MARCH 2023 Southwest Retort

Vol. 75(7) March 2023

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Four ways to reduce unwanted iodized table salt reactions when boiling pasta...…..……

Using CRISPR to detect cancer bimarkers…

Good for your eyes … and for degradable polymers…………………………..8

These sports sensors could curb ‘bad calls’ and help players during practices.…….…...9

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

From the ACS Press Room

Four ways to reduce unwanted iodized table salt reactions when boiling pasta

“Overlooked Iodo-Disinfection Byproduct Formation When Cooking Pasta with Iodized Table Salt”

Environmental Science & Technology

Cooking pasta in chlorinated tap water with iodized table salt could produce potentially harmful byproducts, but four simple steps could reduce their formation. Iodized salt helps prevent iodine-deficiency disorders, including goiters and certain birth defects. Yet it’s unclear how this seasoning interacts with chloramine-treated drinking water if some of the disinfectant is left behind. Now, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have demonstrated that cooking pasta in such water with iodized table salt could produce potentially harmful byproducts. But they also report four simple ways that people can reduce or avoid these unwanted compounds.

In most countries, drinking water is treated with chlorine or chloramine before it trickles out of kitchen or bathroom faucets. But small amounts of these disinfectants can end up in water used for cooking. Previous experiments showed that when wheat flour was heated in tap water that contained residual chlorine and seasoned with iodized table salt, potentially harmful

iodinated disinfection byproducts could form. However, similar studies hadn’t been conducted with real foods and at-home cooking conditions. So, Susan Richardson and colleagues wanted to find out if this could happen in real-world situations, and how home cooks could minimize the formation of disinfection byproducts.

The researchers cooked elbow macaroni in tap water, which had been treated with chloramine, and salt. In the initial test, they boiled the pasta according to the package directions, but in other tests, they changed the cooking conditions and salt type. Then, the team measured the amounts of six iodinated trihalomethanes, which are potentially toxic compounds, in the cooked food and pasta water. They detected all of the iodinated trihalomethanes in cooked noodles and pasta water, but the cooking conditions significantly impacted the amounts.

Based on their results, the researchers identified four ways to reduce possible consumption of these substances:

• Pasta should be boiled without a lid.

• The noodles should be strained from the water that they’re cooked in.

• Iodized table salt should be added after the pasta is cooked. Continued on page 17

Judith (Judy) Giordan, PhD

2023 President of theAmerican Chemical Society

Interview for the Southwest Retort, Newsletter of the Dallas-Fort Worth Local Section of theACS

D. L. Merkle, PhD,

interviewer

Thank you for interacting with us and sharing your insights and information regarding your Presidential year. We appreciate your taking the time to answer some questions about your ACS experiences.

How is your year so far? Is there anything that surprised you or was radically different than you expected? While it is only March, I was excited to start my initiatives in my Pres-Elect year 2022 and carry them into this year. Working with others to build and provide programming and opportunities for member engagement is always wonderful!

You've actively and effectively volunteered in a number of ACS roles. What is your favorite part of volunteering for ACS? Meeting people, networking, hearing what ACS and chemistry means for members’ lives and careers and doing my best to act on needs as best as I can.

How is serving as ACS president different from holding other ACS positions? It is a broader role – from meetings at the national, regional and local levels to putting together initiatives based on member needs and addressing questions and concerns – you never know what will come next!

Local Sections are important to the function of ACS, both in sharing knowledge with scientists and non-scientists, and in promoting the chemical community within the geographical areas encompassed by the Local Sections. What is your view on how ACS can best support Local Sections and their volunteers? There are many ways – but whatever they are starts with the needs and desires of the local section. No two sections are alike, and respecting that diversity is key for support. The Local Section Activities Committee chaired by Beth Lorsbach is a key way to stay involved, have your needs known and get resources. Please use the Speakers Directory both to schedule and find speakers and put up your own talk!

How would you describe ACS's current importance in the careers of chemists and chemically -focused scientists? What, if anything, would you like to improve? Do you feel the Presiden-

tial role offers adequate opportunities to effect change in the organization? This is a multifaceted and not a single question. Let me focus on the importance of ACS – or any professional society – for careers, connections and just plain fun! I wrote a LinkedIn article https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-connections-staying-connected-professional-judy -giordan/ on just this topic back in 2021. And I restated my belief in the importance of participating and volunteering in a recent 2023 C&EN Comment. Everyone needs to find a place that resonates with them. For me, my NUMBER ONE location to volunteer and stay connected is the American Chemical Society! ACS combines science, career, professional development and friendship. For me, a great combination!

Entrepreneurship is a key focus of many current ACS programs, yet the relevance of ACS to some chemical industries has been on the wane for some time. What is the best way to decrease the disparity between the push to grow entrepreneurs within ACS and the difficulty in demonstrating the relevance ofACS to non-academic chemists? Again, a multi-faceted question. I’ll stick with the business part – with two points. First, I believe that the desire to start a business is a personal choice. And not all businesses are the same. And regardless of type, building a viable business is not easy. It requires skill, perseverance, a keen knowledge of the market and the ability to build a focused offering to address market gaps and needs with a market validated value proposition. So depending on the business, the ability of ACS to help can vary, but with the many connections that can be made through ACS the opportunity for help is large!

Second point, I am honored to be a co-sponsor with Wayne Jones, Chair of the Board Committee on Professional and Member Relations of a group of commercially aligned ACS members who are working to determine why commercially aligned chemists should/ could value ACS membership and how we can support and engage them. Stay tuned for their results!

How does membership inACS benefit those with academic careers? Are these contributions from ACS different than those for scientists with Non-traditional careers/career paths? The list of reasons to belong to ACS is as long as the list of member benefits – if you are someone who wants to be a member of a professional organization like ACS! ALL chemists can contribute to ACS and the profession! That is the wonder and importance of truly respecting diversity in all its forms and of each of us working to include others across all STEM career paths and helping all of our fellow members to truly participate and volunteer –whether at the local or national levels; whether in local sections, committees or divisions and regardless how one contributes to the chemical enterprise. Benefits are there for all! Once you determine what you need.

And finally: What would you suggest to anACS member who wants to have a significant impact onACS and chemistry? What specific advice do you have for someone who aspires to be ACS president? VOLUNTEER! PARTICIPATE! Become active – or more active – in ACS at whatever level and in whatever way resonates with you! Committees, Divisions, Local Sections, Regionally. It’s all there, what matters is knowing what you want to accomplish and then aligning that with the myriad of options ACS presents. Thanks again, Dr. Giordan for participating in the Retort's e-interview.

“

From the ACS Press Room

Carrots: Good for your eyes … and for degradable polymers

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Carrots come in a rainbow of bright colors red, orange, yellow and purplish black because of compounds called carotenoids. They help support eye health by reacting with potentially harmful UV light. Interestingly, the molecular structures of carotenoids, such as β-carotene, are similar to the building blocks of some polymers. Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Chemical Society have incorporated a compound derived from β-carotene into a polymer that’s fully degradable.

Polymers and plastics formed from natural, biodegradable ingredients are highly desired for use in consumer products. By using indigo, vanillin and melanin, scientists have created biobased polymers that have electrically conductive properties that are attractive for energy storage, biomedical and sensor applications. Carotenoids are another set of natural compounds expected to transfer charges, but they haven’t been widely tested in polymer design. Another possible benefit is that these compounds break apart in the presence of UV light and certain chemicals. So, Azalea Uva, Angela Lin and Helen Tran wanted to use a carotenoid-sourced compound to make a degradable material that could be selectively broken down with an acid and sunlight.

The researchers combined the carotenoid derived from β-carotene, a 10-carbon dialdehyde, and p-phenylenediamines, a group of compounds used in degradable polymers, to make three different poly(azomethine)s. When dried, the resulting materials ranged in color from black to bright red.

In initial experiments, the team determined that the bright red version created with pphenylenediamine containing two hexyl side chains was the best candidate to test further. The material completely broke down into its original components in acidic solutions, which could potentially be recovered. However, when both acid and artificial sunlight were used, this process sped up. And after an extended period of time, the sample broke down even further into smaller dialdehydes and other compounds. The next step is to evaluate this new fully degradable polymer’s ability to conduct electricity, the researchers say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Biobased, Degradable, and Conjugated Poly(Azomethine)s”

A compound derived from β-carotene was one of the building blocks in a fully degradable, biobased polymer. Helen Tran

From the ACS Press Room

These sports sensors could curb ‘bad calls’ and help players during practices

ACS Applied Nano Materials

If you watched the most recent Super Bowl, you know the importance of a referee’s call on the outcome of a game. Slow-motion replays and close-watching eyes help, but a new sensor technology could someday serve as an even more reliable tool for officials. Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Nano Materials have developed a self-powered, hybrid nanogenerator sensor that could help make more accurate calls and allow boxers and cricket players to practice more efficiently.

As sensors become less complicated and more ubiquitous, their applications have stretched into the world of sports, where they can offer detailed analyses to referees, coaches and players. But these sensors need to be small, selfpowered and relatively cheap to be feasible. Two technologies well suited for this are triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs). Both work by converting mechanical energy into electric energy, albeit in different ways. When combined into one hybrid nanogenerator, their individual short-

comings can be mitigated, but these devices have so far failed to find many practical applications. So, Nishat Kumar Das, Om Priya Nanda and Sushmee Badhulika from the Indian Institute of Technology wanted to create a sensor powered by a hybrid nanogenerator that could be used to monitor real-life performance in boxing and cricket.

To manufacture their sensor, the researchers created nanofibers from lithium-modified zinc titanium oxide. These were layered with copper, a special kind of tape and other films with certain characteristics to create either a TENG or PENG. The PENG was mounted to a cricket bat and the stumps of a wicket used similarly to the bases in American baseball. If the ball contacted the sensors, it produced a voltage that could be used to determine a call. When used during practice, it provided data corresponding to the accuracy and power of the swing, with a response time of around 0.02 seconds. Then, they combined this PENG with a TENG to make a hybrid nanogenerator, four of which were then mounted to different parts of a punching bag. The devices distinguished between the six different types of punches used in boxing, as well as the speed of each, giving a player and their coach information about their style. The researchers say that this work could pave a way for exploring other applications for nanogenerators in sports.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO).

“Piezo/Triboelectric Nanogenerator from Lithium-Modified Zinc Titanium Oxide Nanofibers to Monitor Contact in Sports”

A hybrid nanogenerator -powered sensor, shown above a ruler, could help improve performance and gameplay in boxing and cricket.

From the ACS Press Room

A more healthful, gluten-free flour made from sweet potatoes

“Technological Properties of Orange Sweet Potato Flour Intended for Functional Food Products as Affected by Conventional Drying and Milling Methods”

ACS Food Science & Technology

Flour made from orange sweet potatoes (the powder in the bowl pictured here), could be a healthy, gluten-free option for baked goods.

Orange, starchy sweet potatoes are great mashed, cut into fries or just roasted whole. But you likely haven’t considered grinding them into a flour and baking them into your next batch of cookies or at least, not yet! Recent research published in ACS Food Science & Technology has reported the best method to turn sweet potatoes into glutenfree flours that are packed with antioxidants and perfect for thickening or baking.

Wheat flour has been used for tens of thousands of years, and likely isn’t going away anytime soon. But for those who face gluten intolerance or have celiac disease, the gluten proteins in wheat flour can lead to stomach pain, nausea and even intestinal damage. Several gluten-free options are either already available or in development, including those made from banana peels, almonds and various grains. But an up-and-coming contender is derived from sweet potatoes, as the hearty tuber is packed with antioxidants and nutrients, along with a slightly sweet flavor and hint of color.

Before it can become a common ingredient

in store-bought baked goods, the best practices for processing the flour need to be established. Though previous studies have investigated a variety of parameters, including the way the potatoes are dried and milled, none have yet determined how these different steps could interact with one another to produce flours best suited for certain products. So, Ofelia Rouzaud-Sández and colleagues wanted to investigate how two drying temperatures and grinding processes affected the properties of orange sweet potato flour.

To create their flours, the team prepared samples of orange sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) dried at either 122 or 176 F then ground them once or twice. They investigated many parameters for each sample, comparing them to store-bought sweet potato

Continued on page 15

Flour made from orange sweet potatoes (the powder in the bowl pictured here), could be a healthy, gluten-free option for baked goods.

From the ACS Press Room

ACS Central Science

Access to clean water is being strained as the human population increases and contamination impacts freshwater sources. Devices currently in development that clean up dirty water using sunlight can only produce up to a few gallons of water each day. But now, researchers in ACS Central Science report how loofah sponges inspired a sunlight-powered porous hydrogel that could potentially purify enough water to satisfy someone’s daily needs even when it’s cloudy.

Previously, researchers have suggested that sunlight-driven evaporation could be a low-energy way to purify water, but this approach doesn’t work well when it’s cloudy. One solution could be temperatureresponsive hydrogels, specifically poly(Nisopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAm), that switch from absorbing water at cooler temperatures to repelling it when heated. However, conventional PNIPAm gels can’t generate clean water fast enough to meet people’s daily needs because of their closed-off pores. Conversely, natural loofahs, which many people use to exfoliate in the shower, have large,

open and interconnected pores. So, Rodney Priestley, Xiaohui Xu, and colleagues wanted to replicate the loofah’s structure in a PNIPAm-based hydrogel, yielding a material that could rapidly absorb water at room temperature, and rapidly release purified water when heated by the sun’s rays under bright or cloudy conditions.

The researchers used a water and ethylene glycol mixture as a uniquely different polymerization medium to make a PNIPAm hydrogel with an open pore structure, similar to a natural loofah. Then they coated the opaque hydrogel’s inner pores with polydopamine (PDA) and poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSMBA), and tested this material using an artificial light equivalent to the power of the sun. It absorbed water at room temperature and, when heated by the artificial light, released 70% of its stored water in 10 minutes a rate four times greater than the one for a previously reported absorber gel. The researchers say that, at this rate, the material has the potential to meet a person’s daily demand. And under lower light conditions, replicating partly cloudy skies, it took 15 to 20 minutes for the material to release a similar amount of stored water.

Finally, the new loofah-like material was tested on samples polluted with organic dyes, heavy metals, oil and microplastics. In all of the tests, the gel made the water substantially cleaner. For example, in two cycles of treat-

Continued on page 17

This loofah-inspired, sun-driven gel could purify all the water you’ll need in a day

“Quick Release Anti-Fouling Hydrogels for Solar-Driven Water Purification”

A porous hydrogel inspired by loofah sponges absorbs polluted water at room temperature and then rapidly releases purified water when heated.

The Doherty Award is given for excellence in chemical research or chemistry teaching, meritorious service to ACS, new chemical methodology (for the industry), solution of pollution problems, and advances in curative or preventive chemotherapy. Nominees may come from industry, academia, government, or small business. The nominee should be a resident member in the area served by the ACS DFW Local Section, and the work should have been performed here. The award is $1500 and an engraved plaque.

The Schulz Award is given to high school chemistry teachers, who, like the late Dr. Werner Schulz, bring that something extra to the teaching of chemistry. The nominee and/or nominator need not be ACS members. Nominees should show excellence in chemistry teaching, as demonstrated by testimonials from students and fellow teachers, results in student competitions, and diligence in updating and expanding scientific/teaching credentials. The award is $1500 and an engraved plaque.

The DFW Section instituted the Chemistry Ambassador Award to recognize an outstanding Section member who has made a significant impact by promoting chemistry to the community. The 2023 Chemistry Ambassador of the Year award is based on peer or self-nominations to the selection committee. Submissions should be one page in length and address the community outreach activities either through teaching, service, or working with legislators to affect public policy. Submissions will be evaluated on the impact made, which may include but not limited to how many people were reached, impact on individual people in the community, and exemplary commitment to the promotion of chemistry in the community. The award is $1000.

Each nomination should contain a completed nomination form, a cover letter highlighting the nominee’s accomplishments, and a copy of the CV. One or two additional letters may accompany nominations. The nomination package should be sent by email as a single pdf file to Mrs. Karen Compton at karen.compton@pisd.edu. Nominations remain active for five years but should be updated annually.

The deadline for submission of nominations is May 01, 2023.

The Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) local section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) is organizing a photography contest during the “ 2023 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week”. Please send ONE ORIGINAL picture to mihaela@utdallas.edu before April 15, 2023, 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.

Submitted pictures can be of colorful reactions in the lab, images (AFM, TEM, SEM), cell images, and fluorescent compounds.

The winners will be announced during the 2022 Meeting in Miniature on April 22, 2023. The winning pictures will be posted on our ACS DFW webpage and the Facebook page of the local section.

We will select three pictures as winners. The first prize will be $250, the second prize $200, and the third prize $150.

Around the Area

UT Dallas

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Department welcomes Dr. Monu Joy, Ph.D. Clarkson University, as the new Director of their X-Ray Facility. Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar, Filippo Romiti, gave an invited talk at the DFW Young Investigator's Symposium. Madison Berger, Cisneros Group, defended her Ph.D. Dissertation and published a first-author work in JACS.

from sweet potatoes

continued on page 11

flour and a traditional wheat one. Regardless of drying temperature, grinding once damaged just enough of the starch to make it ideal for fermented products, such as gluten-free breads. Grinding twice further disrupted the starch’s crystallinity, producing thickening agents ideal for porridges or sauces. When baked into a loaf of bread, the hightemperature-dried, single-ground sample featured higher antioxidant capacity than both the store-bought version and the wheat flour. The researchers say that these findings could help expand the applications for orange sweet potato flour, both for home cooks and the packaged food industry.

The authors acknowledge funding from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) under Research Grant B-S3869 and the Universidad de Sonora..

From ACS Press Room

Continued

“Iodized table salt”

Continued from page 5

Iodine-free salt options, such as kosher salt and Himalayan salt, should be used if home cooks want to boil pasta in salted water.

As the team explains, boiling pasta without a lid allows vaporized chlorinated and iodinated compounds to escape, and straining noodles removes most of the contaminants. Adding iodized salt after cooking should reduce risk of byproduct formation, but noniodized salts are recommended if salting the water before boiling.

The authors acknowledge funding from the University of South Carolina and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Continued from page 14

ment, water samples with around 40 parts per million (ppm) chromium were absorbed, then released with less than 0.07 ppm chromium the allowable limit for drinking water. The researchers say the unique hydrogel structure that they created could be useful in additional applications, such as drug delivery, smart sensors and chemical separations.

The authors acknowledge funding from a Princeton University Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, a National GEM Consortium Fellowship, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund at Princeton University, the Project X Fund at Princeton University and the Princeton Catalysis Initiative.

“Gluten-free flour made

“

Loofah-inspired gel”

From the Editor

It is now officially spring in the ACS! Our usual spring events are coming up.

The Meeting-n-Miniature (in-person) will be held at Tarleton on April 22; the keynote speaker is Dr. John Wood of Baylor. The local qualifying exam for the National Chemistry Olympiad will be March 26 at UTA.

The DFW section is soliciting nominations for the Doherty, Schulz, and Chem AmbassadorAwards, with a deadline of May 1.

The DFW section is also sponsoring a science-art photography contest for graduate and undergraduate students. The deadline is April 15, and the winners will be announced at the Meeting-in-Miniature.

Most important press release is the water-purification method using a hydrogel powered by sunlight...even cloudy sunlight. Efficient, effective water purification should be a top priority of every organization that works with third-world countries, and this is a great step forward.