SEPTEMBER 2023 Southwest Retort

Vol. 76(1) September 2023 Editorial and Business Offices: Contact the Editor for subscription and advertisement information.

Editor: Connie Hendrickson: retort@acsdfw.org

Copy and Layout Editor: Lance Hughes: hugla64@gmail.com

Business Manager: Martha Gilchrist: Martha.Gilchrist@tccd.edu

2022 DFW Section Officers

Chair: Mihaela C. Stefan

Chair-elect: Rajani Srinivasan

Past Chair: Trey Putnam

Treasurer: Martha Gilchrist

Secretary: Violeta Vega Gomez

Councilors:

MaryAnderson

Kirby Drake

Linda SchultzR

Rebecca Weber

Alternate Councilors:

Michael Bigwood

Daniela Hutanu

Danny Tran

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From the ACS Press Room

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Sitting calmly in their webs, many spiders wait for prey to come to them. Arachnids along lakes and rivers eat aquatic insects, such as dragonflies. But, when these insects live in mercury-contaminated waterways, they can pass the metal along to the spiders that feed on them. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters have demonstrated how some shoreline spiders can move mercury contamination from riverbeds up the food chain to land animals.

Most mercury that enters waterways originates from industrial pollution and other human activities, but it can also come from natural sources. Once in the water, microbes transform the element into methylmercury, a more toxic form, which biomagnifies and increases in organisms up the food chain. Scientists increasingly recognize spiders living on lakeshores and riverbanks as a potential link between contamination in waterways and animals that mostly live on land, such as birds, bats and amphibians, which eat the insects. So, Sarah Janssen and colleagues wanted to assess if shoreline spiders’ tissues contain mercury from nearby riverbeds and establish how these animals could connect mercury pollution in water and land animals.

The researchers collected long-jawed spiders along two tributaries to Lake Superior, and

they sampled sediments, dragonfly larvae and yellow perch fish from these waterways. Next, the team measured and identified the mercury sources, including direct industrial contamination, precipitation and runoff from soil. The team observed that the origin of mercury in the sediments was the same up the aquatic food chain in wetlands, reservoir shorelines and urban shorelines. For instance, when sediment contained a higher proportion of industrial mercury, so did the dragonfly larvae, spider and yellow perch tissues that were collected. Based on the data, the researchers say that long-jawed spiders could indicate how mercury pollution moves from aquatic environments to terrestrial wildlife. The implication of these findings is that spiders living next to the water provide clues to the sources of mercury contamination in the environment, informing management decisions and providing a new tool for monitoring of remediation activities, explain the researchers.

Continued on page 17

Some spiders can transfer mercury contamination to land animals, study shows

Mercury Isotope Values in Shoreline Spiders Reveal the Transfer ofAquatic Mercury Sources to Terrestrial Food Webs”

Some shoreline spiders, such as the longjawed spider shown here, move mercury contamination from riverbeds up the food chain to land animals.

Dr. Ryan Otter, Grand Valley State University

Arrhenius,ACSDFW Local Section, and You

Sept 18, 2023

Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD

2023 Chair-Elect ACSDFW, dmerkle@sciconsult.com

As we convert the energy inherent in our lives from the potential induced by Covid Captivity to the kinetic required by Living in the Time of Covid, surely everyone's thoughts turn to Ea., that often-pesky input of energy required to turn reactants into products - and by extrapolation, intentions into actions. We all can follow in Arrhenius' venerable footsteps and calculate Activation Energy - but that requires soooo much effort. By empirical methods alone we can determine that the oomph we must expend to resume some semblance of normality is huge. Just huge. Even those of us who have been working while looking at actual people instead of zoom screens feel a running-in-Jello drag when attempting to add activities back into life.

And this is where the ACSDFW local section is introduced to the reaction flask. The Executive Committee of the DFW Local Section of the ACS is on a quest to discover the best possible ways in which to interact with ACSDFW members. In this process, planning for meetings, programs, and activities is underway. (The recent Schulz Award dinner honoring 2023 Recipient CarrieAlexander of Waxahachie HS was super, by the way).

Next up for an infusion of energy is 2023 National Chemistry Week (NCW), The Healing Power of Chemistry, October 15-21. This year's fabulous celebration at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) will again be coordinated by Dr. Kayla Green* of TCU. ACSDFW members are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Green to volunteer to participate in this massive and marvelous undertaking, and/or to use resources available on acs.org to arrange NCW programming in their own location - wherever works. Crank up the Variac (although North Texas doesn't really need more heat) and share chemistry with the masses!

November programming is moving forward, too. The Ea should be low enough to add another interesting and instructional seminar on Chemical Safety - a topic that should already be near and dear to everyone's hearts - to the agenda.

It's not directly a local section thing, but if time and day-job/classes permit, attend the 2023 Southwest Regional Meeting (SWRM 2023), which will be held in Oklahoma City from November 15-18. SWRM 2023's theme is Chemistry Energized. More energy! Is there such a thing as a chemistry omen? swrm.org.

And finally for 2023, in December, ACSDFW will again partner with the Fort Worth Life Sciences Coalition (FWLSC), this year we'll host EXPO, an event to showcase the energies, innovations, and activities of ACSDFW members and Friends of FWLSC. It won't take too much extraATP cleavage to attend this one!

While you're adding all these events to your calendars, please consider contacting your local section ExCom to let us know what future programs you'd like to see. Would you be interested in speaking to high school students, many of whom only know chemistry teachers and have

no idea that Chemistry can be a career? Is there a topic you'd likeACSDFW to cover, via an event or in the Southwest Retort? Would input from an established chemist be helpful to your life? What kinds of events would you like to enjoy? No need to answer all the questions, but please decrease your ΔH and share whatACSDFW can do for you.

ACSDFWTX@GMAIL.COM

Chem Happy, Everyone! Higher happiness = Lower Ea (If this is not a fact, it should be)

**Kayla N. Green, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Texas Christian University

Website: http://personal.tcu.edu/kaylagreen/

ACS DFW SchulzAward Winner

Carrie Alexander (left), ACS DFW Schulz Awardee for 2023, receiving her certificate from President Elect DeniseMerkle(right)at Two Amigos Taqueria inWaxahachie.

From the ACS Press Room

‘Lab-on-a-drone’ sends science skyward to keep track of smelly air pollution

“AirQuality Lab-on-a-Drone: A Low-Cost 3D-Printed Analytical IoT Platform for Vertical Monitoring of Gaseous H2S”

Analytical Chemistry

Polluted air can contribute to the development of asthma and other conditions, and the first step toward combating its effects is continuous, accurate monitoring. Most measurement devices are stationary, placed just feet above the ground, but contaminants can drift away. Now, researchers publishing in ACS’ Analytical Chemistry have developed a “lab-on-a-drone” system that, unlike similar gadgets, can detect and analyze levels of pollutants, such as smelly hydrogen sulfide gas, all while still floating in mid-air.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is one of the stinkiest air pollutants, well known for its putrid, rotten-egg odor. Though it’s naturally found in well water and volcanic emissions, it’s also a common byproduct of petroleum refineries and wastewater treatment plants. The gas is an irritant, and in

high enough amounts, it can be toxic. Most methods to quantify H2S and other pollutants rely on ground-based instruments, and expensive devices such as satellites are required to collect measurements at higher altitudes. Unmanned drones have been used by researchers to gather samples in mid-air, but analyses still had to be performed on the ground with traditional instruments. So, João Flávio da Silveira Petruci and colleagues wanted to create an inexpensive “lab-on-adrone” that could sample and analyze H2S gas while in the air and report the results in real time a first for devices of its kind.

Using a 3D printer, the team manufactured a custom device that was mounted to the bottom of a commercially available quadcopter drone. It took advantage of a unique chemical reaction between H2S and a greenglowing fluorescein mercuric acetate molecule. When excited by an onboard blue LED light, the interaction caused a decrease in the green fluorescence intensity, which was detected and quantified. This reaction is highly selective and was not affected by other, interfering gaseous air pollutants.

The team took their drone to a wastewater treatment plant, where it sampled air on the ground, then at around 30 and 65 feet in the air at three different times throughout the day. The detection device transmitted its results via Bluetooth to a smartphone, allowing for real-time monitoring. In the evening, there was a clear increase inH2S concentration as the drone increased altitude, though it never exceeded the acceptable ambient level.

Continued on page 17

This modified quadcopter drone can detect and analyze hydrogen sulfide gas while in the air.Adapted fromAnalytical Chemistry, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/ acs.analchem.3c02719

From the ACS Press Room

on

“Legacies of Pre-1960s Municipal Waste Incineration

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Public parks open, green lawns or idyllic, forested get-aways help bring nature into cities. But some municipalities built recreational spaces over soil contaminated by industrial activities. Now, in a small-scale study, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters report elevated soil lead levels in city parks that had housed garbage incinerators and waste ash decades ago. In some cases, the measured levels exceeded the limit considered hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

layers of topsoil. But wind and rain can erode that material, and new landscaping activities can potentially bring up the deeper leadcontaminated layers, increasing the surface soils’ lead levels above EPA’s threshold of 400 parts per million for children’s play areas. So, Daniel Richter and colleagues wanted to examine soil in city parks that were once home to waste incinerators and the ash they produced.

The researchers identified four current city park locations where waste incinerators used to be. Then they collected the top layer of soil from grassy areas, forests and streams throughout the parks. Analyzing the samples revealed different patterns of soil remediation and potential exposures to lead:

• In the public portion of one park, every sample was under the EPA's soil-lead limit and considered safe.

• The other two parks had potentially hazardous lead contamination in multiple samples.

• One cluster of 10 nearby samples exceeded 1,000 parts per million.

• Stream beds and channel walls contained the highest lead levels, ranging from 2,400 to 12,000 parts per million.

g215/Shutterstock.com

Before the 1950s, many cities in the U.S. and Canada burned garbage, trash, street debris and construction materials at incineration facilities. Some of the waste entering the incinerators, such as tin cans, paint and pipes, contained lead, and then the resulting ash concentrated these hazardous metals. When these sites closed down, some cities converted the land for other uses, such as recreation, by adding clean

• To expand their study to other communities, the researchers analyzed historic surveys of municipal waste management. They found that about half of the surveyed U.S. and Canadian cities incinerated solid waste between the 1930s and 1950s. And for six cities, the team showed how city officials could track

Continued on page 17

in the Pb of City Soils”

Parks

historic trash incinerator sites could have lead hotspots, study shows

Elevated soil lead levels have been measured at some city parks that housed garbage incinerators decades ago.

From the ACS Press Room

Recent advances in melon and gourd research

As summer draws to a close, the long vines and tendrils of most melons and gourds in the Cucurbitaceae family snake their way along the ground. And they’re dotted with fruits, such as cucumbers or pumpkins. Below are some recent papers published in ACS journals that report insights into melons’potential health impacts, pathogens and contaminants. Reporters can request free access to these papers by emailing newsroom@acs.org.

“Nanoparticles Loaded with a Carotenoid-Rich Extract from Cantaloupe Melon Improved Hepatic Retinol Levels in a Diet-Induced Obesity Preclinical Model”

Cantaloupe melons are rich in beta-carotene and other carotenoids, which break down into vitamin A, also called retinol, in the human body. However, people with obesity tend to consume less of this micronutrient than those of average weight. So, these scientists created carotenoid nanocapsules by extracting the molecules from cantaloupes and coating them with gelatin. When obese rats ingested the capsules, they ate less food, and their livers contained more retinol. The team says that the technique should be evaluated as a treatment for diseases associated with vitamin A deficiency and obesity.

“Degradation of α-Subunits, Doa1 and Doa4, are Critical for Growth, Development, Programmed Cell Death Events, “Stress Responses, and Pathogenicity in t he Watermelon Fusarium Wilt Fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum"

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

To find better ways to combat watermelon fusarium wilt, researchers focused on two genes in the fungus that causes the disease. They infected young watermelon roots with spores from a wild-type fungal strain and from mutant ones with either the FonDoa1 or FonDoa2 gene removed. After three weeks, the mutant fungal strains grew less, caused less severe disease and killed fewer plants. The team suggests targeting these genes with future fungicides.

ACS Omega

From the ACS Press Room

“Highly Efficient and Simultaneous Analysis of Three Common Fluorotelomer Alcohols in Vegetables and Soils

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

JAs a step toward routine analyses of fluorinated compounds in foods, researchers have optimized a method to measure levels of three fluorotelomer alcohols. The team developed their technique using fruits and vegetables, including cucumbers. Then they measured the contaminants in calabash gourd, bitter gourd, towel gourd, pumpkins and 16 other edible vegetables grown near a fluorochemical facility. Many samples had detectable levels of one or more of the contaminants.

“Pumpkin and Pumpkin Byproducts: Phytochemical Constitutes, Food Application and Health Benefits”

Pumpkin pulp is a tasty addition to autumnal pies, soups and drinks. But what are its health benefits? In this review, the authors assessed the edible parts of pumpkin and pumpkin waste byproducts for their nutritional qualities. They report that the flesh, seeds, leaves and skin of pumpkins contain important trace elements, vitamins and nutrients. Phytochemicals, in particular, can provide antidiabetic, antioxidant and antidepressant effects. And the waste products of pumpkins can serve as functional ingredients for baked goods, drinks, and meat and dairy products.

”

ACS Omega

Report on FallACS (Hybrid) Council Meeting

The Fall 2023 National ACS Conference was held in San Francisco from August 13 – 17. The meeting was primarily in-person, although hybrid and virtual options were still offered. 15,019 registrations were counted as ofAugust 16, with 13,363 in-person and 1,656 virtual. The ACS Council Meeting was also held in a hybrid fashion, allowing councilors to participate virtually. It seemed to go relatively smoothly from my perspective in-person, although I may have had a different opinion had I attended online!

The usual fall elections were held for standing committees, namely the Council Policy Committee (CPC), the Committee on Committees (ConC), and the Committee on Nominations and Elections (N&E). The following members were voted into the committees:

CPC: Martha G. Hollomon, Elizabeth M. Howson, Jeanette M. Van Emon, and Lydia E. M. Hines were elected for a three-year term (2024-2026); James C. Carver was elected for a one-year term (2024-2025) to fill the unexpired term of Will E. Lynch, who was elected to theACS Board of Directors.

ConC: Anna G. Cavinato, Andrea B. Twiss-Brooks, Thomas R. Gilbert, Jeanne R. Berk, and W. Matthew Reichert were elected for a three year term (2024-2026)

N&E: Linette M. Watkins, Arlene A Garrison, Zaida C. Morales Martinez, Amber F. Charlebois, and Jetty L. Duffy-Matzner were elected for a three-year term (20242026); Kevin J. Edgar was elected for a one-year term (2024-2025) to fill Silvia Ronco’s vacancy

The CEO of ACS, Albert Horvath, shared with Council that the newly-appointed Editor-inChief of C&EN, Mohammad Yahia, passed away on his way to the San Francisco meeting. He leaves behind a wife, Ola, and two young children, as well as a grieving community. There were several actions and petitions in front of council concerning our international members. As the outgoing International Affairs Committee Chair noted, 50% of our total revenue and 18% of our total membership comes from outside the boarders of our country; as such, he reminded Council that all petitions were intended to try to address inequities for our international members, all of whom are proud to be members of ACS. One major action at Council was voting to approve the conversion of one of the six Director-at-Large positions to an International District Director, to give our international members a voice on the Board of Directors. This vote will still need to ratified by all ACS members in the fall elections, so please keep an eye out for the email about the election!

The Council Special Discussion, led by ACS President Judith Giordan, was on “ACS Council: Equitable Governance for the Future”, asking how we can ensure equitable outcomes and representation in council? She prompted the councilors to consider and discuss the following questions:

Ideally, forACS Council to equitably represent all members, we would…

The key areas where we need to ensure greater equity and inclusion in Council are… I wish ACS Council would/could … to engender greater equity and inclusion.

If you have thoughts on these questions, please send them to secretary@acs.org.

One additional reminder – all of our ACS members are able to serve on national committees, and Council is constantly striving to increase the numbers of members willing and able to serve on committees. If this is something that might be interesting to you, the online Committee Preference form generally opens in the spring, allowing the Committee on Committees to gather the information of people who are interesting in serving on committees. If you have more questions about committee service, send an email to secretary@acs.org!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Weber Councilor University of North Texas

From the ACS Press Room

Rubber plumbing seals can leak additives into drinking water, study says

“Occurrence of Polymer Additives 1,3-

Diphenylguanidine (DPG), N‑(1,3Dimethylbutyl)‑N′‑phenyl-1,4benzenediamine (6PPD), and Chlorinated Byproducts in Drinking Water: Contribution from Plumbing Polymer Materials”

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

As drinking water flows through pipes and into a glass, it runs against the rubber seals inside some plumbing devices. These parts contain additives that contribute to their flexibility and durability, but these potentially harmful compounds can leak into drinking water, according to a small-scale study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The authors report that the released compounds, which are typically linked to tire pollution, also transformed into other unwanted byproducts.

To enhance rubber’s strength and durability, manufacturers typically mix in additives. Scientists have shown that tire dust can transport these substances, such as 1,3 diphenylguanidine (DPG) and N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'phenyl-1,4-benzenediamine (6PPD), into waterways. DPG and 6PPD have also been detected in drinking water samples, though it’s unclear how the compounds got there. In previous research, Shane Snyder and Mauricius Marques dos Santos found that these rubber additives can react with disinfectants in simulated drinking water. Their lab tests generated a variety of chlorinated compounds, some of which could damage DNA. Now, the team wanted to assess whether real-world rubber

plumbing fixtures can release DPG and 6PPD and form chlorinated byproducts in drinking water samples.

In this pilot study, the team collected tap water from 20 buildings and detected polymer additives at parts per trillion levels in every sample. The researchers explain that these compounds are not currently regulated, but the measured levels are potentially concerning, based on their previous study’s results from human cell bioassays. And the samples from faucets with aerators contained the highest total amounts. All of the samples contained DPG and one of its chlorinated byproducts, whereas 6PPD and two other chlorine-containing compounds were each found in fewer than five samples. This is the first report of chlorinated DPG byproducts in drinking water, according to the researchers.

Rubber

can release potentially harmful additives into drinking water, where they can transform into chlorinated byproducts.

Svetliy/Shutterstock.com

To see if these compounds could have come from plumbing fixtures, the team tested rubber O-rings and gaskets from seven commercial devices, including faucet aerators and connection seals. In the experiment, the rings sat in water with or

without chlorinated disinfectants for up to two weeks. Most of the seals, except for the silicone-based ones, released DPG and 6PPD

Continued on page 17

plumbing seals

From the ACS Press Room

‘Resurrecting’ the legendary figure behind Count Dracula

“Count Dracula Resurrected: Proteomic Analysis of Vlad III the Impaler’s Documents by EVA Technology and Mass Spectrometry”

Analytical Chemistry

Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, was a 15th century prince and military leader who was so terrifying, he’s thought to have inspired the creation of the literary vampire, Count Dracula. Now, a scientific examination of his letters is giving new insights into his health. Researchers now reporting in

III, Voivode of Wallachia, and he lived in the southern region of Romania in the mid1400s. Of course, there’s no evidence that Vlad III was a vampire, but he was feared for his ruthlessness. Some estimates place his death toll at over 80,000 people, many dying by impalement, earning him his nickname. He was also referred to as Vlad Drăculea, translating to “the son of the dragon,” which many believe inspired the eponymous character from the novel Dracula.

Though over 500 years have passed since Vlad’s reign, some artifacts have remained, including several letters he penned at different points throughout his life. The molecules and proteins present on documents and other relics like these can provide scientists with a unique understanding of the life and times of people from the past. So, Vincenzo Cunsolo and colleagues wanted to, for the first time, investigate these letters to learn more about the health of the infamous Vlad Drăculea, as well as the environment he lived in.

ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, say the results suggest that Vlad probably had skin and respiratory conditions and could have even cried literal tears of blood.

The legendary figure’s official title was Vlad

To uncover the letters’ secrets, the researchers used a specialized plastic film called EVA, or ethylene-vinyl acetate, to extract any proteins or small molecules from the paper without damaging it. These extracts were then analyzed with mass spectrometry, allowing researchers to characterize thousands of different peptides. Of these, the team focused on those with the most advanced deamidation, a form of protein degradation that occurs with age. The most degraded proteins

Continued on page 18

An old, paper letter, featuring script-style writing in Latin, a red wax seal and two blue stamps. This letter written by Vlad the Impaler in 1475 contains proteins that suggest he suffered from respiratory problems and bloodied tears. Adapted from Analytical Chemistry, 2023, DOI: 10.1021/

From the ACS Press Room

Developing a less invasive test for inflammatory bowel disease

Journal of Proteome Research

Millions of Americans have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which occurs in one of two forms: Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Though the two have similar symptoms, they require different treatment strategies, and tests to distinguish between them are invasive. Reporting in ACS’ Journal of Proteome Research, researchers now show that chains of sugar molecules are tacked onto antibodies differently in patients with the diseases, which could someday lead to a simple blood-based diagnostic test.

Though Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have similar symptoms and unknown causes, they affect disparate parts of the gastrointestinal tract and therefore require different therapies. Currently, distinguishing between the two typically requires invasive procedures, such as an endoscopy or biopsy. To develop a less uncomfortable option, some researchers are searching for biomarkers in blood or other easily accessible body fluids. Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins, could serve as biomarkers, given that immunoglobulin G (IgG) was previously shown to play a role in autoimmune diseases, including IBD. But another class, immunoglobulin A (IgA), could play a role as well, because it functions within the mucous membranes that cover and protect internal organs, such as the intestinal tract. These immune molecules can be decorated with chains of sugars called glycans,

and this can affect their structure and function. Since Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis both affect the intestinal tract, Manfred Wuhrer and colleagues wanted to understand how IgA glycosylation might differ between these two diseases.

To investigate these glycosylation patterns, the researchers analyzed over 400 clinical plasma samples from patients with either form of IBD, alongside nearly 200 healthy controls. Using a combination of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, they found over 30 different forms of the IgA1 and IgA2 antibodies. The glycans differed between the three experimental groups. The Crohn’s disease patients had IgAs with fewer branched sugars, but more glycosylation overall compared to other groups. Ulcerative colitis patients had more glycans attached to the opposite end of the IgA protein chain than the control group. These patterns were used to construct a preliminary statistical model that could predict the disease group, and the model could be expanded further to be used as a diagnostic tool. The researchers say that this work could help make diagnosing IBD easier and less invasive for patients.

SciePro/Shutterstock.com

The authors acknowledge funding from the European Commission.

“Immunoglobulin A Glycosylation Differs between Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

Diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease could be made easier thanks to some tiny sugar chains.

From ACS Press Room Continued

Some Spiders can Transfer Mercury Contamination

Continued from page 5

The team also collected and analyzed tissues from two other types of arachnids from some sites: fishing spiders and orb-weaver spiders. A comparison of the data showed that the mercury sources varied among the three taxa. The team attributes this result to differences in feeding strategies. Fishing spiders hunt near water but primarily on land; orb-weavers eat both aquatic and terrestrial insects; but it’s the long-jawed species that feed most heavily on adult aquatic insects. These results suggest that although longjawed spiders can help monitor aquatic contaminants, not every species living near the shore is an accurate sentinel, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the U.S. Geological Survey Environmental Health Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Parks on Historic Trash Incenerator Sites

Continued from page 9

the conversion of incinerator sites to parks and evaluate the soil for lead-containing ash pollution. The researchers say that this information could provide insights about park visitors’potential lead exposures.

The authors acknowledge funding from Duke University and from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Rubber Plumbing

Continued from page 14

Continued from page 8

adapted to detect other pollutants in the future.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, the Research Support Foundation of the State of Minas Gerais, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.

additives. Additionally, plumbing pieces sitting in disinfectant-treated water generated chlorinated forms of DPG in amounts that were consistent with those observed in the drinking water samples. Because some of the rubber plumbing seals released DPG and 6PPD, the researchers say that drinking water, as well as tire pollution, could be a route of human exposure to these compounds.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Merlion programme; the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs; the Nanyang Technological University; the National Research Foundation of Singapore; and the Public Utilities Board, Singapore’s National Water Agency.

“Lab-on-a-drone”

From the ACS Press Room Continued

“Resurrecting” Count Dracula

Continued from page 15

were likely the oldest, and therefore, they are the most likely to be from Vlad compared to newer, less-degraded proteins that could have originated from other people handling the letters more recently. A total of 16 proteins were of human origin, relating to skin, breathing and blood. The researchers say that the data they acquired, although not exhaustive, suggest that Vlad could have suffered from respiratory issues, and potentially even a condition called hemolacria, which would have caused him to cry tears of blood quite fitting for such a spooky character. Other proteins identified by the team indicate that he could have been exposed to certain, plague-related bacteria or even pesky fruit flies. In all, the researchers say that this

work helps shed light on some important documents of the past, as well as the people who may have written them.

The authors acknowledge funding from the University of Catania. They also acknowledge the Bio-Nanotech Research and Innovation Tower of the University of Catania for the use of a mass spectrometer.

From the Editor

Congratulations to Ms Carrie Alexander of Waxahachie High School, recipient of the 2023 Schulz Award. On her LinkedIn Page, Ms Alexander says, “Icurrently teach Chemistry toALL levels from inclusion toAP and I love it.”

Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler, lived in the southern region of Romania in the mid-1400s and is thought to be the model for Dracula. Over 500 years old, several letters he had written remain. Vincenzo Cunsolo and colleagues wanted to use these letters to learn more about the health of the infamous Vlad and his environment. The researchers used a specialized plastic film called EVA, or ethylenevinyl acetate, to extract any proteins or small molecules from the paper without damaging it. These extracts were then analyzed with mass spectrometry, allowing researchers to characterize thousands of different peptides. It turns out that Vlad could have suffered from respiratory issues, and potentially even a condition called hemolacria, which would have caused him to cry tears of blood. Other proteins indicate that he could have been exposed to certain, plague-related bacteria. Here is the link to the article in case you want to read more:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01461

Note: I tried I really tried to choose a favorite press release other than the one on Count Dracula. But alas, I could not.

Welcome back to the Southwest Retort!