https://phys.org/chemistry-news/ en-us The latest news stories on chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, materials science from Phys.org Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-decode-aqueous-amino-acid-potential.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:03:44 EST news620640221 Pentoses are essential carbohydrates in the metabolism of modern lifeforms, but their availability during early Earth is unclear since these molecules are unstable. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-synthesis-sugars-life.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:14:44 EST news620637281 A method for producing a highly absorbent material from sisal (Agave sisalana)—a drought-tolerant succulent plant—is described in a study published in Communications Engineering. The authors suggest that, with further development, their method could be used to produce locally sourced disposable menstrual pads in rural and semi-arid regions. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-menstrual-pads-succulents-access-sanitary.html Biochemistry Polymers Fri, 01 Dec 2023 06:55:02 EST news620636101 There are young children celebrating the holidays this year with their families, thanks to the 3D-printed medical devices created in the lab of Georgia Tech researcher Scott Hollister. For more than 10 years, Hollister and his collaborators have developed lifesaving, patient-specific airway splints for babies with rare birth defects. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-architected-auxetics-flexibility-3d.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:58:48 EST news620567925 Basic oxide catalysts contain oxygen ions with unpaired electrons that can be shared with other species to facilitate a chemical reaction. These catalysts are widely used in the synthesis of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals. There have been efforts to improve the catalytic power of these catalysts by improving their basicity or the ability to donate electrons or accept hydrogen ions. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-superbase-comparable-oxynitride-catalyst.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:30:03 EST news620566201 Many people are familiar with the haunting images of wildlife—including sea turtles, dolphins and seals—tangled in abandoned fishing nets. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-durable-plastic-pollution-easily-degrades.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620557101 To ensure that vaccines provide strong and lasting immunization, it is often necessary to supplement the actual vaccine (antigen) with additives that stimulate the immune system: adjuvants. Today, only a few substances have been approved for use as adjuvants. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-team-spectrum-potential-vaccine-adjuvants.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:36:03 EST news620562961 Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters high-speed atomic force microscopy studies that shed light on the possible role of the open reading frame 6 (ORF6) protein in COVID-19 symptoms. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dynamic-behavior-key-sars-cov-accessory.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:44:04 EST news620491442 The idea of irreversible inhibitors adhering permanently to a target protein has gained increasing attention for application in potential drug development. However, one of many hurdles is the possibility of protein mutations making otherwise effective drugs pharmacologically inactive. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-irreversible-inhibitor-proteins-drug-resistant-mutations.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:28:00 EST news620483277 Blood tests are a common, yet often painful, step in health care. But what if we could skip the needles altogether? Saliva and blood contain many of the same biomarkers, and collecting spit is as simple as drooling into a container. Researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have developed a device that detects glucose and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) biomarkers in saliva with high sensitivity, which could help make at-home health monitoring easier and without a poke. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-swapping-blood-convenient-at-home-health.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:07:32 EST news620478449 New technology often calls for new materials—and with supercomputers and simulations, researchers don't have to wade through inefficient guesswork to invent them from scratch. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-google-deepmind-compounds-open-access-database.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476392 Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production efficient, researchers are trying to identify and eliminate possible limiting factors. These include formaldehyde, which occurs naturally as a metabolic product in cells and inhibits the particularly efficient [FeFe] hydrogenase. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-formaldehyde-inhibiting-hydrogen-producing-enzymes.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:01:03 EST news620474461 Many of the most promising new pharmaceuticals coming along in the drug development pathway are hydrophobic by nature—that is, they repel water, and are thus hard to dissolve in order to make them available to the body. But now, researchers at MIT have found a more efficient way of processing and delivering these drugs that could make them far more effective. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hydrogels-drugs-efficiently.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:57:04 EST news620413021 Today, petrochemical compounds and rare metals such as platinum and iridium are used to produce semiconductors for optoelectronics, such as organic LEDs for super-thin TV and mobile phone screens. Physicists at Umeå University in collaboration with researchers in Denmark and China, have discovered a more sustainable alternative. By pressure-cooking birch leaves picked on the Umeå University campus, they have produced a nanosized carbon particle with desired optical properties. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pressure-cooking-birch-raw-material-semiconductors.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:51:03 EST news620409061 When entering public restrooms, it's hard not to dwell on what germs previous users have left behind in the toilet bowl. Imagine, instead, a self-cleaning system that doesn't require a brightly colored gel. Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a simple, transparent coating that makes surfaces like porcelain more water-repellent. They show how this surface treatment effectively prevents bacteria from sticking to the inside of a toilet bowl. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-slippery-toilet-bowl-treatment-bacteria.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:36:03 EST news620404561 Applying simple, ancient weaving techniques to newly recognized properties of organic crystals, researchers with the Smart Materials Lab (SML) and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials (CSEM) at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have, for the first time, developed a unique form of woven "textile." These new fabric patches expand one-dimensional crystals into flexible, integrated, two-dimensional planar structures that are incredibly strong—some 20 times stronger than the original crystals—and resistant to low temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-first-of-its-kind-woven-material-flexible-crystals.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:27:02 EST news620396821 Scientists at the University of Bath have used nature as inspiration in developing a new tool that will help researchers develop new pharmaceutical treatments in a cleaner, greener, and less expensive way. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-harness-super-power-pave.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:57:52 EST news620391469 As Americans gear up for winter, many will face one of their toughest foes: ice. From delaying flights to making roads slippery, ice accumulation on surfaces wreaks havoc in many ways. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-adieu-sticky-ice-grain-salt.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:39:03 EST news620390341 In a development set to transform the chemical industry on a global scale, Professor Chang Ho Yoo in the Department of Chemistry at UNIST has successfully developed a highly efficient and stable carbonylation catalytic reaction using nickel catalysts. This achievement, published in Science, offers a promising alternative to the widely used rhodium catalysts in the acetyl process. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unveils-nickel-based-catalysts-remarkable-economic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:13:58 EST news620388836 Many enzymes promise to break down plastic. But what works in the lab often fails on a large scale. Now a new study by Gert Weber, HZB, Uwe Bornscheuer, University of Greifswald, and Alain Marty, Chief Scientific Officer of Carbios, shows how raising the bar for laboratory experiments could help identify promising approaches more quickly. The team demonstrated the new standards on four newly discovered enzymes. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-boosting-pet-recycling-higher-standards.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:28:03 EST news620386081 AMOLF researchers have used the special properties of perovskite semiconductors to develop a simple spray test to demonstrate the presence of lead. Perovskite is a material suitable for use in LEDs and solar cells, for example. A lead-containing surface shines bright green when it is sprayed with the test. This test is 1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests and the researchers found no false positive or false negative results. The study was published on November 27 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hijack-solar-cell-technology-simple.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:46:04 EST news620318761 Accurate measurements of light intensity provide vital data for scientists and everyday applications. For example, precise values help optimize microscopy signals, trigger physiological processes in the brain, and drive light-absorbing reactions while enabling different research teams to share and reproduce experimental results. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fluorescence-based-methods-fast-accessible-intensity.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:43:07 EST news620311372 A materials research team consisting of NIMS and Nagoya University has designed a novel two-step thermal aging schedule (i.e., non-isothermal aging or unconventional heat treatment) capable of fabricating nickel-aluminum (Ni-Al) alloys that are stronger at high temperatures than Ni-Al alloys fabricated using conventional thermal aging processes. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ai-high-temperature-strength-nickelaluminum-alloys.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 11:09:03 EST news620305741 Using impure CO2 from car exhaust, the team of Prof. Dr. Shoubik Das, Chair of Organic Chemistry I at the University of Bayreuth, presents a cost-effective synthetic route for γ-lactams. γ-Lactam is an organic chemical compound, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This means that CO2, which is frequently produced anyway, can be put to good use. Valuable chemicals and pharmaceuticals can be combined with this CO2. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-approach-carbon-dioxide-car-exhaust.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:51:03 EST news620304661 Protein-like aggregates known as amyloids can bind to molecules of genetic material. It is possible that these two types of molecules stabilized each other during the development of life—and that this might even have paved the way for the genetic code. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-molecular-cooperation-threshold-life.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:45:04 EST news620304302 A small team of chemists from Nankai University, Nanjing Tech University and Shanxi University, all in China, working with a colleague from Universidad San Sebastián, in Chile, has, for the first time, created a fullerene-like molecule made entirely of metal atoms. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fullerene-like-molecule-metal-atoms.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:50:01 EST news620037736 A team of chemists at McGill University, working with a colleague from Charité-Universitätsmedizin, in Germany, has uncovered part of the process used by mussels to bind to rocks and to quickly release from them when conditions warrant. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dynamic-bio-interface-mussel-tissue-byssus.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Sat, 25 Nov 2023 12:10:01 EST news620042877 In the 19th century, the market for ivory products increased to an alarming point. This high demand led to the search for artificial substitutes, but ivory properties were nearly impossible to replicate. The most important substitutes came from Alexander Parkes and John Wesley Hyatt, inventors of the first artificial plastics: Parkesine and celluloid. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-successful-substitutes-ivory-billiard-balls.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:50:01 EST news620037832 Scientists from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have synthesized an oxygen-coordinated Fe single atom and atom cluster catalyst that exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production and biomass upgrading. The research is published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-approach-electrocatalytic-ho-production-biomass.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:01:13 EST news620049670 Methamphetamine (meth) abuse is a major health concern. Understanding how meth interacts with its target proteins is crucial for the development of novel medications to address drug addiction. Previous research into the mechanism of meth's effects has mainly focused on the dopamine system, but recent studies suggest it may also directly bind to the trace amine receptor 1 (TAAR1), which plays a key role in psychostimulant abuse-related behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-uncover-molecular-mechanism-methamphetamine-amine.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 24 Nov 2023 12:00:43 EST news620049641