Production and analysis of capsules containing microorganisms consortiated for future application in petroleum bioremediation.

Oil spills cause severe environmental and economic impacts, so the use of bioremediation techniques has been widely studied to solve this problem. Due to its complex composition, the oil prevents the full action of microorganisms, and in this way, the microbial consortium encapsulation technique is an innovation in the use of bacteria and biomass in the face of possible oil degradation, with the possibility of overcoming techniques such as bio-enhancement and biostimulation in the face of factors such as nutrient availability, oxygenation and temperature. Therefore, this work aims to produce capsules containing microbiological consortium and analyze its characteristics using the techniques TGA, DSC, FESEM, viable cell count, emulsification index and surface tension, in order to propose the best conditions to be applied. TGA and DSC results showed that the capsules have thermal stability in the range of 25-40 °C. Viable cell counts were more effective in capsules containing 1% (w/v) sodium alginate, and the emulsification index showed a large increase (80%) from day 5, as well as surface tension had a large drop (48%) in the same period. The increase in the emulsification index is caused by the increase in the production of biosurfactants (amphipathic molecules) by the bacteria consortium and this offers a greater contact between the microorganisms and the oil, providing best conditions for the degradation of oil. Therefore, all analyzes showed excellent results for future application in oil spills.

Synthesis and Antimycobacterial Activity of 3-Phenyl-1H-indoles.

Tuberculosis has been described as a global health crisis since the 1990s, with an estimated 1.4 million deaths in the last year. Herein, a series of 20 1H-indoles were synthesized and evaluated as in vitro inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) growth. Furthermore, the top hit compounds were active against multidrug-resistant strains, without cross-resistance with first-line drugs. Exposing HepG2 and Vero cells to the molecules for 72 h showed that one of the evaluated structures was devoid of apparent toxicity. In addition, this 3-phenyl-1H-indole showed no genotoxicity signals. Finally, time-kill and pharmacodynamic model analyses demonstrated that this compound has bactericidal activity at concentrations close to the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, coupled with a strong time-dependent behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this study describes the activity of 3-phenyl-1H-indole against Mtb for the first time.

Evaluation of different samplers and storage temperature effect on the methane carbon stable isotope analysis.

The present work evaluates the efficiency of some low-cost sampler container for a reliable carbon stable isotope analysis of methane. The procedure efficiency was evaluated for five containers, through 91 days, under two storage temperatures (4 °C and 25 °C) and the results are compared against a reference sampler by using univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Based on the univariate (ANOVA and comparison statistical methods) and multivariate (PCA and HCA) statistical methods, it was identified that (i) the isotopic value changes with time and, in this way, must be taken in account when choosing the appropriate sampler and (ii) the lower temperature reduces the isotopic fractionation process and is preferable for the gas sample storage. Among the storage systems, two options were found to be statistically equivalent to the reference container (IsoJar) for a time horizon of 91 days. We found that the exetainer (4 °C and 25 °C) storage systems are statistically equivalent to the reference container IsoJar and, in this way, it could be an alternative for the methane isotopic studies.

Chemical modification of tannins from Acacia mearnsii to produce formaldehyde free flocculant.

Flocculants and coagulants market is expected to grow in a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.9% between 2017 and 2022. The development of non-pollutant coagulants/flocculants aiming to replace conventional ones, usually toxic, has been extensively studied and one alternative is the possibility of obtaining tannin-based flocculants, compounds present in many plants and easily extracted. However, in order to use tannins as flocculants, their cationization is necessary, which is normally accomplished by Mannich reaction that requires formaldehyde addition, a toxic compound. In order to fill a gap in the literature, regarding coagulants/flocculants synthesis through green procedures, this paper aims to synthesize a flocculant from tannins with no use of formaldehyde, and optimize this synthesis through a Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD). The optimization variables were ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) to tannin ratio, in the range of 1:1 to 5:1, and reaction time, in the range of 1 to 4 h The evaluation of the synthesized flocculant samples was accomplished by jar tests using a simulated effluent containing humic acid and the effect of reactant ratio and reaction time used in the synthesis was assessed. The flocculant synthesis methodology proposed on this study showed excellent results regarding turbidity and color removal, since 100% of turbidity removal and 89.9% of color removal were achieved. This novel tannin-based flocculant synthesis methodology is a promising technology to replace conventional coagulants/flocculants, once it is environmentally friendly.

Antinociceptive effect of a novel tosylpyrazole compound in mice.

Pain is the most common complaint in the medical field and the identification of compounds that can effectively treat painful states without induction of side-effects remains a major challenge in biomedical research. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antinociceptive effect of a novel compound, 3-(4-fluorophenyl)-5-trifluoromethyl-1H-1-tosylpyrazole (compound A) in several models of pain in mice and compare with those produced by the known trifluoromethyl-containing pyrazole compound celecoxib. Compound A or celecoxib were administrated by oral (78-780 micromol/kg), intrathecal (9-22.5 nmol/site) or intracerebroventricular (9-22.5 nmol/site) routes. Oral administration of either compound A or celecoxib abolished the mechanical allodynia, but not the oedema caused by intraplantar injection of carrageenan. Similarly, compound A reduced the overt nociception, but not the oedema, produced by bradykinin or capsaicin. However, compound A (500 micromol/kg, orally) did not alter nociception nor oedema caused by intraplantar injection of prostaglandin E(2 )or glutamate, whereas celecoxib reduced only the nociception induced by the former. Moreover, oral and intrathecal administration of compound A or celecoxib also reduced the nociception induced by acetic acid. However, only celecoxib reduced the acetic acid-induced nociception when it was injected by the intracerebroventricular route. Finally, neither compound A nor celecoxib was able to produce antinociceptive effect in the tail-flick test or to alter the motor performance and the body temperature. Besides, compound A or celecoxib did not induce gastric lesion. Thus, compound A seems to be an interesting prototype for the development of novel analgesic drugs.