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Testón-Martínez S, Huertas-Roldán T, Knoll P, Barge LM, Sainz-Díaz CI, Cartwright JHE. A microfluidic labyrinth self-assembled by a chemical garden. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:30469-30476. [PMID: 37921059 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02929h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Chemical gardens, self-assembling precipitates that spontaneously form when a metal salt is added to a solution of another precipitating anion, are of interest for various applications including producing reactive materials in controlled structures. Here, we report on two chemical garden reaction systems (CuCl2 and Cu(NO3)2 seed crystals submerged in sodium silicate) that produced self-assembled microfluidic labyrinths in a vertical 2D Hele-Shaw reactor. The formation of labyrinths as well as the specific growth modes of the precipitate were dependent on the silicate concentration: CuCl2 labyrinths formed only at 3 and 4 M silicate and Cu(NO3)2 labyrinths formed only at 4 and 5 M silicate. The labyrinth structures contained silicate on the exterior and crystalline material interpreted as hydrated minerals from the metal salt in their interiors. The bubble-guided tubes that form labyrinths can be controlled by changing the angle of the 2D reaction cell; this suggests that future experiments of this type could form self-organizing structures with controlled composition and orientation for use in microfluidics and various materials science applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Testón-Martínez
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
| | - Teresa Huertas-Roldán
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
| | - Pamela Knoll
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
| | - Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena CA, USA
| | - C Ignacio Sainz-Díaz
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
| | - Julyan H E Cartwright
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain.
- Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain
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2
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Rocha LAM, Thorne L, Wong JJ, Cartwright JHE, Cardoso SSS. Archimedean Spirals Form at Low Flow Rates in Confined Chemical Gardens. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:6700-6710. [PMID: 35593590 PMCID: PMC9161446 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
We describe and study the formation of confined chemical garden patterns. At low flow rates of injection of cobalt chloride solution into a Hele-Shaw cell filled with sodium silicate, the precipitate forms with a thin filament wrapping around an expanding "candy floss" structure. The result is the formation of an Archimedean spiral structure. We model the growth of the structure mathematically. We estimate the effective density of the precipitate and calculate the membrane permeability. We set the results within the context of recent experimental and modeling work on confined chemical garden filaments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A. M. Rocha
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, U.K.
| | - Lewis Thorne
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, U.K.
| | - Jasper J. Wong
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, U.K.
| | - Julyan H. E. Cartwright
- Instituto
Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC−Universidad
de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain
- Instituto
Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Silvana S. S. Cardoso
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, U.K.
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3
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Buoyancy-Marangoni Fingering of a Miscible Spreading Drop. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14020425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We experimentally investigate the interfacial instability that emerges when a water droplet is deposited on a bath of glycerol-water solution. Despite the absence of surface tension to stabilize short-wavelength undulations, we observe finite-size fingers that grow and pinch off from the drop. We show that the fingering patterns formed in the experiments resultes from a balance between the outward buoyancy effect and inward Marangoni flow. This induced Marangoni flow inhibits small perturbations and acts as an effective surface tension on the miscible interface of the spreading drop. To characterize the final size and shape of the drop, we perform systematic experiments by varying the drop volume and the glycerol-water volume fraction. In addition, we have developed scaling arguments for the drop’s final radius using key physical forces, and show that the final wavelength is inversely proportional to the Bond number.
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4
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Rocha LAM, Cartwright JHE, Cardoso SSS. Filament dynamics in planar chemical gardens. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:5222-5235. [PMID: 33629080 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03674a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Filaments in a planar chemical garden grow following tortuous, erratic paths. We show from statistical mechanics that this scaling results from a self-organized dispersion mechanism. Effective diffusivities as high as 10-5 m2 s-1 are measured in 2D laboratory experiments. This efficient transport is four orders of magnitude larger than molecular diffusion in a liquid, and ensures widespread contact and exchange between fluids in the chemical-garden structure and its surrounding environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis A M Rocha
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, UK.
| | - Julyan H E Cartwright
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, CSIC-Universidad de Granada, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain and Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Silvana S S Cardoso
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RA, UK.
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5
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Wang Q, Steinbock O. Chemical Garden Membranes in Temperature-Controlled Microfluidic Devices. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2021; 37:2485-2493. [PMID: 33555186 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c03548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Thin-walled tubes that classically form when metal salts react with sodium silicate solution are known as chemical gardens. They share similarities with the porous, catalytic materials in hydrothermal vent chimneys, and both structures are exposed to steep pH gradients that, combined with thermal factors, might have provided the free energy for prebiotic chemistry on early Earth. We report temperature effects on the shape, composition, and opacity of chemical gardens. Tubes grown at high temperature are more opaque, indicating changes to the membrane structure or thickness. To study this dependence, we developed a temperature-controlled microfluidic device, which allows the formation of analogous membranes at the interface of two coflowing reactant solutions. For the case of Ni(OH)2, membranes thicken according to a diffusion-controlled mechanism. In the studied range of 10-40 °C, the effective diffusion coefficient is independent of temperature. This suggests that counteracting processes are at play (including an increased solubility) and that the opacity of chemical garden tubes arises from changes in internal morphology. The latter could be linked to experimentally observed dendritic structures within the membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingpu Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Oliver Steinbock
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
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6
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Tanabe T, Ogasawara T, Suematsu NJ. Effect of a product on spontaneous droplet motion driven by a chemical reaction of surfactant. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:023102. [PMID: 32942422 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.023102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We focus on the self-propelled motion of an oil droplet within an aqueous phase or an aqueous droplet within an oil phase, which originates from an interfacial chemical reaction of surfactant. The droplet motion has been explained by mathematical models, which require the assumption that the chemical reaction increases the interfacial tension. However, several experimental reports have demonstrated self-propelled motion with the chemical reaction decreasing the interfacial tension. Our motivation is to construct an improved mathematical model, which explains these experimental observations. In this process, we consider the concentrations of the reactant and product on the interface and of the reactant in the bulk. Our numerical calculations indicate that the droplet potentially moves in the cases of both an increase and a decrease in the interfacial tension. In addition, the reaction rate and size dependencies of the droplet speed observed in experiments were well reproduced using our model. These results indicate the potential of our model as a universal one for droplet motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Tanabe
- Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS), Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8252, Japan
| | - Takuto Ogasawara
- Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
| | - Nobuhiko J Suematsu
- Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences (MIMS), Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8252, Japan
- Graduate School of Advanced Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, 4-21-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-8525, Japan
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Hooks MR, Webster P, Weber JM, Perl S, Barge LM. Effects of Amino Acids on Iron-Silicate Chemical Garden Precipitation. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:5793-5801. [PMID: 32421344 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the structure and behavior of chemical gardens is of interest for materials science, for understanding organic-mineral interactions, and for simulating geological mineral structures in hydrothermal systems on Earth and other worlds. Herein, we explored the effects of amino acids on inorganic chemical garden precipitate systems of iron chloride and sodium silicate to determine if/how the addition of organics can affect self-assembling morphologies or crystal growth. Amino acids affect chemical garden growth and morphology at the macro-scale and at the nanoscale. In this reaction system, the concentration of amino acid had a greater impact than the amino acid side chain, and increasing concentrations of organics caused structures to have smoother exteriors as amino acids accumulated on the outside surface. These results provide an example of how organic compounds can become incorporated into and influence the growth of inorganic self-organizing precipitates in far-from-equilibrium systems. Additionally, sample handing methods were developed to successfully image these delicate structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle R Hooks
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
| | - Paul Webster
- Oak Crest Institute of Science, 132 W Chestnut Ave, Monrovia, California 91016, United States
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
| | - Scott Perl
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
| | - Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
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8
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Angelis
- Department of Pharmacognosy-PharmacologySchool of PharmacyAristotle University of Thessaloniki 54124 Thessaloniki Greece
| | - Georgios Pampalakis
- Department of Pharmacognosy-PharmacologySchool of PharmacyAristotle University of Thessaloniki 54124 Thessaloniki Greece
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9
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Cardoso SSS, Cartwright JHE, Čejková J, Cronin L, De Wit A, Giannerini S, Horváth D, Rodrigues A, Russell MJ, Sainz-Díaz CI, Tóth Á. Chemobrionics: From Self-Assembled Material Architectures to the Origin of Life. ARTIFICIAL LIFE 2020; 26:315-326. [PMID: 32697160 DOI: 10.1162/artl_a_00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Self-organizing precipitation processes, such as chemical gardens forming biomimetic micro- and nanotubular forms, have the potential to show us new fundamental science to explore, quantify, and understand nonequilibrium physicochemical systems, and shed light on the conditions for life's emergence. The physics and chemistry of these phenomena, due to the assembly of material architectures under a flux of ions, and their exploitation in applications, have recently been termed chemobrionics. Advances in understanding in this area require a combination of expertise in physics, chemistry, mathematical modeling, biology, and nanoengineering, as well as in complex systems and nonlinear and materials sciences, giving rise to this new synergistic discipline of chemobrionics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvana S S Cardoso
- University of Cambridge, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.
| | - Julyan H E Cartwright
- Universidad de Granada CSIC, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional.
| | - Jitka Čejková
- University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Department of Chemical Engineering
| | | | - Anne De Wit
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Nonlinear Physical Chemistry Unit
| | - Simone Giannerini
- Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche "Paolo Fortunati"
| | - Dezső Horváth
- University of Szeged, Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry
| | | | | | | | - Ágota Tóth
- University of Szeged, Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science
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10
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Pótári G, Tóth Á, Horváth D. Precipitation patterns driven by gravity current. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2019; 29:073117. [PMID: 31370424 DOI: 10.1063/1.5094491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A precipitation reaction can be driven by a gravity current that spreads on the bottom as a denser fluid is injected into an initially stagnant liquid. Supersaturation and nucleation are restricted to locations where the two liquids come into contact; hence, the flow pattern governs the spatial distribution of the final product. In this numerical study, we quantitatively characterize the flow associated with the gravity current prior to the onset of nucleation and distinguish three zones where the coupling of transport processes with the reaction can take place depending on their time scales. A scaling law associated with the region of Rayleigh-Taylor instability behind the tip of the gravity current is also determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Pótári
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged H-6720, Hungary
| | - Ágota Tóth
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged H-6720, Hungary
| | - Dezső Horváth
- Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1., Szeged H-6720, Hungary
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11
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Pampalakis
- Department of PharmacyAristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki 54124
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12
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Pópity-Tóth É, Schuszter G, Horváth D, Tóth Á. Peristalticity-driven banded chemical garden. J Chem Phys 2018; 148:184701. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5023465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- É. Pópity-Tóth
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged H-6720,
Hungary
| | - G. Schuszter
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged H-6720,
Hungary
| | - D. Horváth
- Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged H-6720,
Hungary
| | - Á. Tóth
- Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Szeged, Rerrich Béla tér 1, Szeged H-6720,
Hungary
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13
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Nakouzi E, Steinbock O. Self-organization in precipitation reactions far from the equilibrium. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1601144. [PMID: 27551688 PMCID: PMC4991932 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 07/18/2016] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Far from the thermodynamic equilibrium, many precipitation reactions create complex product structures with fascinating features caused by their unusual origins. Unlike the dissipative patterns in other self-organizing reactions, these features can be permanent, suggesting potential applications in materials science and engineering. We review four distinct classes of precipitation reactions, describe similarities and differences, and discuss related challenges for theoretical studies. These classes are hollow micro- and macrotubes in chemical gardens, polycrystalline silica carbonate aggregates (biomorphs), Liesegang bands, and propagating precipitation-dissolution fronts. In many cases, these systems show intricate structural hierarchies that span from the nanometer scale into the macroscopic world. We summarize recent experimental progress that often involves growth under tightly regulated conditions by means of wet stamping, holographic heating, and controlled electric, magnetic, or pH perturbations. In this research field, progress requires mechanistic insights that cannot be derived from experiments alone. We discuss how mesoscopic aspects of the product structures can be modeled by reaction-transport equations and suggest important targets for future studies that should also include materials features at the nanoscale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Nakouzi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4390, USA
| | - Oliver Steinbock
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4390, USA
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14
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Abstract
The dissolution of metal salts in silicate solution can result in the growth of hollow precipitate tubes. These "chemical gardens" are a model of self-organization far from the equilibrium and create permanent macroscopic structures. The reproducibility of the growth process is greatly improved if the solid salt seed is replaced by a salt solution that is steadily injected by a pump; however, this modification of the original experiment eliminates the membrane-based osmotic pump at the base of conventional chemical gardens and does not allow for analyses in terms of the involved pressure. Here we describe a new experimental method that delivers the salt solution according to a controlled hydrostatic pressure. In one form of the experiment, this pressure slowly decreases as zinc sulfate solution flows into the silicate-containing reaction vessel, whereas a second version holds the respective solution heights constant. In addition to three known growth regimes (jetting, popping, budding), we observe single tubes that fill the vessel in a horizontally undulating but vertically layered fashion (crowding). The resulting, dried product has a cylindrical shape, very low density, and one continuous connection from top to bottom. We also present phase diagrams of these growth modes and show that the flow characteristics of our experiments follow a reaction-independent Hagen-Poiseuille equation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan R Bentley
- Florida State University , Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Bruno C Batista
- Florida State University , Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
| | - Oliver Steinbock
- Florida State University , Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4390, United States
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