SOUTHWESTRETORT
SEVENTY-SEVENTH YEAR February 2025
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 theAmerican Chemical Society in the Southwest Region.
Vol. 77 (6) February 2025
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.
Data Entry and Editing Specializes in:
• Company newsletters
• Confidential Data Entry
• Free Quotes
Contact Lance at hugla64@gmail.com Or 214-356-9002
2025ACS DFW Executive Committee
Chair: Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD
Chair-elect: Jonathan Dannatt, PhD
Past Chair: Rajani Srinivasan, PhD
Treasurer: Martha Gilchrist, MS
Secretary: Trey Putnam, PhD
Councilors:
MaryAnderson, PhD
Kirby Drake, JD
Linda Schultz, PhD
Rebecca Weber, PhD
Alternate Councilors:
Daniela Hutanu, PhD
Danny Tran, PhD
Yunxiang Li, PhD
From the ACS Press Room
Using sugars from peas speeds up sour beer brewing
"Pea-Derived Raffinose-Family Oligosaccharides as a Novel Ingredient to Accelerate Sour Beer Production"
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Sour beers have become a fixture on microbrewery menus and store shelves. They’re enjoyed for their tart, complex flavors, but some can require long and complicated brewing processes. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry brewed new sours in less time using a seemingly strange ingredient: field peas. The experimental beers had fruity not “beany” flavors and other attributes comparable to a commercial Belgian-style sour, but with shorter, simpler brewing steps.
bacteria essential for producing sour beer,” says Bjørge Westereng, one of the study’s authors.
The characteristic mouth-puckering taste of a sour beer comes from acids made by lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) or Brettanomyces yeast, which are added by brewers or introduced naturally from the environment. However, these microbes often require months or even years to ferment the original sugary, steeped-grain liquid (wort) into a desirable drink. So, Westereng, Philipp Garbers, Catrin Tyl and colleagues have been searching for sugars beyond those found in traditional grain for the LAB to nosh on that might speed up the fermentation process. Previously, they tried molecules derived from wood. But this time, they turned to a group of plants called pulses, which includes beans, lentils and peas. Pulses have historically been underutilized largely because of their tendency to impart beany flavors to foods. But they’re considered sustainable and easy to grow, and contain sugars called raffinosefamily oligosaccharides (RFOs), which LAB can easily use as a food source. In the new research, the team brewed sour beers with RFOs extracted from field peas and compared the final product to a commercially available Belgian sour.
“Sour beer is the beer enthusiast’s alternative to Champagne. By using sugars derived from peas that yeast cannot metabolize, we promote the growth of
Using three different LAB, the researchers brewed four experimental sour beers: two with the field pea RFOs and two without. All four were fermented for 19 days with Brettanomyces clausennii yeast together with combinations of LAB. After chemical
Continued on page 15
Sour beer production might be simplified by feeding sugars derived from field peas to the bacteria used to make them. Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock.com
From the ACS Press Room
This delicate nanoflower is downright deadly to bacteria
“Self-Assembled Nanoflowers from Natural Building Blocks with Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Antibiofilm Properties”
ACS Applied Bio Materials
A carnation-like nanostructure could someday be used in bandages to promote wound healing. Researchers report in ACS Applied Bio Materials that laboratory tests of their nanoflower-coated dressings demonstrate antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and biocompatible properties. They say these results show these tannic acid and copper (II) phosphate sprouted nanoflower bandages are promising candidates for treating infections and inflammatory conditions.
Nanoflowers are tiny, self-assembling structures. But their large surface area provides plenty of space to attach drug molecules, making the flowers particularly suitable for delivering medications. For their bandage blooms, Fatemeh Ahmadpoor, Pier Francesco Ferrari and colleagues chose copper(II) phosphate and tannic acid because of the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties of both reagents. After growing their flowers in a saline solution, the researchers attached the bioinspired structures onto strips of electrospun nanofiber fabric. In tests, the nanoflower-coated bandages inactivated a broad spectrum of cultured bacteria (including E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus) and their antibiotic-resistant biofilms, scavenged reactive oxygen species, and didn’t damage labgrown human cells.
Ahmadpoor and Ferrari say these nanoflower
-coated bandages represent a breakthrough advancement by providing a natural, costeffective and highly efficient solution for combating infections and accelerating wound healing, with the potential to redefine treatment standards.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
This elegant nanoflower adds antioxidant, antibacterial and antibiofilm properties when applied to electrospun nanofiber bandages.
Adapted fromACSApplied Bio Materials 2025, DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.4c00788
The 57thACS DFW MEETING-in-MINIATURE East TexasA&M University Commerce, Texas Saturday,April 26, 2025
The 57th ACS DFW Meeting-in-Miniature will be held at the Science Building of East Texas A&M University on Saturday, April 26, 2025. All undergraduates, graduates and postdocs are invited to present their research results. Lunch will be provided. We plan to organize a poster session for community college students also. They are strongly encouraged to participate.
For each presentation, the Abstract is due by March 31, 2025. Please use the link https:// www.tamuc.edu/acs-meeting-in-miniature to submit abstracts and register. Group activities, such as planetarium shows and/or university tours, may be arranged depending on the interest.
For further information on the meeting, please reach out to the following contacts:
Abstract: Dr. Bukuo Ni, Bukuo.Ni@tamuc.edu
General Info: Dr. Ben Jang, Ben.Jang@tamuc.edu
From the ACS Press Room
Walk like a … gecko? Animal footpads inspire a polymer that sticks to ice
“Capillary-Enhanced Biomimetic Adhesion on Icy Surfaces for High-Performance Antislip Shoe-Soles”
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
A solution to injuries from slips and falls may be found underfoot literally. The footpads of geckos have hydrophilic (waterloving) mechanisms that allow the little animals to easily move over moist, slick surfaces. Researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report using silicone rubber enhanced with zirconia nanoparticles to create a gecko-inspired slip-resistant polymer. They say the material, which sticks to ice, could be incorporated into shoe soles to reduce injuries in humans.
Slips and falls account for more than 38 million injuries and 684,000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. And nearly half of these incidents happen on ice. Current anti-slip shoe soles rely on materials such as natural rubber that repel the layer of liquid water that sits atop pavement on a rainy day. On frozen walkways, however, shoe soles with these materials can cause ice to melt because of pressure from the wearer, creating the slippery surface the shoes are supposed to protect against.
Previous studies of gecko feet have led to new ideas for developing more effective anti -slip polymers. Those works found that their footpad’s stickiness comes from hydrophilic capillary-enhanced adhesion: The force of water being drawn into narrow grooves in the footpad creates suction that helps the liz-
ard navigate slippery surfaces. Vipin Richhariya, Ashis Tripathy, Md Julker Nine and colleagues aimed to develop a polymer with capillary-enhanced adhesion that works on rainy sidewalks and frozen surfaces.
Gecko toes inspire a new material that sticks to slippery wet ice through capillary action. Good dreams – Studio/Shutterstock.com
The researchers started with silicone rubber polymer and added zirconia nanoparticles to make the material attract water molecules. After they rolled the composite material into a thin film, they hardened it with heat and laser-etched a grooved pattern onto the film’s surface that exposed the hydrophilic zirconia nanoparticles. When the film encountered water molecules atop ice, it stuck to the slippery surface because the polymer mimicked the capillary action of slip-resistant gecko footpads. They tested five versions of the patterned nanocomposite material with different proportions of zirconia nanoparticles by weight: 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%.
Continued on page 16
From the ACS Press Room
New design makes aluminum batteries last longer
"A Recyclable Inert Inorganic Framework
Assisted Solid-State Electrolyte for LongLife Aluminum Ion Batteries"
ACS Central Science
Large batteries for long-term storage of solar and wind power are key to integrating abundant and renewable energy sources into the U.S. power grid. However, there is a lack of safe and reliable battery technologies to support the push toward sustainable, clean energy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have designed a cost-effective and environment-friendly aluminum-ion (Alion) battery that could fit the bill.
Aporous salt produces a solid-state electrolyte that facilitates the smooth movement of aluminum ions, improving thisAl-ion battery’s performance and longevity. Adapted fromACS Central Science 2024, DOI: 10.1021/ acscentsci.4c01615
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are in many common consumer electronics, including power tools and electric vehicles. These batteries are ubiquitous because of their high energy density. But lithium is cost prohibitive for the large battery systems needed for
utility-scale energy storage, and Li-ion battery flammability poses a considerable safety risk. Potential substitutes for reliable longterm energy storage systems include rechargeable Al-ion batteries. However, their most common electrolyte, liquid aluminum chloride, corrodes the aluminum anode and is highly sensitive to moisture, which exacerbates the corrosion. Both factors contribute to poor stability and a decline in electrical performance over time. So, Wei Wang, Shuqiang Jiao and colleagues wanted to design an improved Al-ion battery without these limitations.
The team added an inert aluminum fluoride salt to an Al-ion-containing electrolyte, turning it into a solid-state electrolyte. The aluminum fluoride salt has a 3D porous structure, allowing aluminum ions to easily hop across the electrolyte and increase conductivity. Additionally, when the researchers constructed their Al-ion battery, they used fluoroethylene carbonate as an interface additive to create a thin solid coating on the electrodes to prevent the formation of aluminum crystals that degrade battery health.
In experiments, the battery’s moisture resistance as well as physical and thermal stability were enhanced, allowing it to withstand repeated jabs from a sharp object and temperatures as high as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. The solid-state Al-ion battery also had an exceptionally long life, lasting 10,000 charge-discharge cycles while losing less than 1% of its original capacity. Moreover, most of the aluminum fluoride could be re-
Continued on page 16
2025 ACSDFW Officers
Chair 2025 (Past Chair 2026)
Chair-Elect 2025 (Chair 2026, Past Chair 2027)
Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD SciConsult, Inc
Jonathan Dannatt, PhD
Dr. Dannatt is also the ACSDFW ExCom Representative University of Dallas to the SWRM 2026 Planning Committee
Secretary 2025
Treasurer 2025 - 2026
Councilor 2025
Councilor 2025 - 2026
Councilor 2025 - 2027
Alternate Councilor 2025
Alternate Councilor 2025 – 2026
Alternate Councilor 2025 - 2027
Trey Putnam, PhD
TTUHSC
Prof. Martha Gilchrest, MS
TCCD
Linda D. Schultz PhD
Tarleton State University
Mary E.Anderson, PhD
Texas Woman's University
Rebecca (Becky) Weber,PhD
University of North Texas
Kirby B. Drake, JD
Kirby Drake Law
Rajani Srinivasan, PhD
Tarleton State University
Daniela Hutanu, PhD
JenKem Technology USA
Daniel (Danny) Tran, PhD
University of Texas @ Dallas
Yunxiang (Vanni) Li, PhD
Texas Woman’s University
“
From the ACS Press Room
Drug candidate eliminates breast cancer tumors in mice
in a single dose
Single Dose of a Small Molecule Leads to Complete Regressions of Large Breast Tumors in Mice"
ACS Central Science
Despite significant therapeutic advances, breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Treatment typically involves surgery and follow-up hormone therapy, but late effects of these treatments include osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction and blood clots. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have created a novel treatment that eliminated small breast tumors and significantly shrank large tumors in mice in a single dose, without problematic side effects.
Numstocker/Shutterstock.com
Most breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive (ER+), and treatment typically involves several years of hormone therapy. Although these drugs are better tolerated than chemotherapy, they still have side ef-
fects that diminish quality of life and can leave people at risk for cancer recurrence and treatment resistance. Thus, there is a need for cancer drugs that kill tumor cells selectively and aggressively, while limiting side effects.
To address this challenge, Paul Hergenrother and colleagues previously developed a small molecule called ErSO. This compound kills ER+ breast cancer cells but results in undesirable side effects. In 2022, the researchers synthesized a series of small molecules similar to ErSO. That prior study demonstrated that these derivatives have higher potency, greater selectivity for ER+ cancer cells and better pharmacological properties than the original compound.
Now, in the latest study, the researchers further evaluated one derivative, ErSO-TFPy, and found that it:
• Effectively killed multiple human ER+ breast cancer cell lines in culture.
• Was well tolerated, with no obvious deleterious effects, by multiple species (mice, rats and beagles).
• Shrank transplanted human breast tumors of various genetic backgrounds in mice.
In a dosing experiment, the researchers noted that a single dose of ErSO-TFPy in mice induced complete or near-complete regression of small or large tumors, respectively, that had grown in the animals. Other drugs require long-term dosing, but the researchers suggest that a lone dose of ErSO-TFPy and
Continued on page 16
Gecko toes insAsingle dose of a small molecule drug leads to complete regression of small breast cancer tumors in mice.
From the ACS Press Room
Research update: Generating electricity from tacky tape
“Wide Bandwidth High-Power Triboelectric Energy Harvesting by Scotch Tape”
ACS Omega
Zaps of static electricity might be a wintertime annoyance, but to certain scientists, they represent an untapped source of energy. Using a device called a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), mechanical energy can be converted into electrical energy using triboelectric effect static. Many TENGs contain expensive, specially fabricated materials, but one team has instead used inexpensive storebought tape, plastic and aluminum metal. The researchers report an improved version of their tape-based TENG in ACS Omega.
This array of nearly 150 LEDs is powered by repeatedly sticking and unsticking layers of store-bought tape as part of a triboelectric nanogenerator, along with plastic and aluminum.
Adapted fromACS Omega 2025, DOI: 10.1021/ acsomega.4c08590
The research team, led by Gang Wang and Moon-Hyung Jang, previously stacked layers of a store-bought double-sided tape, plastic film and aluminum metal to form an effective, low-cost TENG. When the layers of tape were pressed together and pulled apart, a
small amount of electricity was generated. But the tape’s stickiness proved problematic, requiring a lot of force to detach the layers.
For the new and improved TENG, researchers replaced the double-sided tape with layers of thicker, heavy-duty single-sided tape. Unlike the old version, power is generated by the interaction between the polypropylene backing of the tape and the acrylic adhesive layer. The smooth surfaces can easily stick and unstick from one another, enabling the TENG to be rapidly connected and disconnected, thereby generating even more power in a shorter amount of time than before. Researchers accomplished this by placing the TENG atop a vibrational plate that bounced the tape layers apart, generating electricity as they came into contact and separated repeatedly.
In tests, the new device produced a maximum power of 53 milliwatts. Additionally, it created enough power to light more than 350 LED lights as well as a laser pointer. The team also incorporated the tape TENG into two sensors: a self-powered, wearable biosensor for detecting arm movements and an acoustic sensor for sound waves.
This study demonstrates the utility of a lowcost TENG that performs well, and the researchers hope the device's applications can expand into power generation and selfpowered sensors.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Charger Innovation Fund from the University of Alabama at Huntsville.
From the ACS Press Room
More acidic oceans may affect the sex of oysters
"Low pH Means More Female Offspring: A Multigenerational Plasticity in the Sex Ratio of Marine Bivalves"
Environmental Science & Technology
Rising carbon dioxide levels affect more than just the climate; they also affect the chemistry of the oceans. When saltwater absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes acidic, which alters the aquatic animal ecosystem. But how exactly does ocean acidification impact animals whose genetic makeup can shift depending on environmental cues? A study published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology addresses this question through the “eyes” of oysters.
Oysters, unlike mammals and birds, do not have chromosomes that dictate their sex at the point of fertilization. The bivalves rely on environmental factors to trigger genetic signals that determine whether they are male or female a mechanism known as environmental sex determination. Previous studies have explored how environmental signals such as temperature and food availability can change female-male ratios for aquatic animals, but shifting pH levels have been overlooked. So, a research team led by Xin Dang and Vengatesen Thiyagarajan examined how ocean acidification could impact the sex ratio of oysters across generations, both in hatcheries and in the wild.
The researchers collected the study’s first generation of oysters from the wild and housed them in two different tanks, one with a neutral pH and the other with slightly
more acidic water to mimic ocean acidification. The wild oysters’offspring (second generation) in the acidic tank had a higher female-male ratio than those spawned in the neutral pH tank.
Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is making oceans more acidic, which may shift the oyster population’s female -male ratios.
Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock.com
Next, they transplanted the secondgeneration oysters from the acidic tank into two different natural habitats: one with a neutral pH and one with an acidic pH. The thirdgeneration oysters had higher female-male ratios regardless of habitat pH, demonstrating that pH-mediated sex determination can be transgenerational for oysters.
Likewise, pH-mediated sex determination also occurred in the control-group offspring. When second-generation control-group oysters were transplanted into acidic natural habitats, their offspring had higher female-male ratios than control-group oysters transplanted into neutral pH natural habitats.
The team also explored the relationship between pH and sex determination through a
From the ACS Press Room
genetic analysis. The results indicated that a series of genes involved in female development turned on in response to acidic pH, whereas a different set of genes involved in male development shut down. These results uncover a new trigger for environmental sex determination in oysters.
“This study is the first to document a biased sex ratio over multiple generations towards females driven by exposure to low pH,” says Dang. “The results expand our understanding of environmental sex determination and highlight the possible impact of future global changes on reproduction and population dynamics of mollusks and other marine organisms.”
The researchers’ next steps involve exploring this phenomenon in other marine animals, to better understand the genetic regulation in response to climate change and test the application of pH sex determination in oyster aquaculture.
The authors acknowledge funding from the University Grants Committee General Research Fund, Hong Kong’s Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Science Foundation of China, and the Nansha District Science and Technology Program in KeyAreas.
Around the Area
UTD
Associate Professor Mario Wriedt, Fellow of the Francis S. and Maurine G. Johnson Chair in Chemistry, was awarded a $581K grants from the DOD’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) to investigate “HighCapacity Sustainable Sorbents for Treatment of PFASs”.
From the ACS Press Room
continued
Using sugars from peas
from page 5
analysis and evaluation by a trained sensory panel, the team discovered that the beers brewed using the RFO extract had:
• More lactic acid, ethanol and fruity flavor-imparting compounds than the beers brewed without RFOs.
• Fruitier flavors, more acidic tastes and higher total taste intensity than the beers made without RFOs, but total taste intensity comparable to the commercial beer.
• No trace of unwanted beany flavors.
Despite the short fermentation time, the LAB gobbled up all the RFOs, leaving no detectable traces in any of the experimental beers.
This is important because RFOs can cause gastrointestinal problems for some people. The researchers hope that this work shows how pulses and RFOs could be incorporated into beer brewing and that pea-based ingredients can be associated with products that taste good.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Research Council of Norway, the infrastructure grants “Norwegian Biorefinery Laboratory” and “Food Pilot Plant Norway,” the Green Technology for PlantBased Food project, and the Norwegian Fund for Research Fees for Agricultural Products.
From the ACS Press Room
continued
Walk like a … gecko?
Continued from page 8
Using infrared spectroscopy and simulated friction tests, the researchers found that the most slip-resistant nanocomposites contained 3% and 5% zirconia nanoparticles by weight. In addition to a nature-inspired antislip shoe sole, the team says this technology could be used in medical innovations, such as electronic skin and artificial skin, where polymers interact with a layer of fluid between two different surfaces.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal.
New design makes aluminum batteries last longer
Continued from page 9
covered with a simple wash and then recycled into another battery with slightly diminished performance. The new battery could reduce the production cost of Al-ion batteries and extend their life, thus increasing their practicality.
“This new Al-ion battery design shows the potential for a long-lasting, cost-effective and high-safety energy storage system. The ability to recover and recycle key materials makes the technology more sustainable,” says Wang. The researchers add that further improvements in energy density and life cycle are needed before commercialization.
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Beijing Nova Program, and the Interdisciplinary Research Project for Young Teachers of the University of Science and Technology Beijing.
Drug candidate eliminates breast cancer tumors
Continued from page 11
therefore minimal circulation in the body could help reduce the risk of side effects and late effects. They acknowledge the need for more testing to confirm drug safety and efficacy, but they suggest if these results translate to human patients, ErSO-TFPy could be transformative for ER+ breast cancer treatment.
“It is very rare for a compound to shrink tumors in mouse models of breast cancer, let alone completely eradicate those tumors with a single dose, so we are eager for ErSOTFPy to advance for treatment of breast cancer,” says Hergenrother.
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Center at Illinois.
From the Editor
You can always tell when the winter break is over, because there is real news in the Retort! The 57th ACS DFW MEETING-in-MINIATURE will be at East Texas A&M University in Commerce, Saturday, April 26, 2025. There will be sections for undergraduates, graduates and postdocs to present their research results. Plans include a poster session for community college students also. Important note: Lunch will be provided, as always!
Article from my favorite journal: Researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry brewed new sour beers in less time using a seemingly strange ingredient: field peas. They state categorically that these beers do NOT taste beany. There’s always something new.
