We have designed a comprehensive experiment for the photothermal/colorimetric dual-mode quantification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). By developing label nanoprobes with high photothermal conversion efficiency under near-infrared light and integrating them with a self-built small photothermal imager, we have effectively addressed the limitations of commercial colloidal gold test strips, such as low sensitivity and inability to quantify. This method is rapid and user-friendly, requiring only 15 minutes to complete, and enables both naked-eye colorimetric qualification and photothermal accurate quantification. With a detection limit as low as 1.2 pg·mL^-1, this method surpasses commercial colloidal gold test strips by achieving accurate quantitative detection and improving sensitivity by nearly 10,000 times, significantly reducing the detection window period. Teaching practices have shown that this experiment enhances students’ comprehensive abilities, expands their academic horizons, and nurtures their scientific research literacy and innovation potential.

Integrating scientific research with the experiments for analytical measurements is crucial for early engagement of chemistry undergraduates in Nanjing University. This approach not only facilitates practical scientific exploration but also integrates ideological and political education to help students correct values, nurture their research interests, and enhance their academic literacy. This paper presents a case study of the undergraduate course “Nanopore Electrochemical Measurement of Single Molecules”, conducted using a homemade instrument. The course adopts a student-centered two-phase experimental teaching mode that transitions from “verification learning” to “independent exploration”. Throughout the teaching process, the ideological and political elements such as self-improvement and innovation are integrated to inspire students to master cutting-edge scientific technologies and engage in independent exploratory activities. This course design effectively meets the educational goals of values, knowledge, and skills, providing valuable insights for developing and reforming chemistry experimental courses that incorporate scientific research.

A robust teaching platform is crucial for enhancing educational quality. In traditional chemical titration experiments, the accuracy heavily relies on operators’ experience and skill, leading to long detection cycles and significant human errors. To diversify teaching methods and empower students with various titration techniques, this study introduces an automatic titration system utilizing intelligent algorithms into university chemistry practical teaching. The developed instrument employs real-time chemical reaction image capture and neural network algorithms for instant titration endpoint determination. It offers high accuracy, reliability, ease of operation, and traceable experimental data. The integration of intelligent titration instruments not only enhances the efficiency and precision of student experiments while reducing human errors, but also optimally allocates resources for developing both practical skills and theoretical understanding. Moreover, it facilitates independent evaluation and monitoring of teaching effectiveness, enabling timely adjustments in teaching strategies to effectively elevate teaching quality.

Understanding the structure and principles of analytical instruments is crucial in chemistry education and fundamental for scientific research in universities. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is extensively utilized in chemistry, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, environmental studies, food science, and petrochemical analysis. To deepen students’ comprehension, we designed an experimental disassembly and assembly using a decommissioned HPLC instrument. This experiment encourages students to dismantle the instrument, explore its internal workings, and apply theoretical knowledge to practical scenarios. Integrated with ideological and political education, the experiment centers on student-centered inquiry, enhancing their independent thinking, problem-solving abilities, and fostering a spirit of exploration and innovation. It aims to cultivate a sense of patriotism through dedication to scientific and technological advancement.

In response to the current situation in chemistry education, where experiments predominantly focus on verification and students’ ability for independent innovation is limited, a novel experiment titled “Self-developed Surface Desorption Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Detection of Unsaturated Fatty Acids” has been designed. By guiding students to build their own atmospheric corona discharge ionization device, the experiment offers a deep understanding of the principles of ionization and epoxidation, encouraging experimental initiative. The homemade device is simple, efficient, and significantly reduces teaching costs, while also avoiding the use of organic reagents, reflecting an environmentally friendly approach. In this experiment, students investigate the epoxidation of the C＝C bond of oleic acid with the water radical cation (H₂O)₂^+·, a novel active species, for the rapid quantitative analysis of oleic acid in vegetable oils. The experiment emphasizes essential analytical chemistry techniques and organic mass spectrometry skills, with the goal of cultivating students’ hands-on abilities and fostering scientific innovation. This experiment is particularly suitable for undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses.

This paper introduces the design concept and basic structure of the modular teaching microplasma atomic emission spectrometer, using it as an example to demonstrate teaching reform strategies. The self-constructed device experimental teaching model enhances students’ understanding of fundamental principles while improving their hands-on skills and innovative abilities. By incorporating 3D printing and AI technologies, the approach aims to enhance teaching efficiency and equip students with the skills to apply advanced technologies. The modular teaching method allows students to choose study content based on their interests, supporting personalized learning experiences and fostering comprehensive analytical abilities and creative thinking.

Today, commercial analytical instruments used in teaching are often enclosed and highly automated, which, while convenient for routine analysis, can hinder the demonstration of instrument components and operations during the teaching process. To address this issue, we modified an old nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer to enable digital signal output. By replacing its mechanical recorder and cathode-ray tube oscilloscope with a data acquisition card and custom software, we successfully facilitated the display, manipulation, and storage of spectra on a computer. This modification enhances the instrument’s suitability for teaching, allowing for more direct observation and hands-on operation, thereby improving students’ understanding and stimulating their innovative thinking. It significantly enhances the educational outcomes of instrumental analysis experiments.

This paper introduces the design, construction, and application of an open upconversion fluorescence test system. The system consists of a laser light source, a beam turning mirror, a sample chamber, an optical fiber spectrometer, and a computer. The modular design concept allows students to independently construct and debug the instrument, thereby enhancing their understanding of fluorescence quantitative analysis methods, the principles and structure of fluorescence instruments, and stimulating their curiosity. This approach cultivates an innovative spirit and hones practical skills.

In the context of current educational reform, the innovation of teaching models based on the self-building of modular instrumental analysis experiments has become a crucial pathway for cultivating top-tier innovative talents. By enabling students to intuitively understand and actively participate in the design and assembly of instruments, their practical skills and research interests are significantly enhanced. The integration of ideological and political education into the curriculum further reinforces students’ scientific literacy and professional skills while fostering their sense of social responsibility and patriotism. This approach lays a solid foundation for developing innovative and versatile scientific talents imbued with socialist core values, providing sustained innovative impetus and intellectual support for the advancement of science and technology in China.

To align with the training objectives of the Chemical Metrology and Technology major, an experimental course on self-assembling ion chromatography instruments has been integrated into undergraduate laboratory teaching. By engaging in the hands-on assembly and optimization of these instruments, students deepen their understanding of ion chromatography principles and structures, enhancing their practical skills and innovative thinking. The experiment utilizes commercial components alongside custom-made parts to construct a fully functional ion chromatography system, calibrate its parameters, and evaluate its performance. Additionally, it analyzes anion concentrations in real water samples such as tap water, lake water, and beverages, yielding positive educational outcomes. This experimental design exemplifies the assembly of ion chromatography instruments, showcasing the design concepts and implementation processes involved, with the aim of inspiring more educators and students to engage in instrument design and the development of new methodologies.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a critical indicator in scientific research related to water pollution control. The traditional BOD testing method, based on dissolved oxygen consumption, has several disadvantages, including a long testing period, significant errors, poor reproducibility, and complex procedures, which hinder the advancement of water environment and ecology research as well as its application in experimental teaching. This paper presents a new principle, method, and instrument for BOD detection, detailing the development of an innovative scientific instrument—the “BOD-Q Water Quality Analyzer”—and its application in laboratory teaching. The results indicate that this instrument reduces the BOD detection time from the conventional 5 days to just 0.5 to 5 hours, with a detection error of less than 10%. Integrating this instrument into laboratory teaching enriches the curriculum and enhances teaching quality.

Mass spectrometers are highly sophisticated instruments, most of which are imported from abroad. Our center (National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemistry Education at the University of Science and Technology of China) had purchased the EXS800 teaching mass spectrometer in 2022 and introduced it into undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory. Through disassembling or assembling of the teaching mass spectrometer by themselves, students’ understanding about the internal structure of the mass spectrum had been deepened. At the same time, it can also reduce students’ awe for large instruments, stimulate their curiosity, and enhance their practical ability and innovative consciousness.

Residual gas leakage is a common issue during the disassembly of traditional exhaust gas absorption experimental devices. This study designs a novel reactor based on the principle of pressure equilibrium, allowing for the effective production of materials while preventing the leakage of harmful gases. After introducing the design principles and operational procedures of the reactor, we compare the performance of the traditional and new reactors in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory course. The new reactor not only ensures experimental results and efficiency but also significantly reduces residual gas leakage during device disassembly. This advancement minimizes the exposure of laboratory operators to harmful exhaust gases, decreases environmental pollution, and markedly enhances the safety and environmental sustainability of laboratory teaching. It further promotes the integration of environmental protection concepts into chemical laboratory education.

This experiment is designed to explore the optical properties of metal nanoparticles and their applications in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). It covers the synthesis, characterization, and applications of metal nanomaterials, allowing students to learn inorganic synthesis techniques and optical characterization methods while gaining insight into the experimental workflow of material preparation, property characterization, and system application-core elements of current scientific research. This experiment is suitable for students at various stages of their studies. Specifically, students will synthesize metal nanoparticles with varying sizes and shapes by adjusting the synthesis conditions at fist. Then they will characterize the optical properties and morphology using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), helping them relate these observations to basic nanophotonics principles. Finally, through the application of SERS, students will learn how preparation and characterization steps can be optimized to enhance detection results. This stepwise learning approach not only deepens students’ understanding of professional knowledge but also fosters scientific thinking.

Single-particle tracking represents a significant technological breakthrough for real-time observation of dynamic biological processes, particularly in uncovering mechanisms hidden in static observations. With advancements in optical microscopy, commercial instruments now enable real-time observation of biological processes at the microscopic scale. This experiment explores the size effect of plasmonic nanomaterials using gold and silver nanoparticles as imaging probes. Additionally, live cell imaging experiments are designed to introduce single-particle tracking into undergraduate education by observing the diffusion of gold nanorods on cell membranes as an exemplary experiment in Chemical Metrology and Technology. The experiment is rich in content and engaging, targeting second- and third-year undergraduates who have a foundational understanding of chemistry and chemical biology and are interested in Chemical Metrology and Technology. The goal is to integrate cutting-edge research in single-particle tracking into undergraduate teaching, encouraging independent exploration and stimulating students’ interest in scientific research while cultivating their professional skills.

Raman spectroscopy offers unique advantages for analytical applications. In this study, a teaching Raman spectrometer was successfully developed to enhance students’ comprehensive abilities in the field of chemical measurement science. The instrument is characterized by its compact size, low cost, and modular design, allowing for easy disassembly and reassembly. The self-developed components were designed for modular assembly, and the instrument was used in laboratory teaching to demonstrate Raman spectroscopy applications in both scientific and engaging ways. Through understanding the principles of Raman spectroscopy and mastering testing techniques, students can improve their practical skills, problem-solving abilities, and innovative thinking. This experiment offers students a deeper insight into the internal structure, instrument design, and performance optimization of scientific instruments, and is expected to stimulate their enthusiasm for instrument development.

In an effort to bridge the gap in undergraduate laboratory teaching content related to single-molecule scale electrical characterization, we have developed a high-precision instrument. And, this instrument, designed to measure the electrical properties of single-molecule devices, is tailored specifically for laboratory teaching courses. This experiment has become a required course for “Chemical Metrology and Technology” major at Xiamen University, as well as part of the Chemical Metrology Experiments in the Chemistry “101 Plan”, displaying a distinct interdisciplinary character. Undertaking this laboratory course allows students to explore the emerging trends in future chip technology while simultaneously honing their cross-disciplinary thinking skills in a hands-on learning environment.