OCTOBER 2023 Southwest Retort

SOUTHWEST RETORT

SEVENTY-SIXTH YEAR

October 2023

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. 76(2) October 2023 Editorial and Business Offices: Contact the Editor for subscription and advertisement information.

Editor: Connie Hendrickson: retort@acsdfw.org Copy and Layout Editor: Lance Hughes: hugla64@gmail.com Business Manager: Martha Gilchrist: Martha.Gilchrist@tccd.edu 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 ARTICLES and COLUMNS Letter from the Editor…..…..……..............17

NEWS SHORTS Watching paint dry — to understand and control the patterns it leaves behind..…….5 Using ‘spent’ coffee and tea to boost shelf life and nutritional value of cakes…..…………..8 Chameleon-inspired coating could cool and warm buildings through the seasons….......10 A floating sponge could help remove harmful algal blooms..….......................….…..... .11 ‘Espresso can prevent Alzheimer’s protein clumping in lab tests………........................13 Tattoo technique transfers gold nanopatterns onto live cells…………..…………….14 ACS LOCAL SECTION National Chemistry Week Interview with Kayla N. Green, PhD….…….…...…...6 AROUND THE AREA UT Dallas

Contact the DFW Section General: info@acsdfw.org Education: ncw@acsdfw.org Elections: candidates@acsdfw.org Facebook: DFWACS Twitter: acsdfw

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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Huffman Laboratories……………..….........3 TMJ Data Entry and Editing.……….......…3 ANA-LAB…………………………...…..…..4

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SERVICES and ANNOUNCEMENTS

2023-24 DFW Section Officers Chair: Rajani Srinivasan

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Past Chair: Mihaela C. Stefan

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DOCUMENT TITLE

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From the ACS Press Room Watching paint dry — to understand and control the patterns it leaves behind “Drying Drops of Paint Suspension: From “Fried Eggs” to Quasi-Homogeneous Patterns” Langmuir A coffee spill leaves behind a dark stain around the puddle’s edge when it dries. But as drops of paint dry, some look like “fried eggs,” with “yolks” of color surrounded by pristine white halos, whereas others appear uniform. To understand this variability, researchers reporting in Langmuir literally watched paint dry. They found that pigment concentration and temperature impacted how the liquid gelled and evaporated, information that could help control patterns in dried paint.

Paint contains a mixture of substances, including resins, pigAs paint drops dry, they can look like a ments, addi“fried egg” (left image, scale bar is one millimeter) or develop a more even pig- tives and a ment distribution (right image). solvent, Adapted from Langmuir 2023, DOI: such as wa10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01605. ter. Because of paint’s complex composition, various chemical interactions are at play as paint drops evaporate, which can sometimes lead to undesirable patterns or small cracks. Generally, artists and home painters want even, uniform pigment distribution after paint is

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applied to a surface. But it’s not really clear how to avoid patterns from forming as the liquid dries. So, Stella Ramos, Catherine Barentin and colleagues wanted to investigate the factors that impact the evaporation of a water-based paint.

The researchers prepared five mixtures of a water-based acrylic paint and water, and then dropped the solutions onto heated glass slides. As the liquid evaporated, they analyzed and photographed the deposits, and observed three phenomena: Initially, there were dueling inward and outward flows of the liquid: inward flow from the hot substrate to the cooler top of the droplet, and an outward pull from capillary flow.

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Eventually, gelation of the paint suspension increased the viscosity and slowed pigment movement.

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The final drying step locked the pigments into place on the slide’s surface.

Both pigment amount and the glass’s surface temperature impacted the size, shape and pattern of the dried paint drops. The researchers saw that drops with lower pigment concentrations or deposited on the lowest temperature surface of 86 degrees Fahrenheit accumulated colorful molecules in the center, giving them a “fried egg” appearance. With more pigment and higher temperatures, up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit, the dried pattern was

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October 2023 National Chemistry Week Interview with Kayla N. Green, PhD by: Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD 2023 Chair-Elect ACSDFW, dmerkle@sciconsult.com This month's Retort interview features Dr. Kayla N. Green1, Professor in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth TX. Dr. Green very kindly took time out of her screamingly busy schedule to give our local section members insight into her involvement with chemistry outreach and the importance of National Chemistry Week (NCW)2,3.

Here is the Q&A from our e-interview. Everyone be sure to thank Dr. Green for her dedication to chemistry - and of course contact her to volunteer to support the NCW efforts at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) from Oct 19-21!4 Retort: What is your title related to NCW? Professor Green: I have no idea what your folks call me! � Retort: In what area of chemistry do you work?

Professor Green: Inorganic, Catalysis, Bioinorganic

Retort: What’s your first memory of NCW? Were you a participant or the demonstrating chemist?

Professor Green: Undergrad - The Chemistry Club planned activities for each day of NCW. Dr. Kayla N. Green Retort: When did you start participating in NCW as a Professor, Chemistry, TCU kayla.green@tcu.edu chemist, (if different from Q3)? How did you start Directing the NCW activities at FWMSH? Professor Green: Year 1 of my time at TCU as an assistant professor. I’ve been involved ever since.

Retort: How many people usually attend the NCW programs at FWMSH? Professor Green: Around 2-3K at this point each year. It has been continually growing. We are well over 30,000 visitors to the event total since it was established over ten years ago.

Retort: How would you answer the question, Why should chemists participate in NCW? Professor Green: Inspiring the next generation of scientists is everyone’s responsibility.

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Retort: What is your favorite part of NCW? Professor Green: The volunteers!

Retort: If you would like, please give your favorite chem demo or chem demo story.

Professor Green: Gummy bear (with dinosaur gummies instead) sacrifice. If you position the test tube at the right angle and drop the dinosaur in correctly, it will “walk” toward its demise. I usually play something off the sound track of Jurassic Park for theatrical effect.

Many thanks, Professor Green, for your amazing contributions to research in chemistry, the chemical community, and beyond. The ACSDFW Local Section is grateful for your contributions and unfailing dedication to nascent chemists!

1) https://personal.tcu.edu/kaylagreen/?_ga=2.31161718.891144568.16963622521347272814.1686600482 2) National Chemistry Week 2023, October 15-21, The Healing Power of Chemistry https://www.acs.org/education/outreach/ncw.html 3) NCW @ Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) October 19 - 21 https://www.fwmuseum.org 4) kayla.green@tcu.edu

The DFW local section is working towards building and strengthening the section after the pandemic.

The executive committee has unanimously voted to postpone the present election for the year 2024.

The next election will be held in the coming year 2024.

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From the ACS Press Room Using ‘spent’ coffee and tea to boost shelf life and nutritional value of cakes “The Bioactive Substances in Spent Black Tea and Arabic Coffee Could Improve the Nutritional Value and Extend the Shelf Life of Sponge Cake after Fortification”

hind, either in coffee grounds or tea leaves.

Spent tea or coffee has been added to animal feeds and agricultural compost in the past, but few researchers have looked at incorporating these wastes into foods to fortify them ACS Omega for human consumption. So, Abdelrahman On a crisp fall afternoon, there are few pair- Ahmed, Khaled Ramadan, Mohamed ings better than a hot beverage and a sweet Mahmoud and colleagues wanted to include pastry. But what if you could use the left- spent tea and coffee powders in sponge over tea leaves or coffee grounds from the cakes, as well as explore their nutritional and drink to make that tasty treat a healthier one, sensory properties and shelf lives. too? Researchers reporting in ACS Ome- To create the powders, the team brewed eiga have done just that by incorporating spent ther black tea or Arabica coffee, then thortea or coffee powders into sponge cake bat- oughly rinsed, dried and pulverized the leftoters to make a more nutritious and longer- ver grounds or leaves. These were then addlasting snack. ed into the flour used for sponge cake batter in different amounts, creating loaves with either 1%, 2% or 3% powder. This material gave the cakes a higher antioxidant activity and increased concentrations of important nutrients compared to control ones made with only regular flour. However, a sensory panel rated loaves with higher amounts of spent tea powder with lower sensory properThese sponge cakes, fortified with spent tea leaves (left) or coffee grounds (right), were more nutritious and lasted ties, largely because of their darkened aplonger than controls. pearance. Cakes with spent coffee powder Mohamed Mahmoud were scored more similarly to the control Tea and coffee are among the most- loaves in terms of appearance, taste and texconsumed beverages in the world — second ture. Additionally, the fortified cakes were only to water. In addition to providing caf- slightly more shelf stable, and had less mifeine, both are rich in bioactive substances, crobial growth after up to 14 days of storage. including antioxidants, fiber and important The researchers say that this work could help nutrients, including potassium and calcium. provide new pathways to recycle an otherBut during the process of preparing the wise wasted product and improve the nutridrinks, many of these compounds are left beContinued on page 15 October 2023

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From the ACS Press Room

Chameleon-inspired coating could cool and warm buildings through the seasons ““Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer”Scalable Biochameleons Inspired Temperature Adaptive Coating with Easy Preparation and Construction”

“modes.” Inspired by the Namaqua chameleon, Fuqiang Wang and colleagues wanted to create a color-shifting coating that adapts as outside temperatures fluctuate.

Nano Letters

To make the coating, researchers mixed thermochromic microcapsules, specialized microparticles and binders to form The Namaqua chameleon’s ability regulate temperature by changa suspension, to ing its skin color inspired a new, which they energy-efficient coating that both sprayed or cools and warms buildings. brushed onto a Chantelle Bosch/Shutterstock.com metal surface. When heated to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the surface began to change from dark to light grey. Once it reached 86 degrees, the light-colored film reflected up to 93% of solar radiation. Even when heated above 175 degrees for an entire day, the material showed no signs of damage. Next, the team tested it alongside three conventional coatings — regular white paint, a passive radiative cooling paint and blue steel tiles — in outdoor tests on miniature, doghouse-sized buildings throughout all four seasons.

As summer turns to fall, many people will be turning off the air conditioning and firing up heaters instead. But traditional heating and cooling systems are energy intensive, and because they typically run on fossil fuels, they aren’t sustainable. Now, by mimicking a desert-dwelling chameleon, a team reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters has developed an energy-efficient, cost-effective coating. The material could keep buildings cool in the summers — or warm in the winters — without additional energy.

Many desert creatures have specialized adaptations to allow them to survive in harsh environments with large daily temperature shifts. For example, the Namaqua chameleon of southwestern Africa alters its color to regulate its body temperature as conditions change. The critters appear light grey in hot temperatures to reflect sunlight and keep cool, then turn a dark brown once they cool down to absorb heat instead. This unique ability is a naturally occurring example of passive temperature control — a phenomenon that could be adapted to create more energy-efficient buildings. But many systems, such as cooling paints or colored steel tiles, are only designed to keep buildings either cool or warm, and can’t switch between October 2023

In winter, the new coating was slightly warmer than the passive radiative cooling system, though both maintained similar temperatures in warmer conditions.

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In summer, the new coating was signifiContinued on page 15

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From the ACS Press Room

A floating sponge could help remove harmful algal blooms “Floatable 3D Sponge@SBC-Induced Dual -Pathway-Activated Persulfate for Microcystis aeruginosa Inactivation” ACS ES&T Water In the peak heat of summer, beachgoers don’t want their plans thwarted by harmful algal blooms (HABs). But current methods to remove or kill toxin-producing algae and cyanobacteria aren’t efficient or practical for direct applications in waterways. Now, researchers reporting in ACS ES&T Water have coated a floating sponge in a charcoal-like powder, and when paired with an oxidizing agent, the technique destroyed over 85% of algal cells from lake and river water samples.

Swaths of electric green and bright orangered HABs, or the less brilliantly colored cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa, can produce toxins that can sicken humans and animals. Researchers have shown that acids and strong oxidizing agents damage and destroy M. aeruginosa cells but simultaneously generate unwanted, potentially harmful products. More recently, Jiangfang Yu, Lin Tang and colleagues suggested that persulfatebased oxidants could control this species’ algal blooms, but these compounds require catalysts, such as powdered biochar — a charcoal-like substance made from carboncontaining waste — to be effective. So, the team wanted to develop a floating material containing biochar that would boost the de-

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struction of harmful algal cells without damaging the environment with byproducts.

The researchers started with a porous sponge made of melamine and developed a powdered biochar from shrimp shells. They sandwiched a thin layer of polyvinyl alcohol between the sponge and the biochar, linking the layers together at 572 degrees Fahrenheit.

In combination with a persulfatebased oxidizing Pairing this floating sponge with an oxithe dizing agent could help destroy harmful agent, algal blooms. floating Adapted from ACS ES&T Water 2023, sponge DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00202 damaged the membranes of about 90% of the M. aeruginosa cells in lab dishes within five hours.

After the membranes split apart, the cells released their internal contents, which rapidly broke down into smaller components. In addition, the researchers applied the catalyst sponge and persulfate system to real-world lake and water samples, and found that it inactivated more than 85% of the algal cells.

Based on the results, the team suggests that the new system could be a successful algal remediation technique in environments affected by blooms.

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Grow the chemistry community!

Support chemistry outreach!

Be a part of something BigHelp Reach Thousands…

Participate in National Chemistry Week at Fort Worth Museum of Science & History

October 19-21, 2023 Host your own demos or assist with scheduled programming.

Contact Dr Kayla Green to add your expertise to the NCW adventure: kayla.green@tcu.edu

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From the ACS Press Room

Espresso can prevent Alzheimer’s protein clumping in lab tests “Espresso Coffee Mitigates the Aggregation and Condensation of Alzheimer′s Associated Tau Protein”

consume it. To “pull” an espresso shot, hot water is forced through finely ground coffee beans, creating a concentrated extract. This is often used as a base for other drinks, includJournal of Agricultural and Food ing the trendy espresso martini. Recent reChemistry search has suggested that coffee could also Whether enjoyed on its own or mixed into a have beneficial effects against certain neurolatte, Americano or even a martini, espresso degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s provides an ultra-concentrated jolt of caffeine disease. Although the exact mechanisms that to coffee lovers. But it might do more than cause these conditions are still unclear, it’s just wake you up. Research now published in thought that a protein called tau plays a sigACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food nificant role. In healthy people, tau proteins Chemistry shows that, in preliminary in vitro help stabilize structures in the brain, but laboratory tests, espresso compounds can in- when certain diseases develop, the proteins can clump together into fibrils. Some researchers propose that preventing this aggregation could alleviate symptoms. So, Mariapina D’Onofrio and colleagues wanted to see if compounds in espresso could prevent tau aggregation in vitro.

The researchers pulled espresso shots from store-bought beans, then characterized their chemical makeup using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. They chose caffeine and trigonelline, both alkaloids, the flavonoid In an in vitro study, espresso and certain compounds genistein and theobromine, a compound also found within it could prevent tau aggregation, which is found in chocolate, to focus on in further exassociated with Alzheimer’s disease. periments. These molecules, along with the Alessio Orru/Shutterstock.com complete espresso extract, were incubated hibit tau protein aggregation — a process alongside a shortened form of the tau protein that is believed to be involved in the onset of for up to 40 hours. As the concentration of espresso extract, caffeine or genistein inAlzheimer’s disease. creased, fibrils were shorter and didn’t form Roughly half of all Americans drink coffee Continued on page 16 every day, and espresso is a popular way to October 2023

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From the ACS Press Room

Tattoo technique transfers gold nanopatterns onto live cells “Toward Single Cell Tattoos: Biotransfer Printing of Lithographic Gold Nanopatterns on Live Cells”

mer was then dissolved to free the gold nanoarray so it could be transferred to a thin piece of glass. Next, the gold was functionalized with cysteamine and covered with a hyNano Letters drogel layer, which, when peeled away, reFor now, cyborgs exist only in fiction, but the moved the array from the glass. The patconcept is becoming more plausible as sci- terned side of this flexible array/hydrogel ence progresses. And now, researchers are layer was coated reporting in ACS’ Nano Letters that they with gelatin and athave developed a proof-of-concept technique tached to individual to “tattoo” living cells and tissues with flexi- live fibroblast cells. ble arrays of gold nanodots and nanowires. In the final step, the With further refinement, this method could hydrogel was deAn array of gold nanodots was eventually be used to integrate smart devices graded to expose “tattooed” onto a living fibrowith living tissue for biomedical applica- the gold pattern on blast cell. the surface of the Adapted from Nano Letters, tions, such as bionics and biosensing. cells. The research- 2023, DOI: 10.1021/ Advances in electronics have enabled manu- ers used similar acs.nanolett.3c01960 facturers to make integrated circuits and sen- techniques to apply gold nanoarrays to sheets sors with nanoscale resolution. More recent- of fibroblasts or to rat brains. Experiments ly, laser printing and other techniques have showed that the arrays were biocompatible made it possible to assemble flexible devices and could guide cell orientation and migrathat can mold to curved surfaces. But these tion. processes often use harsh chemicals, high temperatures or pressure extremes that are The researchers say their cost-effective apincompatible with living cells. Other meth- proach could be used to attach other naods are too slow or have poor spatial resolu- noscale components, such as electrodes, antion. To avoid these drawbacks, David Gra- tennas and circuits, to hydrogels or living orcias, Luo Gu and colleagues wanted to devel- ganisms, thereby opening up opportunities op a nontoxic, high-resolution, lithographic for the development of biohybrid materials, method to attach nanomaterials to living tis- bionic devices and biosensors. sue and cells.

The authors acknowledge funding from the The team used nanoimprint lithography to Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the print a pattern of nanoscale gold lines or dots National Institute on Aging, the National Science Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Union a polymer-coated silicon wafer. The polyversity Surpass Program.

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From ACS Press Room Continued

Watching Paint Dry… Continued from page 5 more uniform and had even color distribution through the whole circle. To control the appearance of dried paint, the researchers say that pigment concentration and surface temperature could be adjusted, depending on the final pattern that’s desired.

The authors do not acknowledge a funding source for this study. .

Using ‘spent’ coffee and tea to boost shelf life

Chameleon-inspired coating Continued from page 10 cantly cooler than the white paint and steel tiles.

During spring and fall, the new coating was the only system that could adapt to the widely fluctuating temperatures changes, switching from heating to cooling throughout the day.

The researchers say that this color-changing system could save a considerable amount of energy for regions that experience multiple seasons, while still being inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Taishan Scholars of Shandong Provtional value of foods. ince, the Royal Society, and the China ScholThe authors acknowledge funding from arship Council. the Deputyship for Research and Innovation of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education.

Continued from page 8

A floating sponge Continued from page 11 The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the Hunan Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province and the Changsha Municipal Natural Science Foundation.

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From ACS Press Room

Around the Area

Continued

UT Dallas: The UT Dallas Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry welcomes four new members to the faculty: Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry, Rudi Fasan; Associate Professor and Director of the Crystallography Center, Mario Wriedt; Assistant Professor Connor Delaney; and Assistant Professor of Instruction Fadwa Anka. Associate Professor Michael Biewer (PI) and Eugene McDermott Professor Mihaela Stefan (co-PI) were awarded an NSF REU entitled: Chemistry Pathways to Building Functional Materials. This year’s winner of the Lynn A. Melton Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award is A K M Nur Alam Siddiki (Balkus Lab), and this year’s winner of the Catalyst Education Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award is Kyohei Yamada (Gevorgyan Lab).

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‘Espresso can prevent Alzheimer’s Continued from page 13 larger sheets, with the complete extract showing the most dramatic results. Shortened fibrils were found to be non-toxic to cells, and they did not act as “seeds” for further aggregation. In other experiments, the researchers observed that caffeine and the espresso extract could both bind pre-formed tau fibrils. Although much more research is needed, the team says that their preliminary in vitro findings could pave the way toward finding or designing other bioactive compounds against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Italian Ministry of University and Research.

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From the Editor National Chemistry Week is coming up! When, you ask...what other date would it be but the week of 10/23? Check out the ad and the interview with Kayla Green of TCU, who has developed the collaboration with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The first National Chemistry Day celebration was hosted at Nolan High School in Fort Worth, through the influence of the late Paul Ricca. However, the organizer (me), did not request RSVPs from the high school chemistry teachers; when those yellow buses started rolling in...oh my! Our snacks were out-of-date cookies donated by my sister-in-law, who drove a bakery delivery truck. The late great George Hague did one of his chemistry demo shows (better known as boom shows) which shook the whole building. It was a lovely, lovely night!

Most compelling press room article...expresso and other caffeine sources could bind pre-formed tau fibrils, interfering with tau protein aggregation — a process that is believed to be involved in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The team says that their preliminary in vitro findings could pave the way toward finding or designing other bioactive compounds against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s. It’s all in vitro work right now, but it will be interesting to follow.

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