SOUTHWEST RETORT
SEVENTY-THIRD YEAR
April 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. 73(8) April 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…..…..……..............20 The Chair’s Corner…………………….…...6 And Another Thing………………………….8 NEWS SHORTS Copper Foam as a Highly Efficient, Durable Filter for Reusable Masks and Air Cleaners …………………………………....................10 Revealing Meat and Fish Fraud with a Handheld ‘MasSpec Pen’ in Seconds..........13 Paleopharmaceuticals from Baltic Amber might Fight Drug-resistant Infections…....14 Temperature Sensor could help Safeguard mRNA Vaccines .……………………..…….17 AROUND THE AREA UTD and UTA……………………………...19
Contact the DFW Section General: info@acsdfw.org Education: ncw@acsdfw.org Elections: candidates@acsdfw.org Facebook: DFWACS Twitter: acsdfw
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ANNOUNCEMENTS and MEETINGS Virtual Meeting in Miniature…………..…..7 ACS DFW Vitrual Meeting………...…......12 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Huffman Laboratories……………..…........3 Vance Editing…..……………….…...….......3 TMJ Data Entry and Editing.………......…3 ANA-LAB…………………………...….…..4
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DOCUMENT TITLE
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FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THE SOUTHWEST RETORT The ACS tour speaker next month will be Dr. Cheves Walling of the University of Utah. He will be speaking from two topics: “Some Recent Developments in Free Radical Chemistry” or “The Relevance of Science and the Training of Chemists.” In the ACS Baton Rouge Section, at Southern University Drs. Curtis W. McDonald and Compiled by Thornton Rhodes E. Thomas Strom received a $22,000 AEC grant to study Coordination Chemistry. At LSU Boyd Professor Sean McGlynn has been nominated for appointment as a Fellow of the IntraScience Research Foundation. Dr. James Traynham has been appointed to the ACS Committee on Chemical Education.
In the Dallas-Ft. Worth ACS Section, Dr. William J. Bailey of the University of Maryland presented a Welch lecture at Texas Woman’s University. The Chemistry Department at NTSU (now UNT) has recently instituted a summer research program for undergraduates. At Anderson Clayton Foods Dr. Thomas H. Smouse was elected recently Chair-Elect of the Longhorn Section of the Institute of Food Technologists. At the Mobil Field Research Lab Dr. Peggy M. Dunlap gave a seminar on surface chemistry at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, while Dr. Thomas C. Vogt gave a lecture to the ACS Student Affiliate Chapter at East Texas State University (now Texas April 2021
A&M University-Commerce). In the Heart O’ Texas ACS Section, Baylor faculty John S. Belew, Malcolm Dole, and David E. Pennington presented papers at the ACS Spring National Meeting in Los Angeles. A research facility of national importance relating to agriculture and the environment is scheduled to be built in Central Texas. The facility will be called the Grassland Forage and Research Center and will be constructed on land at the Agriculture Research Center, located a few miles south of Temple. In the University of Arkansas ACS Section, Drs. Sol Siegel and Arthur Fry attended the ACS National Meeting in Los Angeles. Dr. A. W. Cordes attended the NSF Directors meeting for College Teachers Research Participation Programs in Washington, D.C. on Mar. 25-27. Dr. J. L. Meason conducted research at the White Sands Missile Range installation Mar. 28-April 3. In the Southeastern Texas ACS Section, Chair Dr. Wesley Wendlandt issued a call for volunteers for various local section committee assignments. In the Texas A&M ACS Section, the Department of Chemistry’s Industrial Liaison Committee organized an Industrial Liaison Conference, which was held on Mar. 25. Dr. C. S. Giam gave a seminar on Feb. 11 at the Tenneco Co. in Houston. Dr. Arthur E. Martell gave a seminar on Feb. 26 at Stauffer Chemical Co. in Dobbs Ferry, NY.
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The Chair’s Corner Welcome to April 2021! We were finally able to get the pandemic and the Winter storm behind the local section programming in March! We were able to hold our first virtual dinner meeting with Dr. Angela Wilson, National President-Elect of the ACS, and her wonderful discussion on the Past, Present and Future of ACS. Thank you to all that were able to join. April is Earth Week; therefore, we are having multiple events in conjunction with Chemists Celebrating Earth Week (CCEW). We will hold a virtual dinner discussion with Dr. Carie King about “Disseminating Scientific Findings to a Non-Scientific Audience.” This dinner meeting will occur on April 23rd at 6:30 PM via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/ j/7176687551) and is free to join. I hope to see many of you there (virtually). Dr. King is a medical writer, editor and graphic artist. She has been an instructor at UTD for 10 years but has also maintained her industry consulting with investigators at UTMB Galveston, PepsiCo, SMU, Miami Valley Hospital, and other medical institutions and scientific laboratories. She specializes in rhetoric, particularly scientific and medical writing, and considers science writing and editing to be the “dessert” of life. We also have an active contest for ScienceArt to further honor CCEW. If interested, please send one original picture to Dr. Mihaela Stefan (mihaela@utdallas.edu) April 2021
before April 23, 2021 for consideration in this science-art contest. The winning pictures will be posted on our ACS DFW webpage and on the Facebook page of the local section. Submitted pictures can be of colorful reactions in the lab, images (AFM, TEM, SEM), cell images, fluorescent compounds. Three pictures will be selected as winners. First prize will be $200, second prize $150, and 3rdprize $100. Additional information including abstract submission can be found on the webpage (www.acsdfw.org). As noted last month, the nomination process for the Wilfred T. Doherty Award, Werner Schulz Award, and the Chemistry Ambassador Awards for 2021 is currently open. Anyone can nominate a local section member for these awards. Each nomination should contain a completed nomination form, a cover letter highlighting the nominee’s accomplishments, and a copy of the nominee’s CV. One second letter may accompany nominations. The nomination package should be sent by email as a single pdf file Dr. Trish Smith at trishsmithtx@gmail.com. Nomination forms are available on the webpage. The deadline is May 01, 2021 Our Local Section is also soliciting nominations for outstanding seniors in Chemistry or related principles at each college/university in the area each year. We are also doing the same with community colleges and their second-year students. Each university will nominate one senior to be recognized and the chair of each department should have received information to nominate their outContinued on page 18
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And Another Thing...
Um, No: What Not to Do When Starting a Business By Denise L. Merkle, PhD
American Chemical Society (ACS) members can join as many of the thirty-two Technical divisions as their little hearts desire, thereby enjoying professional enrichment in multiple diverse fields. ACS offers divisions dedicated to the science of chemistry, and also boasts a number of divisions dedicated to the business of chemistry. The Division of Small Chemical Businesses, SCHB, inspired this month’s ‘And Another Thing…’. Every single week since the start of COVID-19 Captivity, SCHB has Zoomed with its members and friends. Unsurprisingly (it’s SCHB, after all), many of the Zoom-discussions address aspects of starting and maintaining a NewCo (New Company). So, in the spirit of entrepreneurism, and in honor of One Full Year of SCHB’s Innovative, mid-COVID, Virtual programming, insight from chem business owners and service providers was sought, and is shared with you here. Of the thirty-six or so professionals who were asked to send one piece of ‘Don’t Do This’ advice, twelve very kindly complied (25% ROI – pretty good!). Disclaimers: Keep in mind that the views of the respondents*may not be the views of the author. Don’t get your biz advice from random newsletter articles, youtube, or social media. Don’t even move without consulting card-carrying professionals who can guide you on the best path to success. Please enjoy this selection of the Top 10 Don’ts for Starting A Business.
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#10) Don’t be afraid or doubt yourself! New ventures are scary beasts. Sometimes they’re frightening enough to immobilize the entrepreneur. This is to be expected – as long as you breathe in, breathe out, and power on through. If you’re not an Adrenaline Junkie, Entrepreneurism may not be your niche. #9) Don’t succumb to Inventor Syndrome, in which the inventor is so invested in the innovative idea that all else required to establish a successful company is condescendingly deemed unimportant. Don’t think you, as the Inventor/ Founder, are the best person to run the company, either. And by all means, before you spend money on your website and marketing, figure out your brand – What will your venture be? #8) Don’t feel like you have to know everything – You can’t. Acknowledge your weaknesses, find competent professionals and advisors - and let them advise you. Don’t keep everything so secretive that competent people can’t help you. It’s nearly impossible to start and maintain a successful business while Flying Solo. Don’t do it. #7) Don’t do very much of anything without contracts and agreements. NonDisclosure Agreements can be necessary for in-depth discussions of technology, as well as for business practices. If a professional is handling a task or project for your company, it is imperative that the scope of work is defined and formalized, and the interactions are, too. You need a good attorney – or two – for this. #6) Don’t wear out your friends and family. When you start your company, your immediate family may very well think you
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And Another Thing... have emigrated to someplace far, far away. Warn them that you’re headed into the wilds of entrepreneurial pursuits. If you’re in a ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’ situation, your employer may wonder why you look like you’ve not slept for weeks. You will likely want to wait until NewCo can afford at least one employee before you tell your current employer about your endeavor. Your CPA friend, if you call on the 14th for help with a filing due on the 15th, will wish you would emigrate to someplace far, far away. Do not impose on your buddies – or if you do, have contracts and agreements in place so they are compensated. Pay. For. Services. #5) Don’t ignore the sometimes urgent need to observe, assess, adapt and act. It’s human nature to resist change, especially since Giving The Benefit of The Doubt is societally ingrained – and expected. All sorts of things can happen that must be addressed quickly and unemotionally. Letting bad situations fester is like boiling the flask in your distillation apparatus dry, or allowing your HPLC solvent reservoir to drain: Very. Bad. News. Business often seems unfriendly, and decisions can be harsh. You’ve been up in the middle of the night to mix more reagents – you can get used to the pain of business. #4) Don’t negotiate for yourself in high value situations. There’s a reason Car Dealers all have invisible managers for the sales people to consult. Do these managers actually exist? No one knows, but the idea of them is an effective negotiating tool. Along with ‘I’ll get back to you’, ‘Let me take that offer to the Principals’ ranks right up April 2021
there among handy phrases – for use by someone who is not the founder and certainly not the inventor. #3) Don’t Seek funding without adequate research and preparation. Determining which funding model is appropriate for your company is part of establishing a strong Business Plan. Recruiting an effective team to take your company forward is also crucial, as are ensuring you know what questions the funding entity will ask – and how to answer them. This is an intense topic all on its own, but the key is, starting out with a well-defined foundation (even if the foundation initially involves credit cards) prevents crumbling later. A corollary to Don’ts #3 & #6: Don’t part out your NewCo trying to avoid paying for assistance. 100% goes quickly, even in 2% nibbles. Depending on the level of investment NewCo will need to fully commercialize, you may have to be ready to give up a major chunk of equity in return for money. Plan well enough so NewCo’s future isn’t jeopardized. #2) Don’t leave your Intellectual Property (IP) unprotected, and don’t practice IP law unless you’re a patent attorney. Don’t publish or talk about your ideas/ inventions/innovations, especially to vendors, unless you’re sure the assets you’re discussing cannot be slurped away by the unscrupulous. Provisional patents help a lot here, but your patent attorney will know all about this. Don’t be a stranger to Non-Disclosure Agreements and the phrase, ‘I’ll ask my attorney about that’.
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From the ACS Press Room
Copper Foam as a Highly Efficient, Durable Filter for Reusable Masks and Air Cleaners “Efficient and Robust Metallic Nanowire Foams for Deep Submicrometer Particulate Filtration”
copper foams to see if they could effectively remove submicron-sized aerosols while also being durable enough to be decontaminated and reused. Nano Letters The researchers fabricated metal foams by During the COVID-19 pandemic, people harvesting electrodeposited copper nanhave grown accustomed to wearing face- owires and casting them into a free-standing masks, but many coverings are fragile and 3D network, which was solidified with heat not easily disinfected. Metal foams are dura- to ble, and their small pores and large surface form areas suggest they could effectively filter out strong microbes. Now, researchers reporting in bonds. ACS’ Nano Letters have transformed copper A secnanowires into metal foams that could be ond used in facemasks and air filtration systems. copper The foams filter efficiently, decontaminate layer easily for reuse and are recyclable. was When a person with a respiratory infection, added to further strengthen the material. In such as SARS-CoV-2, coughs or sneezes, tests, the copper foam held its form when they release small droplets and aerosolized pressurized and at high air speeds, suggestparticles into the air. Particles smaller than ing it’s durable for reusable facemasks or air 0.3 µm can stay airborne for hours, so mate- filters and could be cleaned with washing or rials that can trap these tiny particles are ide- compressed air. The team found the metal al for use in facemasks and air filters. But foams had excellent filtration efficiency for some existing filter materials have draw- particles within the 0.1-1.6 µm size range, backs. For example, fiberglass, carbon nano- which is relevant for filtering out SARStubes and polypropylene fibers are not dura- CoV-2. Their most effective material was a ble enough to undergo repeated decontami- 2.5 mm-thick version, with copper taking up nation procedures, while some further rely 15% of the volume. This foam had a large on electrostatics so they can’t be washed, surface area and trapped 97% of 0.1-0.4 µm leading to large amounts of waste. Recently, aerosolized salt particles, which are comresearchers have developed metallic foams monly used in facemask tests. According to with microscopic pores that are stronger and the team’s calculations, the breathability of more resistant to deformation, solvents, and their foams was generally comparable to that high temperatures and pressures. So, Kai Liu of commercially available polypropylene and colleagues wanted to develop and test N95 facemasks. Because the new material is April 2021
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From the ACS Press Room copper-based, the filters should be resistant to cleaning agents, allowing for many disinfection options, and its antimicrobial properties will help kill trapped bacteria and viruses, say the researchers. In addition, they are recyclable. The researchers estimate that the materials would cost around $2 per mask at present, and disinfection and reuse would extend their lifetime, making them economically competitive with current products. The authors acknowledge funding from the Georgetown Environmental Initiative Impact Program Award, the McDevitt bequest to Georgetown University and Tom and Ginny Cahill’s Fund for Environmental Physics at University of California Davis.
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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
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In celebration of Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, The ACS-DFW Local Section will have a virtual meeting on Fri, April 23 at 6:30 pm.
Please attend the ACS-DFW virtual meeting on Fri, April 23 at 6:30 pm. "Disseminating Scientific Findings to a Non-Scientific Audience" ACS DFW Local Section is happy to host a virtual talk by Dr. Carie King Carie King worked as a medical writer, editor, and a graphic artist for 14 years before returning to school for her graduate degrees and postdoctoral work. She has been an instructor at UTD for 10 years but has also maintained her industry consulting with investigators at UTMB Galveston, PepsiCo, SMU, Miami Valley Hospital, and other medical institutions and scientific laboratories. She specializes in rhetoric, particularly scientific and medical writing, and considers science writing and editing to be the “dessert” of life. Dr. King will present a talk entitled, “Disseminating Scientific Findings to a Non-Scientific Audience.” Date: Friday, April 23, 2021 – Talk beginning at 6:30 PM No Registration Required Location: Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7176687551)
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From the ACS Press Room
Revealing Meat and Fish Fraud with a Handheld ‘MasSpec Pen’ in Seconds “Rapid Analysis and Authentication of Meat site labs. Previous studies have devised more Using the MasSpec Pen Technology” direct and on-site food analysis methods with Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemis- mass spectrometry, using the amounts of molecular components to verify meat sources, try but they also destroyed samples during the Meat and fish fraud are global problems, process or required sample preparation steps. costing consumers billions of dollars every More recently, Livia Eberlin and colleagues year. On top of that, mislabeling products can developed the MasSpec Pen — a handheld cause problems for people with allergies, re- device that gently extracts compounds from a ligious or cultural restrictions. Current meth- material’s surface within seconds and then ods to detect this fraud, while accurate, are analyzes them on a mass spectrometer. So, slower than inspectors would like. Now, re- the team wanted to see whether this device searchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agri- could rapidly and effectively detect meat and cultural and Food Chemistry have opti- fish fraud in pure filets and ground products. mized their handheld MasSpec Pen to identiThe researchers used the MasSpec Pen to exfy common types of meat and fish within 15 amine the molecular composition of grainseconds. fed and grass-fed beef, chicken, pork, lamb, News stories venison and five common fish species colof food fraud, lected from grocery stores. Once the device’s such as beef tip was pressed against a sample, a 20-µL being replaced droplet of solvent was released, extracting with horse sufficient amounts of molecules within three meat, and seconds for accurate analysis by mass speccheaper fish trometry. The whole process took 15 seconds, being branded required no preprocessing, and the liquid exas premium fillets, have led people to ques- traction did not harm the samples’ surfaces. tion if what is on the label is actually in the Then the team developed authentication package. To combat food adulteration, the models using the unique patterns of the moleU.S. Department of Agriculture conducts reg- cules identified, including carnosine, anserular, random inspections of these products. ine, succinic acid, xanthine and taurine, to Although current molecular techniques, such distinguish pure meat types from each other, as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are beef based on feeding habit and among the highly accurate, these analyses can take hours to days, and are often performed at offContinued on page 19
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From the ACS Press Room
Paleopharmaceuticals from Baltic Amber might Fight Drug-resistant Infections This research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. WASHINGTON, April 5, 2021 — For centuries, people in Baltic nations have used ancient amber for medicinal purposes. Even today, infants are given amber necklaces that they chew to relieve teething pain, and people put pulverized amber in elixirs and ointments for its purported anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties. Now, scientists have pinpointed compounds that help explain Baltic amber’s therapeutic effects and that could lead to new medicines to combat antibiotic-resistant infections. Each year in the U.S., at least 2.8 million people get antibioticresistant infections, leading to 35,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We knew from previous research that there were substances in Baltic amber that might lead to new antibiotics, but they had not been systematically explored,” says Elizabeth Ambrose, Ph.D., who is the principal investigator of the project. “We have now extracted and identified several compounds in Baltic amber that show activity against grampositive, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”The researchers will present their results today at April 2021
the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online April 5-30. Live sessions will be hosted April 5-16, and on-demand and networking content will continue through April 30. The meeting features nearly 9,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics. Ambrose’s interest originally stemmed from her Baltic heritage. While visiting family in Lithuania, she collected amber samples and heard stories about their medicinal uses. The Baltic Sea region contains the world’s largest deposit of the material, which is fossilized resin formed about 44 million years ago. The resin oozed from now-extinct pines in the Sciadopityaceae family and acted as a defense against microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, as well as herbivorous insects that would become trapped in the resin. Ambrose and graduate student Connor McDermott, who are at the University of Minnesota, analyzed commercially available Baltic amber samples, in addition to some that Ambrose had collected. “One major challenge was preparing a homogeneous fine powder from the amber pebbles that could be extracted with solvents,” McDermott ex-
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From the ACS Press Room plains. He used a tabletop jar rolling mill, in which the jar is filled with ceramic beads and amber pebbles and rotated on its side. Through trial and error, he determined the correct ratio of beads to pebbles to yield a semi-fine powder. Then, using various combinations of solvents and techniques, he filtered, concentrated and analyzed the amber powder extracts by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Dozens of compounds were identified from the GC-MS spectra. The most interesting were abietic acid, dehydroabietic acid and palustric acid — 20-carbon, three-ringed organic compounds with known biological activity. Because these compounds are difficult to purify, the researchers bought pure samples and sent them to a company that tested their activity against nine bacterial species, some of which are known to be antibiotic resistant. “The most important finding is that these compounds are active against grampositive bacteria, such as certain Staphylococcus aureus strains, but not gramnegative bacteria,” McDermott says. Grampositive bacteria have a less complex cell wall than gram-negative bacteria. “This implies that the composition of the bacterial membrane is important for the activity of the compounds,” he says. McDermott also obtained a Japanese umbrella pine, the closest living species to the trees that produced the resin that became Baltic amber. He extracted resin from the needles and stem and identified sclarene, a molecule present in the extracts that could theoretically undergo chemical transformations to
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produce the bioactive compounds the researchers found in Baltic amber samples. “We are excited to move forward with these results,” Ambrose says. “Abietic acids and their derivatives are potentially an untapped source of new medicines, especially for treating infections caused by gram-positive bacteria, which are increasingly becoming resistant to known antibiotics.” The researchers acknowledge support and funding from the University of Minnesota Engebretson Drug Design and Development Grant and the Office of the Vice President for Research Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship Program.
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From the ACS Press Room
Temperature Sensor could help Safeguard mRNA Vaccines “Tamper-Proof Time-Temperature Indicator for Inspecting Ultracold Supply Chain” ACS Omega .Scientists have developed vaccines for COVID-19 with record speed. The first two vaccines widely distributed in the U.S. are mRNA-based and require ultracold storage (-70 C for one and -20 C for the other). Now, researchers reporting in ACS Omega have developed a tamper-proof temperature indicator that can alert health care workers when a vial of vaccine reaches an unsafe temperature for a certain period, which could help ensure distribution of effective mRNA vaccines. The two COVID mRNA vaccines contain instructions for building harmless pieces of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Once the vaccine is injected into the body, human cells use the mRNA instructions to make the spike protein, which they temporarily disWhen the temperature of a glass vial containing simulated vaccine rises above -60 C for longer than 2 minutes, a blue dye in an adjacent tube diffuses into a white absorbent, leaving an irreversible color trace. Credit: Adapted from ACS Omega 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00404 April 2021
play on their surface, triggering an immune response. But mRNA is highly unstable, requiring ultracold storage and transport conditions for the vaccines to remain effective. Sung Yeon Hwang, Dongyeop Oh, Jeyoung Park and colleagues wanted to develop a time-temperature indicator (TTI) to identify mRNA vaccines that are exposed to undesirable temperatures during storage or transport, so that they could be discarded. To make their TTI, the researchers added a mixture of ethylene glycol (antifreeze), water and blue dye to a small tube and froze it in liquid nitrogen. Then, they added a white cellulose absorbent to the top of the frozen coolant, turned the tube upside down, and adhered it to a larger glass vial containing simulated vaccine at -70 C. At temperatures above -60 C, the antifreeze mixture melted, and the dye diffused into the white absorbent, turning it light blue. The color change happened about 2 minutes after the simulated vaccine was exposed to a higher temperature. Importantly, exposures of less than 2 minutes –– which are unlikely to impair vaccine efficacy –– did not turn the TTI blue. The color change persisted if the tube was refrozen at -70 C, making the system tamper-proof. By changing the coolants or their mixing ratio, or by using different absorbents, the TTI could be tailored to monitor the ideal storage conditions of different mRNA vaccines, the researchers say. The authors acknowledge funding from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology.
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The Chair’s Corner Continued from page 6
DFW ACS Photography Contest The DFW local section of the ACS is organizing a photography contest during the “Chemists Celebrate Earth Week”. Please send ONE ORIGINAL picture to mihaela@utdallas.edu before April 23, 2021 for consideration in this science-art contest. Only one picture will be accepted per contestant. Different students from the same lab can individually submit. Both undergraduate and graduate students from schools in the DFW local section area (which includes schools from Dallas to Abilene) are eligible to participate. Please make sure you include your name, school, and what the submitted picture represents in the submission email. The winning pictures will be posted on our ACS DFW webpage and on the Facebook page of the local section.
Submitted pictures can be of colorful reactions in the lab, images (AFM, TEM, SEM), cell images, fluorescent compounds. We will select 3 pictures as winners. First prize will be $200, second prize $150, and 3rd prize $100.
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standing chemistry student. The DFW Local Section is also very excited to be presenting the local Meeting in Miniature virtually on May 01, 2021. Additional information including abstract submission can be found on the webpage. Additionally, the Local Section is also looking at an industry-focused talk in May, and a graduatestudent led roundtable in May-June timeframe. April is also the time we celebrate our local section members who have reached the remarkable milestones of 50-, 60- and 70years of membership and service to the ACS. The local section members who have reached these milestones include: 50-Year Members: Dr. John Falck, Mrs. Bette McCue, Dr. Farida Saleh, and Dr. Linda Schultz 60-Year Members: Dr. Robert Adamski, Dr. Vinav Likhite, Mr. James Montgomery, and Dr. Scott Norton 70-Year Members: Mr. John Glover, Mr. Michael Jordan, and Dr. John Spessard We delightfully acknowledge these distinguished members who have contributed significantly to the ACS over many years. Congratulations. Once again, the executive committee is very excited about 2021 and the local section's future. If there is anything that I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time (trey.putnam@ttuhsc.edu). Best, Trey Putnam 2021 Chair DFW Local Section of the ACS
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Around the Area
From the ACS Press Room
‘MasSpec Pen’ Continued from page 12
UT Dallas Assistant Professors Allison Stelling, Sheena D’Arcy, Sheel Dodani and Professor Julia Chan were awarded research grants from the Robert A. Welch Foundation, and Assistant Professor Gabriele Meloni renewed his Welch Foundation Grant. Graduation student Ashley Weiland (Chan Group) has been named a 2021 ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator, and Virginia “Katie” Blackwell (D’Arcy Group) was named a NSF graduate research fellow.
five fish species. Finally, the researchers applied their models to the analysis of test sets of meats and fish. For these samples, all models had a 100% accuracy identifying the protein source, which is as good as the current method of PCR and approximately 720 times faster. The researchers say they plan to expand the method to other meat products and integrate the MasSpec Pen into a portable mass spectrometer for on-site meat authentication. The authors acknowledge funding from the Welch Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
And Another Thing… Continued from page 9
UT Arlington Dr. Kwangho Nam has been awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. He Dong, already an Associate Professor, has also been awarded tenure. April 2021
#1) Don’t think you cannot do it! You can – and if you plan properly – you will. Many thanks to all contributors/ respondents, the anonymous (including the unnamed CPA friend of the author) and the following: John Tepper, VP Engineering, Solenic Medical; Kirby Drake, Founder and Managing Partner, Kirby Drake Law PLLC; Jim Skinner, Chair SCHB, President & CEO Terregena Inc., https:// jskinner.com/; Susan Carson, Ph.D., DTM, Smart Leadership Coaching; Connie L. Luthy PhD MBA, MEDICAL PRODUCT INNOVATION, 214.673.6556, cluthy@MPDexpert.com.
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From the Editor Don’t miss the the DFW Section meeting on April 23, a virtual celebration of Earth Week. The section also has two running contests: elemental art and photography (the latter with cash prizes). The virtual Meeting-in-Miniature will air on May 1st; registration is open until April 21st. My favorite Press Room Release this month concerns drugs isolated from Baltic Amber, aptly called Paleopharmaceuticals. Resin oozing from trees acts as a defense agent against bacteria and fungi, and the insects that are trapped in the resin that might otherwise harm the trees. So the amber samples contain—still—the antibiotics that were produced in response to those invaders, The researchers also obtained a Japanese umbrella pine, the closest living species to the trees that produced the resin that became Baltic amber. In resin from the needles and stem was found sclarene, a molecule present in the extracts that could theoretically undergo chemical transformations to produce the bioactive compounds found in the amber. Note from Wikipedia: Sciadopitys verticillata, the kōyamaki or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus Sciadopitys, a living fossil with no close relatives, and present in the fossil record for about 230 million years.
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