Using Simple Modeling Experiments and Basic Materials to Illustrate Proteins and Enzymes Structure and Function for Medical Students

Introduction: Misunderstanding enzyme structure and function is a major problem of biochemical education. The purpose of this work was to consider the general features of structure and function of proteins and enzymes relevant to an understanding of structure and function of proteins and enzymes by modeling experiments.

Methods: A total of 109 medical students of Babol University of Medical Sciences during a few years were recruited to participate in the study. The data were obtained by a researcher-made questionnaire. Totally 89% of the students participated in the study, and finally 109 questionnaires were completed.

Results: After intervention, the mean scores of proteins and enzymology were significantly higher than before it. There is a significant difference in Mean examination scores of the medical students before (14.2±1.4, 14.9±1.2) and after (17.2±1.6, 18.3±1.3) the intervention for male and female students, respectively, in terms of using proteins and enzymes structure modeling. Also, a brief outline is given of those aspects of proteins and enzymology which are most relevant to clinical practice,(I) to illustrate some aspects of proteins and enzymes structure, and (II) allow students to become skilled in processing, presenting and discussing data obtained directly by them, or furnished by the instructor.

Conclusion: This simple method can be successfully used to illustrate, explain and characterize many of the physical, chemical and clinical properties of proteins and enzymes. It can also be looked upon as a method for assessment of the education quality, preferably through experiences in medical education.