SOUTHWEST RETORT
SEVENTY-FOURTH YEAR
November 2021
Published for the advancement of Chemists, Chemical Engineers and Chemistry in this area published by The Dallas-Fort Worth Section, with the cooperation of five other local sections of the American Chemical Society in the Southwest Region.
Vol. 74(3) November 2021 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 The Southwest Retort is published monthly, September through May, by the Dallas-Ft. Worth Section of the American Chemical Society, Inc., for the ACS Sections of the Southwest Region.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Fifty Years Ago………………………….......5 ARTICLES and COLUMNS Letter from the Editor…..…..……..............15 NEWS SHORTS Plugging into Ocean Waves with a Flexible, Seaweed-like Generator (video)……...........6
Lithium Imaging Method could Shine New Light on Bipolar Disorder, Treatment…….8 Plant-based Gummy Candy Helps Vegans and Vegetarians get Their Vitamins........9 Reversing New-onset Type 1 Diabetes with Pyramid-like DNA…………………….…..10 Color-changing Indicator Predicts Algal Blooms……………………………………...12
ACS DFW Local Section Run for Office……………………...………..7
Contact the DFW Section General: info@acsdfw.org Education: ncw@acsdfw.org Elections: candidates@acsdfw.org Facebook: DFWACS Twitter: acsdfw
November 2021
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Huffman Laboratories……………..…........3 TCU Positions Available..……...…...….......3 TMJ Data Entry and Editing.………......…3 ANA-LAB…………………………...….…..4 UTD Graduate Program…………...……..11 TWU Position Available…………………..13
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FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE SOUTHWEST RETORT The banquet speaker for the upcoming ACS Southwest Regional Meeting in San Antonio will be John H. Disher of NASA. His talk will be on “Sky Lab---Our Astronaut’s Next Step in Space.” The new officers for 1972 for the DallasFort Worth ACS Section are as follows: Chair-Elect, Peter Girardot, UT-Arlington; Secretary, Linda Creagh, TWU; Treasurer, John Maguire, SMU; Directors, Leroy Theriot, North Texas State and E. Thomas Strom, Mobil. Strom was also elected to a three year term as Councilor. The new Chair is last year’s Chair-Elect, Herman Custard of Mobil. The two new junior colleges of the Dallas County system are now offering second year chemistry courses. The chemistry teachers at Mountain View Jr. College are Dr. Marjorie White and Mr. Charles Freeman. The chemistry faculty at Eastfield Jr. College are Dr. Hance Hamilton and Mr. Jerry McMahon. Continuing are the faculty at El Centro Jr. College, Dr. Carlos Gonzales, Mr. Richard O’Brien, and Mr. Floyd King. When the new Richland Jr. College opens in the fall of 1972, Mr. King will be the Division Chair there for Science and Mathematics.
In the Central Texas ACS Section, ACS President-Elect candidate William A. Mosher of the University of Delaware spoke on Oct. 20 on “The Chemistry of Marijuana.” ACS President-Elect Candidate Alan Nixon talked on Oct. 23 on “Professional Aspects of Chemistry.” From UT-Austin Welch Professor Michael J. S. Dewar gave several lectures in Sweden and Denmark. Dr. Allen J. Bard gave the plenary lecture at the “Symposium on Bioelectrochemistry” held Oct. 11-14 in Princeton, NJ. Dr. James E. Boggs has announced the “Fourth Austin Symposium on Gas Phase Molecular Structure” to be held Feb. 28-Mar. 2, 1972. Dr. Henry Shine of Texas Tech University gave seminars in October on the topic “Chemistry of Organic Cation Radicals” to chemistry departments at UT-Austin, Southwest Texas State University, and Trinity University.
Graydon B. Larrabee, Manager of the Research Branch of the Central Analytical Laboratory of Texas Instruments, has been selected for the “Analyst of the Year” Award for 1971. This award is given yearly by the Dallas Society of Analytical Chemists to the most deserving analytical chemist in the Southwest Region of the ACS.
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From the ACS Press Room
Plugging into Ocean Waves with a Flexible, Seaweed-like Generator (video) “Flexible Seaweed-Like Triboelectric Nanogenerator as a Wave Energy Harvester Powering Marine Internet of Things”
tinuous movement as a renewable energy source, researchers initially developed floating devices that converted wave energy into electricity using rotating magnets. But these ACS Nano devices were inefficient with less frequent Ocean waves can be powerful, containing waves, such as those found underwater. Trienough energy to push around sand, pebbles boelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which and even boulders during storms. These rely on surfaces coming in contact to produce waves, as well as smaller, more gentle ones, static electricity, could be a way to address could be tapped as a source of renewable en- this challenge because of their effectiveness ergy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS for harvesting low-frequency, low-amplitude Nano have developed flexible power genera- wave energy. So, Minyi Xu, Zhong Lin Wang tors that mimic the way seaweed sways to and colleagues were inspired by plants living efficiently convert surface and underwater on the seafloor to create flexible TENGs. The waves into electricity to power marine-based researchers wanted to copy the way strands devices. Watch a video of the seaweed-like of seaweed vibrate to charge bendable triboepower generators. lectric surfaces, harvesting the movement of waves into electricity to power floating and submerged marine sensors. To make the triboelectric surfaces, the reYoutube ID: XuVKRhRMogY searchers coated 1.5-inch by 3-inch strips of two different polymers in a conductive ink. Then a small sponge was wedged between the strips, creating a thin air gap, and the Across many coastal zones, networks of sen- whole unit was sealed, creating a TENG. In sors collect information on the water’s cur- tests, as the TENGs were moved up and rents, tides and clarity to help ships navigate down in water, they bent back and forth, genand to monitor water quality. This “marine erating electricity. When the researchers put internet of things” is powered mostly by bat- the TENGs in water pressures similar to teries that have to be replaced from time to those found underwater in coastal zones, they time, which is time-consuming and expen- found that the air gap between the two consive. Wind and solar power could be used, ductive materials decreased. However, the but they aren’t suitable for underwater appli- devices still generated a current at 100 kPa of cations. Looking to harness the ocean’s con- pressure — the same pressure that typically exists at a 30-foot water depth where there is November 2021
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almost no underwater wave movement. Finally, the researchers used a wave tank to demonstrate that multiple TENGs could be used as a mini underwater power station, supplying energy for either a thermometer, 30 LEDs or a blinking miniature lighthouse LED beacon. The researchers say their seaweed-like TENG could reduce the reliance on batteries in coastal zones, including for marine sensors. The authors acknowledge funding from National Natural Science Foundation of China; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China; and the China Scholarship Council.
2021 DFW Section Officers Chair: Trey Putnam Chair-elect: Mihaela C. Stefan Past Chair: Mihaela C. Stefan Treasurer: Martha Gilchrist
Secretary: Heidi Conrad Councilors: Mary Anderson, Linda Schultz, E. Thomas Strom, and Jason McAfee
Alternate Councilors: Michael Bigwood, John McIlroy, Daniela Hutanu, and Danny Tran
Thinking about running for office? In the DFW Section, that is!
POSITIONS OPEN: Chair-Elect (Three-year term: one year as chair-elect, one year as chair, and one year as past chair) Secretary (one year term)
Treasurer (one year term) Councilor (three year term): 3 positions up Alternate Councilor (three year term): 3 positions up ELECTION IN NOVEMBER: IF INTERESTED EMAIL HEIDI CONRAD (H.CONRAD@TCU.EDU) AND INCLUDE A SHORT BIOSKETCH. November 2021
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From the ACS Press Room
Lithium Imaging Method could Shine New Light on Bipolar Disorder, Treatment “DNAzyme-Based Lithium-Selective Imaging Reveals Higher Lithium Accumulation in Bipolar Disorder Patient-Derived Neurons” ACS Central Science Since 1949, lithium has been a mainstay for treating bipolar disorder (BD), a mental health condition marked by extreme mood swings. But scientists still don’t have a clear understanding of how the drug works, or why some patients respond better than others. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science developed a method for imaging lithium in living cells, allowing them to discover that neurons from BD patients accumulate higher levels of lithium than healthy controls. According to the National Institutes of Health, 4.4% of U.S. adults experience BD at some time in their lives. Studies have shown that lithium-based drugs can help stabilize mood and reduce suicide risk in people with BD. However, only about one-third of BD patients respond completely to lithium treatment, and the rest respond only partially or not at all. One reason could be that the drug has an extremely narrow therapeutic range: Below a certain blood serum level of lithium, most patients do not respond, but at a slightly higher level, they can experience severe side effects. Being able to measure lithium concentrations directly in a patient’s neurons could help scientists understand how lithium November 2021
works as a drug, and then they could use this knowledge to optimize the dosage. So Yi Lu and colleagues wanted to develop a method to detect and measure lithium in living cells at therapeutically relevant concentrations. The researchers used in vitro selection to identify a DNA enzyme (DNAzyme) that catalyzes the release of a fluorescent molecule from an RNA probe, thus producing a signal, only when lithium is present. The DNAzyme was 100 times more selective for lithium over other metal ions, and it was sensitive enough to detect lithium at concentrations within the therapeutic range. As a proof of concept, the researchers collected skin cells from BD patients and healthy donors, reprogrammed them to become stem cells and then differentiated them into neurons. The team treated the neurons with the DNAzyme-based sensor and a therapeutically relevant dosage of lithium. Using fluorescence microscopy, the researchers found that immature neurons from BD patients and healthy controls accumulated similar levels of lithium, but mature neurons from BD patients accumulated higher levels of lithium than mature control neurons. The
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From the ACS Press Room
Plant-based Gummy Candy Helps Vegans and Vegetarians get Their Vitamins “Emulsion-Filled Pectin Gels for Vehiculation of Vitamins D3 and B12: From Structuring to the Development of Enriched Vegan Gummy Candies” ACS Food Science & Technology
into emulsion-filled gels, such as gummy candies. Previous researchers have shown that pectin, a plant-based polysaccharide, can be used as a gelling agent in animal productfree foods. So, Samantha Pinho and colleagues wanted to see if they could use only plant-based ingredients, such as pectin, to
Worldwide, millions of people follow vegan and vegetarian diets for religious, ethical, environmental or economic reasons. While these diets have purported health benefits, they can also lack essential nutrients, such as vitamins B12 and D3, if not well-planned or supplemented correctly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology have packed a strawberry-flavored gummy with these vitamins, formulating it without any animal products so vegans and vegetarians can reach their recommended daily allowances (RDA). produce a gummy candy enriched with vitaSome essential vitamins and minerals, such mins B12 and D3 that would be acceptable to as vitamin B12, are found exclusively in ani- consumers. mal products, while others can be obtained The researchers first made an emulsion, comfrom other sources. For example, humans can bining citrate buffer, inulin, gum arabic, flaxmake vitamin D3 when their skin is exposed seed oil and vitamin D3, and separately made to sunlight, but many people aren’t outside the pectin gel, dissolving a type of pectin, enough to meet the requirement for this vita- calcium chloride and vitamin B12 in a citrate min. Therefore, it is primarily consumed buffer. Then, by rapidly stirring the emulsion through fish, eggs and organ meats, which into the pectin gel with sugar, the team proare not eaten by vegans and some vegetari- duced an emulsion-filled gel. The gel became ans. To avoid the pitfalls of vitamin deficien- a reddish gummy material after it dried. To cies, people who adhere to plant-based diets develop this into a suitable food product, the often take supplements, but it’s been chal- researchers added a natural strawberry flavor lenging to put both vitamin B12 and vitamin and molded the gel into half-inch-wide canD3 in one pill because of their differing soluContinued on Page 14 bilities. One solution could be to put them November 2021
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From the ACS Press Room
Reversing New-onset Type 1 Diabetes with Pyramid-like DNA “Tetrahedral Framework Nucleic Acids Reverse New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes”
lin-secreting cells, people with type 1 diabetes have fewer regulatory T cells (Tregs) — immune cells that suppress the differentiation ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and activation of other, self-attacking T cells. Usually diagnosed in children, teens and In a recent study published in ACS’ Nano young adults, type 1 diabetes is an autoim- Letters, Yunfeng Lin and colleagues showed mune disease in which the immune system that treating mice with tFNAs could prevent attacks and destroys insulin-secreting β-cells type 1 diabetes, in part by increasing Treg in the pancreas. As a result, people with type numbers. Originally designed to carry other 1 diabetes can’t regulate their blood sugar therapeutic molecules into cells, tFNAs have levels and require insulin treatment for sur- recently been shown to modulate the immune vival. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Ap- system on their own. Now, the researchers plied Materials & Interfaces have reversed wanted to find out if these molecules could new-onset type 1 diabetes in mice with pyra- reverse new-onset type 1 diabetes, before mid-like DNA molecules called tetrahedral pancreatic β-cells were completely destroyed. framework nucleic acids (tFNAs). The researchers made tFNAs from four sinAbout 64,000 gle-stranded DNA segments that selfpeople in the assembled into pyramid-like shapes, called U.S. are diag- tetrahedrons. But whereas a pyramid is nosed with square at its base, tetrahedrons are triangular. type 1 diabetes Then, every other day for 4 weeks, they ineach year, ac- jected the tFNAs into 10 mice with newcording to the onset type 1 diabetes, while 10 other diabetic Juvenile Dia- mice were injected with saline. In the control betes Research mice, blood glucose levels continued to rise, Foundation. and 60% of the mice died during the 12-week Drawing of tetrahedral framework There is no follow-up period. In contrast, blood glucose nucleic acids, which reversed newcure for the levels in mice treated with tFNAs went down onset type 1 diabetes in mice. Credit: Adapted from ACS Applied disease, and to to normal levels, and none of the rodents Materials & Interfaces 2021, DOI: manage sympdied. In a further analysis of the tFNA10.1021/acsami.1c16151 toms, people treated mice, the team found that pancreatic β must measure their blood sugar levels -cells were protected, and Tregs were rethroughout the day and administer insulin stored to normal levels, while auto-reactive T through an injection or pump. Although sci- cells decreased in the pancreas. Although the entists still don’t know exactly what causes Continued on Page 14 the body to turn against itself and attack insuNovember 2021
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From the ACS Press Room
Color-changing Indicator Predicts Algal Blooms "Lanthanide-Free Infinite Coordination Polymer Nanoparticles for Real-Time Monitoring of Alkaline Phosphatase and Its Application for Digital Algal Bloom Detection" ACS Applied Nano Materials Murky green algal blooms are more than a major eyesore; they reveal that a body of water could be unsafe for swimming or drinking. Currently, however, there isn’t an effective warning system for impending blooms. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Nano Materials report an indicator that changes color when exposed to rising levels of alkaline phosphatase — an enzyme that forecasts phytoplankton’s exponential growth. This change can be detected by the naked eye or a smartphone.
the researchers wanted to use the reaction catalyzed by alkaline phosphatase to induce both fluorescence and visible color changes in a water sample. To make the color-changing indicator, the researchers first combined copper ions with guanosine-5-monophosphate, forming spherical nanoparticles. Next, they incorporated two compounds (1,1,2,2-tetra(4-carboxylphenyl) ethylene and sulforhodamine 101) within the nanoparticles. The final result was a deep blue solution in visible light that fluoresced a bluish-purple under UV light. In the presence of alkaline phosphatase, the solution shifted to a pinkish hue and a strong red fluorescence under UV light.
A surplus of phosphorus in freshwater systems causes algae, such as phytoplankton and cyanobacteria, to grow out of control, turning the water into a “pea soup” of these organisms. Blooms can threaten drinking water supplies because some algal species release unpleasant odors or toxins. But if people knew when an algal bloom was likely to develop, they could manage it by removing or killing the algae before they become a problem. Previously, Jingjing Deng and colleagues showed that alkaline phosphatase helps release bioavailable phosphorus from complex compounds, and that rising levels of the enzyme could forecast phosphorus-related algal blooms. However, current detection methods for alkaline phosphatase aren’t very sensitive or specific. So, November 2021
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From the ACS Press Room The researchers tested the indicator with water from 13 river locations that had limited bioavailable phosphorus, calculating red-toblue fluorescence ratios with a smartphone’s color scanning app. They found that the portable digital method reliably detected alkaline phosphatase and was as robust as benchtop measurements of the indicator’s fluorescence. The researchers also grew toxinproducing cyanobacteria in the lab, feeding them complex phosphorus-containing compounds, and measured the alkaline phosphatase changes. On the third day, a large increase in enzyme activity was detected with both fluorescence and visible color changes. A few days later, the algae were growing exponentially. Because the indicator and smartphone-based system detected the activity surge prior to a bloom, the researchers say it could be developed for real-time field monitoring and prediction. The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key R&D Program of China, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic Solid Waste and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
OPEN POSITION Faculty - Assistant Professor Chemistry and Biochemistry For job description and details on how to apply, go to:
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From the ACS Press Room Continued
“Lithium Imaging”
. “Reversing
Continued from page 8
New-onset Type 1 Diabetes”
Continued from page 10
new lithium sensor is a powerful tool to better findings still need to be verified in people, understand the effects of lithium in treating tFNAs are one of the most promising candiBD, the researchers say. dates for type 1 diabetes immunotherapy, the The authors acknowledge funding from the Na- researchers say. tional Institutes of Health. The authors acknowledge funding from National Key R&D Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
“Gummy Candy” Continued from page 9 dies. In sensory tests, 120 untrained panelists gave the gummies high scores for taste, color, aroma and overall acceptability. About half of the panelists said they would buy the enriched gummy, with another 36% saying they might buy the product. The researchers say their results pave the way to make food products more nutritious. The authors acknowledge funding from a Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES Foundation) fellowship and The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) fellowships. November 2021
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From the Editor
Not much is going on in November (or December, usually), but meetings (virtual and in person) will pick up after the first of the year. However, there are several positions open at local universities, so give them a look-over if you are in the market. Plant-based gummies with all the right vitamins and NO animal products?...it doesn’t get any better than that. A report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces shows the reversal of new-onset type 1 diabetes in mice with pyramid-like DNA molecules called tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs). Yunfeng Lin and colleagues researchers made tFNAs from four single-stranded DNA segments that self-assembled into pyramidlike shapes, called tetrahedrons. (….a pyramid is square at its base, tetrahedrons are triangular). The self-assembly is what truly fascinates me; what other molecules can be formed in this manner?
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