Recognizing Hispanic and Latinx Analytical Scientists

Abstract

Hispanic and Latinx scientists have made substantial contributions to science and technology, spanning a wide range of analytical chemistry fields. These outstanding research endeavors by individuals of Hispanic and Latinx heritage have not only advanced our understanding of scientific principles but also have led to pioneering breakthroughs that have improved human health and more generally our daily lives. For example, Mexican analytical chemist Dr. Mario Molina shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on understanding the mechanisms for how chlorofluorocarbon gases were affecting the ozone layer in the earth’s atmosphere. The innovation displayed by Hispanic and Latinx scientists such as Dr. Molina has been achieved despite facing systematic barriers and the challenges that come with being under-represented in science. Nevertheless, in the past, not all of the research achievements of Hispanics and Latinx scientists have been recognized. This has been changing slowly over the last couple of decades with help from various scientific organizations, especially ones dedicated to supporting underrepresented scientists such as the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) or the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Minority Affairs. Efforts to recognize, support and promote diversity and inclusion within science are important for ensuring that future generations of Hispanic and Latinx scientists can be inspired by this amazing legacy and continue to build scientific careers. Toward this and in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month, here in this Collection we highlight Hispanic and Latinx analytical scientists around the world who have recently published in the ACS journals Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Proteome Research, ACS Sensors, and Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. This Collection of articles demonstrates the depth and breadth of current research by Hispanic and Latinx analytical scientists, but more importantly, in addition to honoring these published works, we hope this Collection motivates future analytical scientists with these cultural backgrounds to strive to make even more advances in the coming years. This Collection represents many of the analytical chemistry subfields, such as spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, electrochemistry, etc., being performed by Hispanic and Latinx scientists located around the globe. A few examples from the following journals are described to give our readership a sampling of the methodology and technical innovations developed and their applications to positively influence various chemical and biochemical fields. For example, in Analytical Chemistry, Nasciment et al. use FTIR to identify spectral regions associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in patient saliva samples, determining lipid (∼1700 cm^–1), protein (∼1400 cm^–1), and nucleic acid (∼1200–950 cm^–1) diagnostic regions. Palomino-Schätzlein and co-workers have developed an NMR-based approach to profile 45 mitochondrial metabolites from healthy and disease tissues, identifying metabolic patterns in aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The Eberlin lab demonstrated that they could use their MasSpec Pen technology coupled to an Orbitrap mass spectrometer operating on battery power during cancer surgery. Pradela-Filho et al. describe a novel facile approach for fabrication of mini electrochemical sensors that have several advantages over traditionally created electrodes. This new electrode’s analytical applicability was further demonstrated for polyphenolic quantification in tea samples. Dı́az de León-Martı́nez and co-workers show that ATR-FTIR spectroscopy has potential as a new technique capable of sensitive and nondestructive measurements for detecting anal cancer biomarkers in serum. Montenegro-Burke and co-workers utilize a computational approach to generate a database of high-resolution-MSⁿ spectra through conversion of low-resolution-MSⁿ spectra using complementary high-resolution MS/MS spectra for mass spectrometry-based metabolomics applications. Siddiqui et al. extends the use of surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy to resolve the spectral responses of redox transformations, revealing real-time detection of surface processes on carbon electrodes. Additionally, several other articles spanning a large variety of research areas published in Analytical Chemistry are also included. We include several mass spectrometry-based publications published in Journal of Proteome Research and Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. Work by de Araújo et al. is centered on using electromembrane extraction to extract naphthenic acids produced in water through electrokinetic migration before high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis. Augusti and co-workers developed a sandpaper spray mass spectrometry method for identifying small compounds in coffee beans, such as caffeine, sugars, and carboxylic acids. Sandpaper was used to sand coffee beans, which were cut into a triangular shape with a methanol drop added and placed in front of the mass spectrometer for analysis. Bifarin and Fernández develop a pipeline that combines AutoML with explainable AI techniques for improved interpretability in metabolomics data analysis. Ordaz-Ortiz et al. created a new rapid method for analyzing isotopic ratios of vanillin using direct injection Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). This approach allows one to differentiate between natural and artificially manufactured vanillin and could be used in the future to authenticate vanillin from various geographical regions. Alvarez and co-workers employed both proteomics and metabolomics to determine the agricultural molecular responses associated with the efficient use of phosphorus in popcorn. Florencia Del Papa and colleagues utilized nanoLC-MS/MS experiments to characterize the role of the protein ActJ in Sinorhizobium meliloti proteome alteration during acid stress. Sosa-Acosta et al. demonstrate the power of a multiomics (proteomics and metabolomics) approach for analyzing the serum of healthy and ZIKV-infected pregnant women bearing nonmicrocephalic and microcephalic fetuses to identify biomarkers of the viral infection. Giménez et al. compared several chromatographic sorbents for the analysis of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) glycopeptides by online solid-phase extraction capillary electrophoresis (CE) mass spectrometry. They found that phenylboronic acid (PBA) improved the sensitivity of the approach over existing CE-MS methodologies for these glycopeptide analyses. In addition, several other articles involving various advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics are highlighted. Finally, we have chosen manuscripts from Hispanic and Latinx scientists who have published in ACS Sensors. San Martin and colleagues have engineered a new single-fluorophore indicator for monitoring lactate in intact cells and living tissues. Aburto et al. developed a novel CO₂ sensor consisting of perovskite nanocrystals immobilized on graphene and functionalized with oxygen plasma treatment which led to 3-fold improvement in sensing compared to untreated sensors. Jiménez-Sánchez and co-workers designed a novel fluorophore for in vivo dynamic lipid droplet monitoring and applied the approach to a Zebrafish model of a human cardiovascular disease. Dı́az-Real and co-workers present design strategies for generating electrochemical microfluidic detectors and considerations for how to incorporate a reference electrode in a microfluidic system. Lapizco-Encinas and colleagues fine-tuned several characteristics of applied voltage to enhance the separation of microsized microparticles. Fenoy et al. used computation and experiments to study the impact of phosphate–amino interactions on immobilized enzymes coupled to polyamine-modified graphene surfaces. Correa and co-workers exploited radio frequency in wearable electronics to develop wireless tags to monitor amine exposure to determine meat freshness. We additionally include other papers that push the boundaries of innovative research in the chemical sensor field. We hope that this Collection not only celebrates the recent contributions of Hispanic and Latinx analytical chemists but also will inspire the next generation of younger analytical scientists to continue this rich history of Hispanic and Latinx scientific discoveries. This article has not yet been cited by other publications.