September 2022 The Southwest RETORT 1
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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.
Editor: Connie Hendrickson: retort@acsdfw.org
SOUTHWESTRETORT
SEVENTY-FIFTH YEAR September 2022
Copy and Layout Editor: Lance Hughes: hugla64@gmail.com
Business Manager: Martha Gilchrist: Martha.Gilchrist@tccd.edu
The Dallas-Fort Worth Section, with the cooperation of five other local sections of the American Chemical Society in the Southwest Region.
Vol. 75(1) September 2022
Published for the advancement of Chemists, Chemical Engineers and Chemistry in this area published by
September 2022 The Southwest RETORT 2 ContacttheDFWSection General: Elections:Education:info@acsdfw.orgncw@acsdfw.org candidates@acsdfw.org Facebook: DFWACS Twitter: acsdfw TABLE OF CONTENTS ARTICLES and COLUMNS Letter from the Editor…..…..……..............15 NEWS SHORTS Eco-friendly Sound Absorbers from Seaweed ……………………………………….....5 Banana Peels make Sugar Cookies Better for You …………………….…………….……….6 Multiple Sclerosis Drug Works in a Surprising Way ……………………………………...7 A New Low-calorie Sweetener could also Improve Gut Health, Study Shows ……..…. .10 New Drug Candidate Fights off more than 300 Drug-Resistant Bacteria ……..…..…..11 Ditching the Toothbrush for Whiter Teeth, Fewer Cavities (video) ………….………...12 AROUND THE AREA UT Dallas……………………...……………14 Texas Tech……………………………...…..14 INDEXANNOUNCMENTSOFADVERTISERS Huffman Laboratories……………..…........3 TMJ Data Entry and Editing.………......…3 ANA LAB…………………………...….…..4
September 2022 The Southwest RETORT 3 SERVICES andANNOUNCEMENTS TMJ Data Entry and Editing Specializes in: • Company newsletters • Confidential Data Entry • Free Quotes Contact Lance hugla64@gmail.comatOr 214-356-9002 2022 DFW Section Officers Chair: Mihaela C. Stefan Chair-elect: Rajani Srinivasan Past Chair: Trey Putnam Treasurer: Martha Gilchrist Secretary: Violeta Vega Gomez KirbyMaryCouncilors:AndersonDrake Linda Schultz Rebecca AlternateWeberCouncilors:MichaelBigwoodDanielaHutanuDannyTran
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Controlling and optimizing the way sound moves throughout a room is key to creating functional spaces. Foam acoustic panels are a common solution, and they come in a variety of materials and thicknesses tailored to specific sound requirements. Most of these foams, however, are made from polyurethane and other polymers that are derived from crude oil or shale gas. To avoid petrochemicals, researchers have explored more renewably sourced and biodegradable sound absorbing alternatives. But many current options are made from plant fibers that don’t effectively dampen noises in the most useful range of sound frequencies, or they are too thick or unwieldy to fabricate. So, Chindam Chandraprakash and colleagues wanted to develop a plant derived, biodegradable material that would be simple to manufacture and that could absorb a range of sounds.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Science and Engineering Research Board, India, and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
From the ACS Press Room
“Agar-Based Composite Films as Effective Biodegradable Sound Absorbers” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Eco-friendly Sound Absorbers from Seaweed
From airplanes to apartments, most spaces are now designed with sound-absorbing materials that help dampen the droning, echoing and murmuring sounds of everyday life. But most of the acoustic materials that can cancel out human voices, traffic and music are made from plastic foams that aren’t easily recycled or degraded. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have created a biodegradable seaweed derived film that effectively absorbs sounds in this range.
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The team created thin films of agar, a jellylike material that comes from seaweed, along with other plant derived additives and varied both the thickness and porosity of the films. After running the materials through a battery of tests, the researchers measured how well the films dampened sound across a range of frequencies from a bass hum to a shrill whine. To do this, the team created a sound tube in which a speaker is placed at one end, and the test film is fitted over the other end. Microphones in the middle of the themeasuredtubeamount of sound emitted by the speaker and the amount of sound reflected off the film. These experiments showed that porous films made with the highest concentrations of agar had the greatest sound-absorbing qualities and performed similarly to traditional acoustic foams. The researchers plan to explore ways to modify the agar films to give them other desirable properties, such as flame resistance, and will explore other biologically derived film materials.
To make banana peel flour, the researchers peeled ripe, undamaged bananas and then blanched, dried and ground the skins into a fine powder. They mixed together different amounts of the powder with butter, skimmed milk powder, powdered sugar, vegetable oil and wheat flour, creating five batches of sugar cookies, and baked them.
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had acceptable flavors. However, similar experiments haven’t been widely done with cookies. So, Faizan Ahmad and colleagues wanted to substitute some of the wheat flour in sugar cookies with banana peel flour, assessing the cookies’ nutritional quality, shelf stability and consumer acceptance.
Continued on page 13
“Effect of the Addition of Banana Peel Flour on the Shelf Life and Antioxidant Properties of Cookies”
Interest in plant based diets and reducing food waste is increasing, and people want creative ways to use every part of their vegetables and fruits. Banana peels are one such waste that chefs and home cooks have been experimenting with, but these skins are extremely fibrous, making them unpleasant to eat raw. Recently, scientists found that they can grind the peels into a flour that’s rich in fiber, magnesium, potassium and antioxidant compounds. And when small amounts of wheat flour in breads and cakes were replaced with the new flour, the baked goods were more nutritious and
Increasing the amount of the banana peel flour from 0 to 15% in the batches produced browner and harder products, which could be a result of the increased fiber content from the peels. In addition, cookies with banana peel flour were more healthful, having less fat and protein, higher amounts of phenols and better antioxidant activities than the conventional ones. A trained panel determined that cookies with the smallest substitution of banana peel flour (7.5%) had the best texture and highest overall acceptability compared to the other batches. This batch also kept well for three months at room temperature it tasted the same as the wheat only versions after the lengthy storage period. Because cookies can be enriched with some banana peel flour without impacting their consumer acceptance, the researchers say this addition
Banana peels aren’t always destined for the trash or compost anymore. They’re making their way onto people’s plates, replacing pork in “pulled peel” sandwiches and getting fried up into “bacon.” And now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology show that incorporating banana peel flour into sugar cookie batter makes the treats more healthful. In taste tests, cookies enriched with some banana peel flour were more satisfying than those baked with wheat flour alone.
ACS Food Science & Technology
Banana Peels make Sugar Cookies Better for You
From the ACS Press Room
insulin and albumin are key players in the latter process, and they can latch onto red blood cells. Because interferon beta can bind zinc, it seemed possible that the drug helped patients by sopping up this mineral, so Dana Spence and colleagues wanted to investigate
“Interferon-β Decreases the Hypermetabolic State of Red Blood Cells from Patients with Multiple Sclerosis” ACS Chemical Neuroscience
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, almost a million people in the U.S. and about 2.8 million people worldwide live with MS. This autoimmune disease damages the myelin sheath, an insulating layer of proteins and fats wrapped around nerves, which leads to impaired neuronal signaling. People with MS typically have pain, numbness and mobility issues that worsen over time.
down to control levels. Albumin boosted zinc and C-peptide binding to MS red blood cells, and this effect went away with interferon beta treatment. From these data, the researchers conclude that it’s likely the drug is inhibiting albumin binding, keeping it from delivering its cargo of C-peptide and zinc to red blood cells so that NO can be made.
Infurther.labtests,
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
September 2022 The Southwest RETORT 7
Multiple Sclerosis Drug Works in a Surprising Way From the ACS Press Room
Cells that make myelin are sensitive to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nitric oxide (NO), molecules that are present in high amounts in the blood and brain lesions of MS patients. Red blood cells can release NO directly, but they can also stimulate NO production in the lining of blood vessels by releasing ATP. NO can then go on to damage nerves in MS patients. Zinc, C peptide which is secreted by the pancreas along with
Drugs called interferon betas are common treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), reducing relapses and slowing motor function decline. Interferon beta, a protein known to contain a zinc binding pocket, is thought to reduce proinflammatory molecules and even increase production of anti-inflammatory species in MS patients. But researchers now report in ACS Chemical Neuroscience that the molecule reduces the binding of three components zinc, C peptide and albumin to red blood cells.
the researchers found that red blood cells from MS patients bound more zinc, C peptide and albumin than cells from control subjects. Treatment with interferon beta reduced this interaction in MS samples
Dr. Simanek received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois in UrbanaChampaign in 1991 and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA in 1996. After a appointmentpostdoctoralatThe Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, he joined the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University in College Station in 1998. During this time, he led the general chemistry program from 2006 2009. After 12 years on the faculty, Dr. Simanek moved to his current position at Texas Christian University in 2010 as the Welch Chair and is currently the department chair. He founded the TCU IdeaFactory in 2011 and served as its director until 2019. He has published more than 100
Eric E. Simanek, Robert A. Welch Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Texas Christian University, is the winner of the Wilfred T. Doherty Award for 2022. The Doherty Award recognizes excellence in chemical research or chemistry teaching, meritorious service to ACS, the establishment of new chemical methodology (for the industry), solution of pollution problems, and advances in curative or chemotherapy. preventive
2022 DohertyAward Winner
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papers and graduated 16 PhD and 4 MS students while mentoring far more undergraduates. In 2016, he coauthored Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey which went on to garner recognition from Gourmond and the International Association of Culinary Professions, winning the Hall of Fame Award from the former and named a finalist by the latter. More recently, his first novel was released, The Whiskey Thieves: An American Adventure in 1871. In addition to teaching a whiskey science and history course at TCU, he travels and lectures on the intersection of science, technology and society using whiskey as a lens. From 20182020, Dr. Simanek was a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer. He was named Honors Professor of the Year in 2019. He was recognized with the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement as a Creative Teacher Scholar in 2020. He started the TCU Whiskey School in 2022. His research group has focused on polymer-based drug delivery and more recently on the design of macrocyclic drugs with support from agencies including the National Institutes of Health. His efforts in education have been funded by the National Science Foundation.
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2022 ChemistryAmbassadorAward Winner
Martha Gilchrist is the winner of the Chemistry Ambassador Award for 2022. The Chemistry Ambassador Award recognizes an outstanding member of the ACS DFW local section who has made a significant impact via promoting chemistry to the Marthacommunity. Gilchrist is Instructor of Chemistry at Tarrant County College South campus, where she has taught organic chemistry since August 2000. She holds a BA from Austin College and a M.S. in Physical Chemistry from Michigan State University, where she conducted research under Professor Marcos Dantus. Before arriving at TCC, Martha taught at Brevard Community College in Florida and at Alma College in Michigan. While at TCC, Martha has facilitated ACS meetings including hosting Dr. Bill Carroll (in 2020) and Kirk Hunter (in 2019).
Martha has also been involved in activities educating the public on climate science through serving on the steering committee for Dr. Bob Landolt’s Climate Challenge project (2013 1014) and helping to organize TCC’s climate change summit series (2016). Martha has served as advisor for the TCC South campus pre medical professionals student club since 2014. In 2014 Martha started an undergraduate research initiative at TCC and has mentored over 30 students at TCC who conduct research projects and present at meetings such as the ACS meeting in miniature, the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, American Indian Science and Engineering National meeting, and the TCC South campus Cultivating Scholars research showcase. Martha has been a member of ACS since 1993 and served as the treasurer of the local section since 2019.
September 2022 The Southwest RETORT 10
weight gain, as well as other negative health outcomes. So, researchers have been turning to the study of low-calorie or extremely sweet substances from natural sources as possible replacements. For example, galactooligosaccharides found in mammalian milk are low calorie sugars with prebiotic activity that can be a source of energy for beneficial gut microbes, but they’re not quite sweet enough to replace table sugar. Alternatively, extracts from the luo han guo fruit contain mogrosides compounds 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar. But these extracts sometimes have off flavors, which can be removed with enzymes. So, F. Javier Moreno and colleagues wanted to take advantage of the best aspects of both natural substances, using enzymes to modify mogrosides while simultaneously producing galactooligosaccharides for a brand new low calorie sweetener.
From the ACS Press Room
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Artificial sweeteners have exploded in popularity because they let people consume sweets without the calories. However, while they’re considered safe for human consumption, studies in animals and humans suggest that some of them can stimulate appetite, leading to increased food consumption and on page 13
In the search for a better sweetener, researchers in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry now report a low calorie mixture that is as sweet as table sugar and, in lab experiments, feeds “good” gut microbes.
A New Low-calorie Sweetener could also Improve Gut Health, Study Shows
Continued
From the wide variety of sodas, candies and baked goods that are sold worldwide, it’s clear that people love their sweet treats. But consuming too much white table sugar or artificial sweetener can lead to health issues.
The researchers started with lactose and mogroside V (the primary mogroside in luo han guo fruit). When they added β galactosidase enzymes, the researchers obtained a mixture that contained mostly galactooligosaccharides and a small amount of modified mogrosides. A trained sensory panel reported that the new combination had a sweetness similar to that of sucrose (table sugar), suggesting it could be acceptable to consumers. In test tube experiments, the new sweetener increased the levels of multiple human gut microbes that are beneficial, ing Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteriinclud-
“Prebiotic Potential of a New Sweetener Based on Galactooligosaccharides and Modified Mogrosides”
Urinary tract infections are common, yet are increasingly tough to treat because the bacteria that cause them are becoming resistant to many antibiotics. Now, in ACS Central Science, researchers report a new molecule that inhibits drug-resistant bacteria in lab experiments, as well as in mice with pneumonia and urinary tract infections. The researchers say that this compound, fabimycin, could one day be used to treat challenging infections in
The team started with an antibiotic that was active against gram positive bacteria and made a series of structural modifications that they believed would allow it to act against gram negative strains. One of the modified compounds, dubbed fabimycin, proved potent against more than 300 drug resistant clinical isolates, while remaining relatively inactive toward certain gram positive pathogens and some typically harmless bacteria
New Drug Candidate Fights off more than 300 DrugResistant Bacteria From the ACS Press Room
that live in or on the human body. In addition, the new molecule reduced the amount of drug resistant bacteria in mice with pneumonia or urinary tract infections to pre infection levels or below, performing as well as or better than existing antibiotics at similar doses. The researchers say the results show that fabimycin could one day be an effective treatment for stubborn infections.
negative bacteria and treat infections, while leaving other helpful microbes intact.
ACS Central Science
Continued on page 13
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bacteria are a class of microbes that infect millions of people worldwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, causing conditions such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections. These bacteria are especially difficult to treat because they have strong defense systems tough cell walls that keep most antibiotics out and pumps that efficiently remove those antibiotics that get inside. The microbes can also mutate to evade multiple drugs. Furthermore, treatments that do work aren’t very specific, eradicating many kinds of bacteria, including those that are beneficial. So, Paul Hergenrother and colleagues wanted to design a drug that could infiltrate the defenses of gram
“An Iterative Approach Guides Discovery of the FabI Inhibitor Fabimycin, a Late Stage Antibiotic Candidate with in vivo Efficacy against Drug-resistant Gram-negative Infections”
Gramhumans.negative
The first thing people notice when they meet you is your smile. To be more confident when giving wide mouthed, eye crinkling smiles, people want healthy, pearly white teeth. But toothpastes only remove surface stains, and whitening treatments can harm enamel, leading to cavities and discoloration. Now, researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a new hydrogel treatment that breaks apart cavity forming biofilms and whitens teeth without damaging them. Watch a video of the treatment here: v=aEe8PgdV3Q4https://www.youtube.com/watch?
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
From the ACS Press Room
method still required high intensity blue light, which can damage nearby skin and eyes. So, the team wanted to find a material that would be activated by green light a safer alternative to both whiten teeth and prevent cavities.
“Fast Cross Linked Hydrogel as a Green Light-Activated Photocatalyst for Localized Biofilm Disruption and Brush-Free Tooth Whitening”
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Daily toothbrushing and flossing are good ways to prevent cavities from forming, according to the American Dental Association. However, these methods don’t effectively whiten teeth. For better whitening, consumers often turn to over the counter or professional treatments that combine hydrogen peroxide containing gels and blue light, producing a chemical reaction that removes stains. This combination removes most of the discoloration, but generates reactive oxygen species that can break down enamel. Previously, Xiaolei Wang, Lan Liao and colleagues modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles for a less destructive tooth whitening treatment. This
Ditching the Toothbrush for Whiter Teeth, Fewer Cavities (video)
The researchers combined bismuth oxychloride nanoparticles, copper oxide nanoparticles and sodium alginate into a thick mixture. Then, they evenly coated the mixture onto the surface of teeth stuck to a slide and sprayed the concoction with a calcium chloride solution, forming a strongly adhering hydrogel. Next, the team tested the material on teeth that were stained with coffee, tea, saucejuiceblueberryandsoyand placed in a lab dish. Following treatment with the hydrogel and green light, the teeth got brighter over time, and there was no damage to the enamel. In another set of experiments, the team showed that the treatment killed 94% of bacteria in biofilms. To demonstrate that the treatment could work on teeth in vivo, the team used the new method on mice whose mouths were inoculated with cavity-forming bacteria. The green-light activated hydrogel effectively prevented moderate and deep cavities from
Continued from page 6 could make these baked goods more nutriThetious.authors
“New Low-Calorie Sweetener”
From the ACS Press Room
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Key Youth Project of Jiangxi Province, Key Research and Development Program of Jiangxi Province, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province and the Graduate Innovation Special Fund Project of Jiangxi Province.
“New Drug Candidate”
“Banana Peels”
acknowledge funding from the Department of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences,Aligarh Muslim University.
Continued from page 11
The authors acknowledge funding from Optibiotix Health Plc (York, U.K.), the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. One of the study’s authors is employed by Optibiotix Health Plc.
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Continued from page 10
forming on the surface of the animals’ teeth. The researchers say their safe, brush free treatment both effectively prevents cavities and whitens teeth.
al species. In addition, increases in bacteria produced metabolites, such as acetate, propionate and butyrate, indicated that the mixture could potentially have a prebiotic effect on the gut microbiome. The researchers say that the new sweetener holds promise in these initial analyses, and their next step is to more closely study the substance’s impact on human gut health.
The authors acknowledge funding from the University of Illinois, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, Anita and Josh Bekenstein, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Military Infectious Diseases Research Program and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry welcomes Dr. Filippo “Filo” Romiti to the faculty as an Assistant Professor and as a recipient of a First Time, Tenure Track Faculty CPRIT Recruitment Award. Drs. Sheena D’Arcy and Sheel Dodani have been promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure. Associate Professor Jeremiah Gassensmith has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr. Jasmine Tutol (Dodani Lab) has been named the 14th recipient of the Irving S. Sigal Postdoctoral Fellowship from theACS.
spj.sciencemag.org/journals/ Aggregationresearch/2022/9865108/)InducedPolarization
Texas Tech
Two latest publications by Professor Guigen Li's group at Texas Tech AggregationUniversity:
UT-Dallas
Around the Area
(AIP): Optical Rotation Amplification and Adjustment of Chiral Aggregates of Folding Oligomers and Polymers, Yao Tang, Sai Zhang, Ting Xu,Qingkai Yuan, Jia Yin Wang, Shengzhou Jin, Yu Wang, Junyi Pan, Isaac Griffin and Guigen Li, Front. Chem., 2022, 10, article 962638, doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.962638. (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ fchem.2022.962638/)
Induced Synthesis (AIS): Asymmetric Synthesis via Chiral Aggregates, Hossein Rouh, Yao Tang, Ting Xu, Qingkai Yuan, Sai Zhang, Jia-Yin Wang, Shengzhou Jin, Yu Wang, Junyi Pan, Hannah L. Wood,James D. McDonald and Guigen Li, Research (Wash D C), 2022, vol. 2022, Article ID 9865108, https:// doi.org/10.34133/2022/9865108. (https://
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Any time you can make something out of waste material it’s a good thing. The first two press releases illustrate certainly illustrate that. Chindam Chandraprakash and colleagues used seaweed to develop a plant derived, biodegradable material that would be simple to manufacture and that could absorb a range of sounds…a great improvement over plastic acoustic panels.
Banana peels are now making their way onto people’s plates, replacing pork in “pulled peel” sandwiches and getting fried up into “bacon.” And now, researchers reporting in ACS Food Science & Technology show that incorporating banana peel flour into sugar cookie batter makes the treats more healthful. In taste tests, cookies enriched with some banana peel flour were more satisfying than those baked with wheat flour alone.
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Congratulations to Eric Simanek and Martha Gilchrist, winners of the Doherty and ChemAmbassador awards.
From the Editor
