Aproveitamento sustentável de biomassa e de recursos naturais na inovação química

Increased production of biomass is currently the only immediately accessible alternative for large-scale carbon sequestration and it can produce large amounts of food, fuel and raw materials for the chemical industry that can in turn growingly replace oil as a source of organic building blocks and also of hydrogen and sulfur. Development of processes for biomass and abundant minerals transformation into chemical raw materials should now benefit from large inputs from nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information and micro-reactor technologies. Success in R&D&Innovation along this line can yield new products and processes needed to perform desirable functions within a sustainable development paradigm.

Fontes vegetais naturais de antioxidantes

Growing knowledge on the health-promoting impact of antioxidants in everyday foods, combined with the assumption that a number of common synthetic preservatives may have hazardous side effects has led to increased investigations in the field of natural antioxidants, principally those found in plants. Food industries normally discard plant residues that could benefit the human health and diminish undesirable environmental impact. Once estimated the content of antioxidants in these residues, advantageous economical and social alternatives to the discard are possible, for example, their use for preparation of nutraceuticals to be offered to low-income populations. We present here a broad, although not complete, account of the continuously growing knowledge on the antioxidant capacity of whole fruits, seeds and peels, cereals, vegetal oils and aromatic plants, at several physical forms, as well as a description of the usual methods for evaluating their antioxidant capacity and examples of agroindustrial processes that could be harnessed for the production of antioxidant supplement food, along with research perspectives in the area.

Fotoprotetores derivados de produtos naturais: perspectivas de mercado e interações entre o setor produtivo e centros de pesquisa

Ultraviolet radiation is the major exogenous mediators of skin damage. To prevent such damage, sunscreen products are used. New research aims at both the elucidation of new sunscreen compounds, as well as new assets for supporting and synergistic action. In this article it is presented a systematic data of innovation for sunscreen and a discussion on prospects for partnership between universities and enterprises, where it is believed that the innovations in cosmetics, driven by the constant demand of the market in new products, may be a stimulus for the interactions between university and company in Brazil.

Remoção de Pb2+ e Cr3+ em solução por zeólitas naturais associadas a rochas eruptivas da formação serra geral, bacia sedimentar do Paraná

The capacity of natural zeolites and its host rock (dacite) to remove Pb2+ and Cr3+ from aqueous solutions has been investigated. Results showed that both samples prefer to remove Pb2+ instead of Cr3+. Almost 100% of Pb2+ was removed from solutions with concentration until 50 mg L-1 and 100 mg L-1 of this metal, respectively by dacite and zeolite. The equilibrium of metals adsorption process was reached during the first 30 min by both materials. Na+ can be used to recover Pb2+, but not to remove Cr3+ from the treated samples. The Sips model showed a good fit for experimental data of this study.

Determinação espectrofotométrica de hexametilenotetramina (HMT) em medicamentos, utilizando ácido cromotrópico e forno de micro-ondas

This paper proposes a methodology for spectrophotometric determination of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) by using chromotropic acid in a phosphoric acid media employing a domestic microwave oven as a source of heating. The reddish-purple soluble product is quantitatively formed after 30 s of irradiation and obeys the Beer´s law in the range between 0.1-1.2 mg L-1 HMT (r = 0.99925). The method was applied successfully in commercial pharmaceutical preparations containing dyes in their composition. The results showed that the method proposed is feasible for simplicity, speed, low cost, precision and accuracy when compared with United States Pharmacopeia official method.

Alucinógenos naturais: um voo da Europa Medieval ao Brasil

This work describes the historical importance and the use of hallucinogenic plants by different civilizations. A comparison between three Brazilian plants whose active principle is N,N-dimethyltriptamine (DMT), and three plant species native to Europe whose active principles are tropanic alkaloids was carried out and we observed these plants promoted different types of hallucinations.

Emissões naturais e antrópicas de metais e nutrientes para a bacia inferior do rio de contas, Bahia

Emission factors of anthropogenic activities and natural processes were used to estimate nutrients and metals loads to the Contas River lower basin, Southern Bahia, Brazil. Among natural sources, emission from soil leaching is larger for N, Cu and Pb. Atmospheric deposition is the major natural source of P, Zn, Cd and Hg. Among anthropogenic sources, agriculture is the major source of N, Cu and P. Urban sources are the major contributors to the other elements. Present anthropogenic land uses are already responsible for 78 and 99% of total N and P loads and about 50% of total Cu and Hg.

Sistema limpo em linha para extração em fase sólida de contaminantes emergentes em águas naturais

A solid-phase in-line extraction system for water samples containing low levels of emerging contaminants is described. The system was specially developed for large volume samples (up to 4 L) using commercial solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges. Four sets containing PTFE-made connectors, brass adapters and ball valves were used to fit SPE cartridges and sample bottles to a 4-port manifold attached to a 20 L carboy. A lab-made vacuum device was connected to the manifold cap. The apparatus is robust and less expensive than the typical available system. Its also provides less experimental handling, avoiding cross contamination and sample losses.

Em busca da sustentabilidade: células solares sensibilizadas por extratos naturais

The present work reports the use of anthocyanins extracted from mulberry (Morus Alba L.), raspberry (Rubus Idaeus L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. The conversion efficiency of these devices is dependent on the extracts employed and can be rationalized in terms of their composition and spectral properties. Solar cells sensitized by the mulberry extract showed the highest efficiency among the fruits investigated. Moreover, a 16 cm² active area solar cell with the mulberry extract has presented fair good efficiency of conversion for natural dye-based solar cells, besides stability over twenty weeks, showing perspectives for developing these low cost devices with a commercial viability.

Estrogênios em águas naturais e tratadas da região de Jaboticabal - São Paulo

The aim of this work was to analyze 17 β estradiol and estrone, natural estrogenic hormones present in domestic effluents and animal excreta, in the public water supply system of Jaboticabal, SP. The results have shown the presence of estrogens in 22% of the samples in concentrations from 6,8 ng L-1 (treated water) to 30,6 ng L-1 (riverhead) for 17 β estradiol and 600 ng L-1 of estrone (stream), respectively. We concluded that animal wastes, discharges from the wastewater treatment station, and discharges of domestic effluent without treatment from rural proprieties were probably the cause of this contamination.

Avaliação do perfil de dissolução de medicamentos utilizando-se espectroscopia eletrônica multivariada

In this work the evaluation of the dissolution profile of captopril-hydrochlorothiazide and zidovudine-lamivudine associations were carried out by multivariate spectroscopic method. The models were developed by partial least square regression from 20 synthetic mixtures using mean-centered spectral data. The external validation was accomplished with 5 synthetic mixtures shown mean prevision error of about 1%. Good agreement was observed in the analyses of commercial drugs (content uniformity and dissolution profile), considering the results obtained by the standard chromatographic method, with prevision error lower than 10%.

Desenvolvimento e aplicação de métodos para a determinação de ivermectina em medicamentos de uso veterinário

Two methods for the determination of Ivermectin in veterinarian medications were developed and compared. One of the methods was based on UV spectrometry and the other on HPLC-UV. The former method was shown to be positively biased regarding the nominal concentrations of Ivermectin in different medications. The method of standard addition was unable to correct this bias, indicating significant matrix effects. The HPLC-UV method showed good linearity, throughput, recovery and limits of detection and quantitation adequate for its application in the evaluation of Ivermectin in medications. Several medications were evaluated and good agreement between our results and their nominal concentrations was found.

Internalização de farmoquímicos e medicamentos para doenças tropicais negligenciadas: proposta de interação entre Governo - Universidade - Empresa

History shows that public health actions to combat epidemics are most effective when there is constant synergy of both government and society, exemplified by prevention actions in the fight against dengue fever, H1N1 influenza etc. Private-public-partnerships (PPP) can also provide more dynamic and consistent results in production through interaction among Government, University and Enterprise actors. This article puts forward proposals to tackle the problem of neglected tropical diseases via the formation of a Management Council using Etzkowitz's Triple Helix concept to attenuate this public health issue in Brazil.

Utilização de detecção por espalhamento de luz evaporativo para a análise de produtos naturais

The interest in the use of evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) for the analysis of different classes of natural products has grown over the years. This is because this detector has become an excellent alternative compared to other types of detectors, such as the refractive index detector and the ultraviolet (UV) detector. This review describes the basic principles of ELSD functioning and discusses the advantages and disadvantages in using an ELSD for the analysis of organic compounds. Additionaly, an overview, covering the last 23 years, of ELSD applications in natural products analysis (saponins, terpenes, carbohydrates, glycosides, alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, peptides, polyketides, coumarins and iridoids) is presented and discussed.

Processos naturais de biodegradação do petróleo em reservatórios

Petroleum biodegradation in reservoirs is a process caused by different microorganisms affecting many oil deposits which modifies the oil composition in a quasi-stepwise process starting from n-alkanes and isoprenoids through to diasteranes. This causes oil souring and increased viscosity, sulfur and metal content, having a direct impact on oil production and refining costs.