In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of antimicrobial materials for different applications, especially in the biomedical field. In this context, chitosan is one of the most employed materials due to its highly attractive properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and antimicrobial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and fungi. In this review, we discuss the different methods used to obtain chitosan and point out how they affect the structural and chemical properties of this material, followed by a detailed discussion on how these properties influence its antimicrobial activities. Additionally, we summarize the most accepted antimicrobial mechanisms of action for chitosans. Specifically, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview on the last findings and progress reported in the literature on the factors that influence the antimicrobial activity of chitosan, e.g., polymeric average molecular weight ( M W ¯), average degree of acetylation ( D A ¯), water-soluble derivatization and sample degree of purity. The data available in the literature indicate that in addition to the structural properties, the effectiveness of such antimicrobial activity of chitosan is also dependent on the target microorganisms. This review will help researchers to better understand the mechanism of action of chitosan against microorganisms based on its structural characteristics.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the development of nanomaterials with improved properties compared to their counterparts at the micro- and macroscopic scale. In this context, nanofibers obtained by electrospinning technique are highly attractive due to the unique combination of high surface area/volume ratio, porosity, flexibility, mechanical performance, simple processing and relatively low cost. In addition, the possibility to buildup nanofibers with different compositions, structures and properties allows the design of nanostructures for a wide range of applications. In this review, we will discuss the advances of the last decade in the use of the electrospinning to obtain nanofibers with different compositions and morphologies for varied applications. Specifically, we are interested in providing an overview of the state of the art in relation to the application of nanofibers in different areas, including healthcare, environment, sensing and energy. Finally, we will discuss the real perspective in terms of industrial application and future trends that have been pursued to improve the performance of electrospun nanofibers. This review will help researchers to understand the evolution and challenges of the area and will also stimulate even more interest in the development of new devices based on electrospun nanofibers.

Cloreto de benzalcônio (BAC), digluconato de clorexidina (CD) e triclosan (TR) são amplamente usados como agentes antimicrobianos já que são anti-sépticos e desinfetantes, dependendo da concentração. O objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de metodologia para a determinação rápida e simultânea de CD, TR e dos homólogos do BAC (C12, C14 e C16) por CLAE-UV-DAD. Dois sistemas isocráticos em fase reversa foram otimizados: sistema C8 - coluna SB-C8 (250 × 4,6 mm; 5 µm) e fase móvel composta por ACN e tampão de H3PO4/NaH2PO4 0,03 mol L-1, pH 2,0 (80:20, v/v); 2,0 mL min-1 e sistema CN - coluna SB-CN (150 × 4,6 mm; 5 µm) e fase móvel composta por ACN e tampão de HOAc/NaOAc 0,1 mol L-1, pH 5,0 (70:30, v/v); 2,5 mL min-1. O tempo de análise foi menor que 6 min em ambos os sistemas, permitindo alta produtividade e baixo uso de solventes. Faixas lineares com duas ordens de magnitude foram obtidas nos dois sistemas. A sensibilidade obtida no sistema C8, para as cinco substâncias foi cerca de 20% maior que no sistema CN. Ambos os métodos apresentaram precisões melhores que 4,5%, boas resoluções (R > 1,8) e altas recuperações (96 a 103%). Os limites de quantificação foram adequados para a determinação das cinco substâncias em produtos comerciais. A análise de diversos produtos comerciais indicou boa concordância entre os métodos cromatográficos e entre ele e os valores rotulados.

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC), chlorhexidine digluconate (CD) and triclosan (TR) are widely used antimicrobial agents since they are antiseptics and disinfectants depending on the used concentration. The objective of this work was the development of methodology for the fast and simultaneous determination of CD, TR and the BAC homologues (C12, C14 and C16) using HPLC-UV-DAD. Two isocratic reverse-phase systems were optimized: system C8 - column SB-C8 (250 × 4.6 mm; 5 µm) using a mobile phase composed of ACN and H3PO4/NaH2PO4 buffer 0.03 mol L-1, pH 2.0 (80:20, v/v); 2.0 mL min-1 and system CN - column SB-CN (150 × 4.6 mm; 5 µm) using a mobile phase composed of ACN and HOAc/NaOAc buffer 0.1 mol L-1, pH 5.0 (70:30, v/v); 2.0 mL min-1. In both systems the total analysis time was lower than 6 min, leading to high throughput and low production of solvent rejects. Linear ranges with two magnitude orders were found for the five substances in both systems. The sensitivity of system C8 for the five substances was around 20% greater than that of system CN. Both chromatographic methods showed overall precisions better than 4.5%, good resolutions (R > 1.8) and high recoveries (96 to 103%). The limits of quantification were adequate for the determination of the five compounds in commercial products. The analysis of several commercial products showed a good agreement between both chromatographic methods. Good agreement among measured concentrations and labeled values was also observed.

The development of new magnetic materials has attracted attention of researchers of different areas. In the last decades, a distinguished class of materials emerged in magnetism, in which the magnetic moment is delocalized over molecules. By varying the synthetic conditions it is possible to obtain a large variety of structures and properties using the same starting molecules. These materials have a great scientific appeal due to the possibility of presenting not only magnetic, but also optical or electrical transport properties. In this review we will present an overview of some molecular magnetic compounds, in particular molecular nanomagnets.