students’ learning pathway be traced using conceptual knots with interdisciplinary connotation and what cognitive obstacle they will encounter?RQ3. There is effective lecturing on magnetic phenomena and discussions can ensure students’ functional understanding of importance of mapped knots?RQ4. The analysis of students projects can suggest future improvement of the educational pathway?

METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS

To find relevant answers to the research questions we started by a detailed study of the academic offers and programme addressing nanostructured magnetic materials and magnetization process at nanoscale level used in Biotechnology. A database with issues and contents of General Physics introductory courses in Biotechnology major was drafted. A comparison with the offers in M. Sc. and Ph. D. programmes in same academic institutions and / or different countries were done. Some general conclusions will be presented before introducing the educational pathway of learning magnetic phenomena designed to address the basic concept of magnetism useful to explain to the students biotechnological applications as hyperthermia, nuclear magnetic resonance imagery and targeted drug delivery. In fig 1 the structure of Biotech course in University of Udine. Starting from the conceptual map conceived as results of consultation with educators and researchers a 2 hours lecture was offered to the first year students in addition to the normal 4 hours lecture on electromagnetism. The PPT presentation was made available for students in Intranet and a forum for discussions on topics was established. As homework and feedback every student was asked to provide a 4 pages report resulting from deep individual study of the literature dedicated to the mentioned application of superparamagnetic magnetic nanoparticles. Some books and review papers threatening the topics were deposited in Intranet as source of information. To analyze students’ feedback a matrix of level of correctness and appropriateness of context in which knots were mentioned was designed. Was used four level to appreciate students representation on concepts marked in the conceptual map: YES (when students used clear, very correct and in multiple situations the concept); yes (when knot was not

so strong and appropriate used or was shadowed by a week link with other knots); no (when the concept was used in non-appropriate context or a correct use was doubled by a mistake) and NO (when concept was wrong address in a repetitive way or not used even if describing the biotechnological application was compulsory it activation).

RESEARCH STAGES AND RESULTSDatabase of Introductory General Physics Course for Biotechnology Major.

1st year of studyPhysics 4 ECTS

2nd year of studyBiophysics 6ECTS

3rd year of study NO ECTS for Physics related

topics

Figure 1. Courses in B.Sc. in Biotechnology at University of Udine

Learning Progress of the Lecture on Magnetism at Nanoscale mirrored by Conceptual MapTo design the educational pathway on magnetic phenomena accordingly to the constructivist paradigm [31,32] a preliminary analysis was made to identify concepts that students need to represent correct and to discuss in deep biotechnological applications of magnetic nanoparticle. The maps traced links in between basic knots as magnetic field, magnetic momentum and magnetization processes without using difficult mathematical formula. The conceptual map of the lecture intended to transfer step by step the knowledge to the students and to prepare they to go deep in fundamental of Physics behind to biotechnologies detailed in chapters of books and papers recommended for lecture [33-35].Figure 1 show the conceptual map drawn after 2 meeting of the educational research group.

Fig. 1 Conceptual map of the lecturing - learning pathway

reverses in AC

negative and small

are described

depends on

Magnetization

Hysteresis loop

Magnetic Field

AC fields

Electromagnetic Wave

Magnetic Materials

Magnetic Moment

interact

Succeptibility

Electric circuit

of unit volumeNeel mechanism

Biotechnologies & Magnetism

interact

Brown mechanismrelaxes

Figure 2. Conceptual map of the lecture activity (not detailed in 3 D sub – level)

Figure 3. Synopsys for debriefing the hyperthermia as application (slide of lecture)

First step in the 2 hours lecture was a short introduction in history of magnetism and materials and some provocative words about current state in nanomagnetism, nanostructured materials and their application in biotechnology. Second step was to remember to the students how occurs the interaction of two magnets and their tendency to rotate in order to minimize the energy and to reach the equilibrium of movement. Was used the concept of magnetic moment and magnetic couple. Third step was to introduce the interaction of magnetic moment with magnetic field produced by magnetized materials or electric circuits carrying a current. This was followed by introducing magnetization as moment of unitary volume followed by discerning in the differences in between permanent and temporary magnets, induced magnetization and introducing in a phenomenological way susceptibility and classification of magnetic materials and origin of magnetism in these materials. The Curie temperature as phase transition point was discussed to suggest to the students the possibility of change with temperature of the magnetic properties. The lecture concentrated on nonlinear ferri and ferromagnetic materials based on the existence of magnetic domains and spin orientation in bulk materials. The hysteresis loop and characteristic as saturation, remanence, coercivity were considered knots in the conceptual map that is not detailed in many aspects in the figure 1 within the paper but the reader must imagine sub-levels of the conceptual knots. Students are challenged to understand that ferro and ferrimagnetic materials behavior is due to the magnetic domains in which the spins are parallel oriented and molecular field (theory of Weiss) is responsible for theirs existence and for hysteresis process. Magnetization processes are explained in terms of magnetic domains walls displacement and rotation of magnetization. The reversibility and irreversibility of magnetization process is shortly described and is followed by hysteresis losses and relaxation process in multi and mono domain nanoparticles as last step to introduce superparamagnetism. The last third part of the lecture was dedicated to the fundamentals of magnetic hyperthermia, influencing the contrast of NMR images and drug delivery as applications of magnetic materials in biotechnology. Every conceptual knots were highlighted in detailing application and students were ask to propose as results of critical thinking improvement, enhancing or inventing. In the end of 2 hour lecture a half of hour of debriefing and debate was a good opportunity to discuss ethical aspect of

biotechnologies, multidisciplinary aspect and complexity, impact in life quality and health, trends and future developments.The students was requested to focus on a personal project as feedback to the lecture during next two weeks after the lecture by: consulting the recommended literature [….], going deep in searching for interesting points and undiscussed applications, imagine solutions to practical problems, etc. A forum of discussion with titular of the General Physics course opened.

DATA ANALYSIS OF THE SUDENTS FEEDBACKAt the request to provide feedback the lecture on magnetism and magnetic nanoparticles to be used in biotechnology 44 fresh students in Biotechnology major enrolled in General Physics courses answered. The fourth pages imposed length feedback forms were analyzed using the evaluation instrument monitoring (Matrix of knots addressed by students in feedback see a section in Figure 3) the representation of the conceptual knots as described in fourth section.

Figure 3. Matrix of knots addressed by students in feedback

The most important result of students’ feedback data interpretation is that most of them (YES 85% and 9 yes) became aware of MNPs applications in biotechnology and conscious of complexity of technological problems that scientist solved by implementing in practice (52%YES and 27% yes). Only few students did not demonstrate this behaviors and rises the problem of lack of motivation in going in deep with recommended papers lecture.The results indicate that majority of the students have very stable and strong representation of the concept considered knots in the learning pathway and map of lecturing: magnetic material classification (80% YES, 15% yes, only 5% NO), susceptibility (65% YES, 11 yes), hysteresis (59% YES, 13% yes, 13% no, 13% NO), saturation (45% YES, 23% yes, 5% no, 17% NO), remanence (47% YES, 18% yes, 5% no, 30% NO), coecitivity (38% YES, 23% yes, 9% no, 30% NO), etc. A big problem raised when students in the feedback form addressed superparamagnetism. Even though during the lecture a peculiar attention was paid to the concept of superparamagnetism the students do not succeed in mastering in practice a correct representation correlated with the decrease of the particle size below the critical dimension at which it becomes a monodomain (52% NO). More than 50% the students do not use the concept of superparamegnetism in correct way or context contrary of the case of ferro (56% YES, 29% yes) and ferromagnetic (36% YES, 31%yes).

During the lecture in detail were discussed the applications of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in hyperthermia and enhancing nuclear magnetic resonance. In evaluating the feedback of the students refereeing to magnetic hyperthermia were considered the knots: basic of the methods, role of AC field, specific absorption rate, Neel and Brown relaxation process and mechanism of heating as shown in figure 4. In the same manner the impact of the lecture in contouring for students the notions of contrast agents carried out by concepts of: basic of MRI, superposition of DC and RF fields, relaxation process and induced signal to obtain medical images was analyzed. Is evident from the plots that students cannot manage by individual study of recommended papers correct and useful in practice representation of the needed concept in describing biotechnological application of superparamagnetic nanoparticles.

CONCLUSIONSOur research proved the possibility to introduce during the lectures of General Physics course for fresh students in Biotechnology B.Sc. programme knowledge related to the last achievement in methods and technology based on nanostructured materials by using conceptual map to trace the pathway for students learning.In conducting the students to the understanding of basic of magnetism, magnetization process and biotechnological applications of magnetic materials lecturing and debriefing the lecture is not enough for anchoring the concepts. Giving to the students supplementary bibliography for deep and individualized progress in the field was not an efficient solution.Students were not able to transfer the concepts to peculiar situations encountered in biotechnologies because the concepts have fragile or shadowed or instable representations. Seems that cognitive obstacles raised by scientific papers are too high after a two hour of lecture. The analysis of feedback of the students suggested some path for improving but seems that radical solution is to redesign the curricula for Biotechnology major.

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