Biodiversidade: fonte potencial para a descoberta de fármacos

In economic terms, biodiversity transcends the boundaries usually given to conventional industries because it is a valuable source of biological and chemical data of great use to drug discovery. Certainly, the use of natural products has been the single most successful strategy in the discovery of novel medicines, and most of the medical breakthroughs are based on natural products. Half of the top 20 best-selling drugs are natural products, and their total sales amounted to US$ 16 billions shows the importance of natural products, which is evidenced by the new chemical entities (NCE) approved by regulatory authorities around the world in the past decade. Recently, the approval of the alkaloid galanthamine as a medicine to treat Alzheimer's disease shows that natural compounds from plants will continue to reach the market. The huge biological diversity of the Brazilian biomes, by its ability to generate new knowledge and technological innovation can be a fantastic alternative as raw material for drug discovery.

Method validation and stability study of quercetin in topical emulsions

This study validated a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the quantitative evaluation of quercetin in topical emulsions. The method was linear within 0.05 - 200 μg/mL range with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997, and without interference in the quercetin peak. The detection and quantitation limits were 18 and 29 ng/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-assay precisions presented R.S.D. values lower than 2%. An average of 93% and 94% of quercetin was recovered for non-ionic and anionic emulsions, respectively. The raw material and anionic emulsion, but not non-ionic emulsion, were stable in all storage conditions for one year. The method reported is a fast and reliable HPLC technique useful for quercetin determination in topical emulsions.

Uma visão sobre a estrutura, composição e biodegradação da madeira

Wood is the main raw material used in the pulp and paper industry. It is a material that presents heterogeneous structure and complex composition, which results in a relatively resistant material to the biodegradation process. In the present review, we attempted to summarize the structural characteristics of wood and describe the chemical nature of its major components to, afterwards, comment about its biodegradation. The role of the enzyme manganese peroxidase in the lignin degradation by a selective white-rot fungus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, was highlighted.

Simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of lamivudine and zidovudine in fixed dose combinations using multivariate calibration

The simultaneous determination of two or more active components in pharmaceutical preparations, without previous chemical separation, is a common analytical problem. Published works describe the determination of AZT and 3TC separately, as raw material or in different pharmaceutical preparations. In this work, a method using UV spectroscopy and multivariate calibration is described for the simultaneous measurement of 3TC and AZT in fixed dose combinations. The methodology was validated and applied to determine the AZT+3TC contents in tablets from five different manufacturers, as well as their dissolution profile. The results obtained employing the proposed methodology was similar to methods using first derivative technique and HPLC.

Influência da secagem sobre o rendimento e composição química dos compostos voláteis das raízes de Piper piscatorum Trel. & Yunck. (Piperaceae)

In this study, we evaluated the yield and chemical composition of volatile compounds obtained from fresh, dried at 30 and 40 ºC respectively of Piper piscatorum, employing the technique of hydrodistillation. The volatile were chemically characterized by GC-MS and GC-FID. The main volatile compounds were selin-11-en-4-a-ol (57,63 ± 3,07%; 53,95 ± 1,56% and 56,20 ± 0,43%) and benzyl benzoate (15,40 ± 0,36%; 16,32 ± 0,85% and 15,04 ± 0,24%).The drying of the raw material reduced yield of volatile compounds, changing their chemical compositions.

Hydrolytic activity of bacterial lipases in amazonian vegetable oils

The data presented describe the development of an enzymatic process in vegetable oils. Six bacterial lipases were tested for their ability to hydrolyze. For each lipase assay, the p-NPP method was applied to obtain maximum enzymatic activities. The lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (lipase B-10) was the most effective in buriti oil, releasing 4840 µmol p-NP mL-1. The lipase from Klebsiella variicola (lipase B-22) was superior in passion fruit oil, releasing 4140 µmol p-NP mL-1 and also in babassu palm oil, releasing 2934 µmol p-NP mL-1. Research into the bioprocessing of oils aims to provide added value for this regional raw material.

Biodiesel renovável derivado de microalgas: avanços e perspectivas tecnológicas

Microalgae are a promising source of raw material for biodiesel production. This review discusses the latest developments related to the application of microalgae biomass for biodiesel production. Characterization of fatty acid of microalgae and comparisons with other sources of raw materials and processes are presented. Furthermore, technological perspectives and approaches for growing microalgae in photobioreactors, microalgal oil extraction techniques, and procedures for synthesizing biodiesel are reviewed.

Avaliação da potencialidade de microalgas dulcícolas como fonte de matéria-prima graxa para a produção de biodiesel

In this work, the fatty acid quantity and composition of six freshwater microalgae and soybean grains was determined by direct transesterification and gas chromatography analysis. The results showed that all the freshwater microalgae species presented a higher quantity of fatty acid than soybean grain. Choricystis sp. (A) provides 115% more fatty acids per gram of biomass than soybean grain. With regard to the fatty acid composition, Choricystis sp. (A) showed an adequate proportion of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, with lower quantity of polyunsaturated fatty acids and, akin to some marine microalgae, constitutes an alternative raw material for biodiesel production.

Biodiesel de microalgas: avanços e desafios

Microalgae biomass has been described by several authors as the raw material with the greatest potential to meet the goals of replacing petroleum diesel by biodiesel while not competing with arable land suitable for food production. Research groups in different countries are seeking the most appropriate production model for productivity, economic viability and environmental sustainability. This review focused on recent advances and challenges of technology for the production of biodiesel from microalgae, including the procedures used to obtain biomass.

Desenvolvimento e validação de um método analítico por espectrofotometria UV para quantificação de carvedilol

This paper reports the development and validation of a new analytical method using UV spectrophotometry to quantify carvedilol (CRV) in hydrophilic matrices and raw material. This method was shown to be linear, accurate, precise, robust and to have adequate limits of quantification and detection (LQ and LD, respectively), allowing its use in the dissolution test of hydrophilic matrices. The content of CRV determined through this method was compared with two previously validated methods based on the reference techniques of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Potentiometric Titrations (PT). ANOVA confirmed the equivalence of these methods, showing no significant differences.

Carboidratos como fonte de compostos para a indústria de química fina

Coal, oil, natural gas, and shale gas are biomass that is formed millions of years ago. These are non-renewable and depleting, even considering the recent discovery of new sources of oil in the presalt and new technologies for the exploitation of shale deposits. Currently, these raw materials are used as a source of energy production and are also important for the production of fine chemicals. Since these materials are finite and their (oil) price is increasing, it is clear that there will be a progressive increase in the chemical industry to use renewable raw materials as a source of energy, an inevitable necessity for humanity. The major challenge for the society in the twenty first century is to unite governments, universities, research centers, and corporations to jointly act in all areas of science with one goal of finding a solution to global problems, such as conversion of biomass into compounds for the fine chemical industry.Non-renewable raw materials are used in the preparation of fuels, chemical intermediates, and derivatives for the fine chemical industry. However, their stock in nature has a finite duration, and their price is high and will likely increase with their depletion. In this scenario, the alternative is to use renewable biomass as a replacement for petrochemicals in the production of fine chemicals. As the production of biomass-based carbohydrates is the most abundant in nature, it is judicious to develop technologies for the generation of chain products (fuels, chemical intermediates, and derivatives for the fine chemicals industry) using this raw material. This paper presents some aspects and opportunities in the area of carbohydrate chemistry toward the generation of compounds for the fine chemical industry.

Otimização do pré-tratamento hidrotérmico da palha de cana-de-açúcar visando à produção de etanol celulósico

The sugarcane industry has huge potential for biorefinery concept application, given its development in recent years. In this context, cane sugar straw has become an attractive raw material for biofuel production. This study aims to investigate the chemical composition of cane sugar straw from different regions of Brazil, and to optimize a hydrothermal pretreatment stage for cellulosic ethanol production. Results of chemical characterization of the cane sugar straw for the regions assessed indicated little influence of place on straw chemical composition. Hydrothermal pretreatment showed high efficiency in hemicellulose removal. Hydrothermal pretreatments operating with temperatures of 190 and 210 ºC presented satisfactory results, reaching values close to 100% hydrolysis.

Desenvolvimento de tecnologia de pré-polímeros na síntese de poliuretanos empregados em combustíveis sólidos

The aim of this work was to synthesize a polyurethane polymer matrix using polyols as a raw material to obtain a binder such as the hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) pre-polymer in energetic material formulation. The soybean-based polyol was the best starting raw material for producing a binder for solid fuel formulation in rocket motor applications. Characterization of the obtained soybean-based polyurethane binder was carried out by employing FT-IR analysis and thermo analytical techniques that showed similar HTPB binder thermo decomposition behaviors, confirming their potential for use as polymer matrix composites.

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NANOFIBRILLATED CELLULOSE FROM OAT HULLS

The objectives of this work were to investigate the microstructure, crystallinity and thermal stability of nanofibrillated cellulose obtained from oat hulls using bleaching and acid hydrolysis at a mild temperature (45 ºC) followed by ultrasonication. The oat hulls were bleached with peracetic acid, and after bleaching, the compact structure around the cellulosic fibers was removed, and the bundles became individualized. The extraction time (30 or 60 min) did not affect the properties of the nanofibrillated cellulose, which presented a higher crystallinity index and thermal stability than the raw material (oat hulls). The nanocellulose formed interconnected webs of tiny fibers with diameters of 70-100 nm and lengths of several micrometers, producing nanofibers with a relatively high aspect ratio, thus indicating that these materials are suitable for polymer reinforcement.

GLICEROFOSFOLIPÍDIOS SINTÉTICOS PARA USO COMO ADITIVO BIOCIDA EM TINTAS ANTI‑INCRUSTANTE

AbstractThis paper presents a technological innovation that uses a subclass of glycerophospholipids as a booster biocide in antifouling paint. These glycerophospholipid PAF-analogs are economically and environmentally viable compounds because they are synthesized from a metal-free raw material source-soybean lecithin. The synthesis, which involves transesterification followed by an alkylation reaction, produced a mixture of glycerophospholipids that were characterized by mass spectrometry. Evaluation of the antifouling performance with field tests showed that the replacement of ordinary halogenated booster biocide with the synthesized product gave a better efficiency and an exceptional antifouling activity with a significant reduction in the coverage of the fouling macro-organisms.