Resumo em Inglês:

Sensitive detection of methimazole (MMI) at the femtoliter (fL) scale has been achieved based on photo thermal lensing of gold nanoparticles (GNPs). GNPs were used because their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) have absorption in visible range. A combined glass microfluidic chip-photo thermal lens microscopy (MFC-PTLM) system with appropriate laser source was assembled for detection of MMI with GNPs. The thiol group of MMI bound to the surface of GNPs and created the core-shell form and reduced the surface plasmon resonance of GNPs as a consequence the PTLM signal of GNPs decreased following the increase of MMI concentration. The results showed that the changes of PTLM signal in the focal volume of 2.68 fL were proportional to the concentration of MMI over the range of 75-900 × 10-9 mol L-1. The obtained detection limit of this method was 46.5 × 10-9 mol L-1 and the relative standard deviation for ten repeated measurements of 550 × 10-9 mol L-1 MMI solutions was 3.47%. The developed method was successfully applied for determination of MMI in human serum and pharmaceutical samples.

Resumo em Inglês:

Lupeol, a triterpene frequently found in Asteraceae plant species, showed moderate to low activity in different strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent malaria etiological agents. In this work, lupeol was isolated from Parahancornia fasciculata, a plant that is used to treat malaria in the Amazonia region. In the search of more activity lupeol derivatives, five new 1,2,3-triazole hybrid molecules were synthetized by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The antiplasmodial activity of the semi-synthetic compounds were evaluated by the lactate dehydrogenase assay; the lupeol propargyl ether was the only one to disclosing increased activity (half maximal inhibitory concentration-IC50-62.0 ± 1.92 µmol L-1) in relation to lupeol (IC50 117.00 µmol L-1). Therefore, this work revealed a new class of interesting lupeol derivatives that can be obtained by linking electron donors to the hydroxy group at C-3.

Resumo em Inglês:

The extraction process of bioactive compounds from grape and apple pomaces was optimized using a response surface methodology to evaluate the effect of ethanol concentration, time and temperature on the extraction of total phenolic content, antioxidant activity by radical scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) method and individual phenolics by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Optimizing suggests that the best condition for total phenolic and gallic acid extraction from grape pomace was obtained in intermediate level (60% ethanol, 60 °C, 30 min) while 80% ethanol, 75 °C and 39 min was more efficient for p-coumaric acid extraction. For apple pomace the extract obtained with 50% ethanol at 75 °C and 39 minutes was more active by DPPH method and content of caffeic acid. Therefore, these abundant and inexpensive agro-industrial residues produced in Southern Brazil, are an important source of bioactive compounds that may be used as antioxidant substances in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Resumo em Inglês:

Oleic acid modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles were proposed for magnetic solid-phase extraction coupled with ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to determine risperidone (RISP) and 9-hydroxyrisperidone (9OHR) in biological samples. The effects of various experimental parameters including adsorbent amount, pH, adsorption time, eluent type and concentration were systematically investigated. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear within the concentration range of 0.2-200 ng mL-1 with the correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9962 and the lower limit of quantification was 0.06 ng mL-1 for RISP; the calibration curve was linear within the concentration range of 0.2-200 ng mL-1 with the correlation coefficient of 0.9956 and the lower limit of quantification was 0.04 ng mL-1 for 9OHR. The extraction recoveries were over 90.0% with relative standard deviation less than 5.0%. All these results suggested that magnetic extraction method can be used for enrichment and quantification of RISP and 9OHR in biological samples.

Resumo em Inglês:

Methodologies to obtain quinoxaline compounds regioselectively are rarely reported in literature, thus regioselective and multi-gram methodologies to obtain these derivatives are desirable to explore the entire potential of these scaffolds for academic and/or commercial application. A facile and multi-gram methodology is described to obtain compound 7-nitroquinoxalin-2-amine using o-phenylenediamine, a cheap and readily available reactant, as starting material in a five-step procedure in good yields and high purity without further purification such as crystallization or column chromatography.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper describes a new series of four DNA-intercalating agents with promising anticancer activities, based on ruthenium(II) with the planar ligand dpqQX (dpqQX = dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]quinoxaline[2,3-b]quinoxaline). The complexes identified as trans-[RuCl2(dppb)(dpqQX)], cis-[RuCl2(dppb)(dpqQX)], ct-[RuCl(CO)(dppb)(dpqQX)]PF6 and ct-[RuCl2(PPh3)2(dpqQX)] (dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphine)butane and PPh3 = triphenylphosphine) were characterized by 31P{1H} nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and infrared spectroscopies, cyclic voltammetry, molar conductance measurements, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry and X-ray diffraction analysis for complex ct-[RuCl2(PPh3)2(dpqQX)]. Their in vitro cytotoxic activities against MDA-MB-213 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells were evaluated and compared with normal L-929 cells. Low drug concentration at which 50% of the cells are viable relative to the control (IC50) values were obtained for all four complexes compared with a reference metallodrug, cisplatin. In addition, DNA affinity studies from titrations, as well as the images obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) involving pBR322 plasmid DNA, suggest interactions between the metal complexes and the DNA macromolecule, in which they act as intercalating agents. The intercalation of the complexes with DNA was confirmed by viscosity measurements.

Resumo em Inglês:

This study aimed at evaluating the activity of peroxidases after ultrasound and microwave radiation exposure as an alternative to the wastewater treatment improvement. The results showed that after treatment with ultrasound using a power of 30% and a temperature of 55 °C was obtained an increase in relative activity, 129.5% in the enzyme from rice bran, 147.9% in the enzyme from soybean meal and 102.4% in the enzyme from horseradish. Using microwave radiation, the highest relative activity (107.4%) was observed for the peroxidase extracted from rice bran with 10 seconds of reaction time and a reaction temperature of about 50 °C. The data obtained in this study suggest that the ultrasonic bath and microwave are adequate for conducting reactions catalyzed by peroxidases because it was possible to increase their activity during the performed tests. Preliminary tests of enzyme application showed that the highest color removal occurred using 3 mL of the enzyme extract from rice bran and H2O2 concentrations of 40 mg L-1. This condition resulted in a color removal of about 40%.

Resumo em Inglês:

The imidazolyl-phenolic probe used at the present study has its photophysic properties regulated by a tautomeric equilibrium. After the absorption of a photon, an excited state intramolecular proton transfer process generates a ketonic species, responsible for the 440 nm emission (in CH3CN/H2O, 95:5, v/v). Addition of Cu2+, Al3+, Cr3+ and Fe3+ suppresses emission through a combination of dynamic and static-like quenching, as indicated by Stern-Volmer plots, with a higher sensitivity for Cu2+ (KSV = 1.90 × 105 and 2.40 × 104 L mol-1, respectively, for Cu2+ and Fe3+). The trivalent ions led to the formation of a locked-enol tautomer that emits at shorter wavelengths; this coordinated compound is also quenched at metallic ions concentrations above 20 µmol L-1, due to a collisional process. When compared to another imidazolyl-phenolic probe, experimental and simulated data revealed that fluorescent, steric and electronic effects regulate their sensitivity towards the ions.

Resumo em Inglês:

Phloea subquadrata and Phloeophana longirostris are subsocial species that differ from each other in their host plants and degrees of aggregation. Until recently, only ten low-molecular weight compounds, a sesquiterpene, and dimers of (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal had been reported from the contents of P. subquadrata glands. Here, the main goal was to distinguish the volatile compounds released by adult males, adult females and nymphs of the two species. The analyses revealed 103 compounds, of which 44 were exclusive to Phloeophana longirostris and 15 were exclusive to Phloea subquadrata. The data were analyzed by chemometric methods, which discriminated the phloeid species by developmental stage and sex. (E)-2-Hexenal, (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal and (E)-2-octenal were found in both species. Adult individuals were characterized by the presence of methyl 2-methylbutanoate, (E)-2-hexenyl acetate and 2-hexenyl butanoate, and nymphs were characterized by 5-ethyl-2(3H)-furanone and (E)-2-octenal. There was chemical distinction between volatiles of adults and nymphs of the two species studied.

Resumo em Inglês:

A furanoditerpene-enriched fraction was obtained from the fruits of Pterodon emarginatus and submitted to semipreparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two new furanoditerpenes, 6α,19β-diacetoxy-7β,14β-dihydroxyvouacapan and 6α-acetoxy-7β,14β-dihydroxyvouacapan, in addition to the known compound methyl 6α-acetoxy-7β-hydroxyvouacapan-17β-oate were obtained. Compound structures were determined by 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS). The major compound methyl 6α-acetoxy-7β-hydroxyvouacapan-17β-oate was evaluated against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis and L. braziliensis, presenting the concentration which causes lysis on 50% of parasites IC50 < 30 µg mL-1.

Resumo em Inglês:

In this work, we compared 1.40 T nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to 7.05 T (60 and 300 MHz for proton, respectively), and mid-infrared with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), associated with chemometrics methods, for the quantification of the reaction yield during esterification of fatty acids with methanol. The results showed that the integrated intensities of the ester C=O stretching region, relative to the total C=O stretching region, is useful to quantify the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) concentration. Comparing the results obtained by the different final models: NMR (1.40 T and 7.05 T), FTIR-ATR using multivariate partial last squares regression (PLS) with orthogonal signal correction (OSC), and univariate ordinary least squares (OLS), the NMR of 1.40 T (60 MHz for proton) showed more advantages when compared to a high field spectrometer, due to the non-use of cryogenic and solvents and less laborious work for obtaining results.

Resumo em Inglês:

The synthesis of several new xanthenes based on the 1,3-dicarbonyl scaffolds lawsone and coumarin was developed using tandem three-component reactions involving the reagents ortho-hydroxybenzaldehyde, as bifunctional reagent, and an appropriate thiol. These reactions generated two series of para- and ortho-naphthoxanthenes that are structurally related to α- and β-pyranaphthoquinones and one series of coumarin-xanthene derivatives.

Resumo em Inglês:

Iron (Fe) is an essential element for human nutrition, and its deficiency or low hemoglobin levels are a global health issue. Strategies aimed at increasing the amounts of essential elementals in agricultural products, as sprouts of adzuki bean (Vigna angularis), can be a way to minimize deficiencies, mainly in the populations of developing countries. Therefore, in this work was evaluated: production of Fe-enriched adzuki bean sprouts; Fe accumulation and translocation in plants in different culture media enriched with different Fe masses (500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 µg); and effects of the enrichment by means of 3000 µg FeIII-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (FeIII-EDTA): on the distribution of Ca, Cu, Fe, K, P, Mg, S, and Zn in different parts of the plant; on protein concentrations (albumins, globulins, prolamins, and glutelins) and their association with Fe in edible parts of the plant (stems); and on Fe bioaccessibility in the edible part of the plant (stems). The enrichment via FeIII-EDTA favored the translocation and increased Fe content of sprouts (75%), besides promoting interactions of Fe with albumins (141%), globulins (180%), and glutelins (93%). In the bioaccessibility assays, Fe was 83% bioaccessible in Fe-enriched sprouts.

Resumo em Inglês:

A novel nanofibrous film chemosensor was fabricated by copolymerization and electrospinning, which exhibited signaling behaviors for Zn2+. Upon addition of Zn2+, the sensor film exhibited obvious fluorescence enhancement in a linear fashion. Owing to a larger surface area and high permeability, the selectivity and sensitivity of the nanofibrous film for Zn2+ were satisfactory and achieving a limit of detection of 1.95 × 10-5 mol L-1. Moreover, this material could serve as an adsorbent for Zn2+, as the adsorption capacity was 11.45 mg of Zn2+ ions per gram of nanofibrous film.

Resumo em Inglês:

This paper presents a study involving the development of a new mini polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) vessel project for biological sample preparation in micro scale in closed system with microwave radiation for subsequent determination of Cd, K, Mg and Na by atomic spectrometry techniques. All experiments were carried out in micro quantities of samples (up to 20 mg) and reagents (300 µL of HNO3) for 5 min at 350 W. Certified reference materials of biological samples (bovine muscle and liver) were used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed system and the results obtained were in agreement with the certified value at 95% of confidence (t -test). Relative standard deviations (RSD) were lower than 8.0% for all elements. The proposed method is not only easy and fast, but it is also based on the use of an inexpensive system for sample digestion.

Resumo em Inglês:

The aim of this study was to determine the sixteen rare earth elements (REEs) in twelve types of popular flower herb teas and their infusions consumed in China. Microwave-assisted acid digestion was used for all of the samples, and the contents of these elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of REEs varied from 94.6 to 7492 µg kg-1 among these flower samples. Ce was the most abundant elements in all flower samples (27.3-3016 µg kg-1). The leached ratios of REEs for each type of tea ranged from 7.3% (globe amaranth) to 29.8% (carnation). The leach ratios of REEs in these flower herb teas were at different percentages depending on types of flowers. The daily intake of rare earth oxides from these flower herb tea infusions may not produce any health risks.

Resumo em Inglês:

Biodiesel is obtained from a renewable source and has been used as an alternative to fossil fuels. It has unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters that can degrade due to oxidation of the double bonds. The instability of biodiesel during storage may cause problems regarding the maintenance and operation of motors. This work evaluated the effect of several variables on the storage conditions of biodiesel:diesel blends. The study was performed using an experimental design, and the variables were water content in biodiesel (0.01, 0.05 and 0.09%), biodiesel content in diesel (5.0, 7.5 and 10.0%), time (15, 30 and 45 days) and temperature (30, 40 and 50 °C). The levels simulated actual Brazilian storage conditions. The degradation was evaluated based on direct measurement of methyl linoleate and methyl oleate in the blends by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters are target compounds in the oxidation process. All experiments were carried out in sealed flasks. The results suggest that the restriction of oxygen limited the degradation of biodiesel in blends with higher percentage of the biofuel. The variables temperature, time and water content in biodiesel individually did not affect the degradation process within the range investigated at 95% confidence interval.

Resumo em Inglês:

This work describes the removal of pesticides from water using activated and magnetized biochars produced from exhausted husk, and dry tannin from barks of black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.). These materials were characterized using chemical, spectroscopic, thermal, solid structure and surface area techniques. The activated and magnetized biochars were effective in removing the pesticides thiacloprid and thiamethoxam from both ultrapure water and Marcela Water Reservoir, Itabaiana, Sergipe State, Brazil. At the longest time examined, the amounts of thiacloprid and thiamethoxam adsorbed per gram of activated biochar adsorbent were 1.02 and 0.97 mg, respectively, while values of 0.73 mg (thiacloprid) and 0.40 mg (thiamethoxam) were obtained using magnetized biochar. A pseudo-second order model correctly described the kinetics of adsorption of both pesticides (R(2) ≥ 0.922). Desorption experiments revealed that the spent biochars could not be easily regenerated, which indicated that the forces holding the adsorbed fluid molecules to the solid surface were relatively strong.

Resumo em Inglês:

For the first time, the boron isotopic ratio is reported for Brazilian red wines. The boron concentration, 11B/10B isotopic ratio and δ11B were determined in 89 red wines produced in Campanha Gaúcha, Serra Gaúcha (SG), and Vale dos Vinhedos (VV) in South Brazil and Vale do São Francisco (VSF) in Northeast Brazil. A broad boron concentration range, < 0.07 to 20.4 mg L-1, was observed, where a few values were above the maximum allowed concentration according to the International Code of Oenological Practices (14.0 mg L-1). The obtained 11B/10B ratios were quite different from those observed in the literature. The ratios were quite similar among the Southern Brazilian wine producing areas, but a large difference was observed when compared with the Northeastern wines, allowing for the differentiation between these two important Brazilian wine regions. The results have also shown that is possible, based on the boron isotopic ratio, to differentiate the Brazilian red wines from Chilean, Italian and Portuguese red wine.

Resumo em Inglês:

An investigation on unusual interface properties of unprecedented ternary composites, formed by the inclusion of assorted proportions of B2O3 into TiO2/SiO2 structure, is conducted herein. The influences of B2O3 content and calcination temperature were evaluated. The precursor TiO2/SiO2 material was synthesized via a simple sol-gel procedure that was followed by B2O3 inclusion via maceration and calcination. The materials were fully characterized and their photocatalytic performance to degrade the Indigo Carmine dye investigated. The material prepared with a B/Ti molar ratio of 1 and at calcination temperature of 350 °C (B1-350) showed the best performance, with a superior photocatalytic activity than that of commercial TiO2. The presence of B2O3-TiO2-SiO2 interfaces in the structure of such material was of critical importance in producing a material with these attractive features. Finally, high resolution mass spectrometry monitoring allowed for the characterization of the main degradation products formed under these conditions.

Resumo em Inglês:

Eggshell (ES) is an abundant waste material which is mainly composed of calcium carbonate. A superabsorbent hydrogel composite based on poly(acrylamide-co-potassium acrylate) as matrix containing 17 wt.% of chicken ES powder as a filler was synthesized and compared with the gel without filler. The characterization was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), rheological analysis and kinetics studies. The dispersion of ES in the polymeric matrix was homogeneous. The interaction between the acrylate and calcium cation was detected by FTIR analysis. The composite improved the gel strength and the absorption of water and saline solution increased by 100 and 41%, respectively. The high values for the swelling, the homogeneous structure and the good mechanical properties obtained with the incorporation of a relatively high content of a low-cost waste material indicate that this composite is suitable for application in the agriculture. In addition, this approach provides a more ecologically sound and useful destination for eggshell residue.

Resumo em Inglês:

This work presents an automated analytical procedure for the photometric determination of reducing sugars in wines. The procedure is based on the reaction of reducing sugars with potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) in an alkaline medium, and was implemented employing a multicommuted flow analysis (MCFA) approach. Sample heating to promote the reaction was accomplished using a flow-batch device, which was heated to 50 °C without the use of a fluid for heat exchange. The ability of the MCFA approach to handle small solution volumes was exploited in order to develop an analytical procedure that meets green analytical chemistry guidelines. After optimizing the operational variables, the analytical procedure afforded a linear response ranging from 0.75 to 6.00% (m/v) fructose (R(2) = 0.999), a limit of detection of 0.14% fructose (n = 11), a 3.5% relative standard deviation, reagent consumption and waste generation of 112 mg and 2.2 mL per determination, respectively, and an analytical throughput of 75 determinations per hour.

Resumo em Inglês:

We present an environment friendly synthesis of selenium nanoparticles and the study of their cytotoxic activity against uterine sarcoma cancer and fibroblasts cells. Amorphous selenium (a-SeNPs) and trigonal selenium (t-SeNPs) were synthesized using D-fructose as the reducing agent and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), dynamic light scattering (DLS) to obtain zeta potential values and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Particularly, a-SeNPs presented high toxicity toward the resistant cancer cell line MES-SA/Dx5 and its parental MES-SA line. However, they are not toxic against P4 fibroblast cells in comparative studies.

Resumo em Inglês:

Tuberculosis remains among the top causes of death triggered by a single pathogen. Herein, a greener synthetic approach for isonicotinoylhydrazones is described using ultrasound energy. These compounds were used as starting materials for synthesizing pentacyanoferrate(II)-isonicotinoylhydrazones, which inhibited the reaction catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis 2-trans-enoyl-ACP(CoA) reductase (MtInhA) in a time-dependent manner. The most active coordination complex showed an increase of more than ten-fold in the MtInhA inhibition rate constant compared with lead pentacyano(isoniazid)ferrate(II) (IQG607). Additionally, the new series of metal-based compounds demonstrated antitubercular activity against a drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain and was devoid of toxicity to mammalian cells (IC50 > 20 µmol L-1, half maximal inhibitory concentration). Finally, one of the synthesized compounds showed intracellular activity similar to isoniazid in a macrophage model of Mtb infection, indicating that this chemical class may furnish novel structures to embark on the preclinical phase of anti-tuberculosis drug development.

Resumo em Inglês:

An electrophilic iodocyclization reaction involving alkynylated 2-iodoanisoles and molecular iodine in the presence of sodium bicarbonate was developed and diiodo-functionalized benzo[b]furans were obtained in yields from 45 to 99%.