Abstract The genus Banisteriopsis (Malpighiaceae) comprises 77 genera and 1,300 species. Despite efforts to provide detailed information about the chemical wealth of B. laevifolia, this article provides the identification and characterization of compounds from the ethanolic extracts of the leaves and flowers using advanced methodologies which include high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, which contribute to the knowledge about compounds present in the genus Banisteriopsis. The dereplication aided by Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking afforded the identification of seven compounds reported for this species for the first time. A mixture of two known flavonoids and a diterpenoid, 18-hydroxy-ent-halima-1(10),13-(E)-dien-15-oic acid, were isolated by conventional separation methods. The elevated 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity observed in some samples was attributed to either the type of extract, the presence of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid, or the influence of the substitution pattern and the synergistic effect of the compounds present. Principal Component Analysis was applied to correlate mass spectrometry data with the antioxidant activity of the samples. The high diversity of metabolites found in this study and those which have been reported for Banisteriopsis strongly recommends further investigation into the chemical and biological properties of these species.

This study proposes a new, efficient, and selective method for the analysis of cocaine in oral fluid. For this purpose, an extractive phase with restricted access materials (RAM) capable of extract and pre-concentrate low molecular weight analytes and simultaneously exclude macromolecules was developed for disposable pipette extraction (DPX) followed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses. The proposed method was optimized using a 24 factorial design which pointed higher extraction efficiency under the following conditions: pH 9, 10 cycles of extraction (aspirate/dispense), 3 cycles of desorption (aspirate/dispense) and acetonitrile as desorption solvent. The DPX-RAM/LC-MS method showed linearity range from 10 to 100 ng mL-1 with determination coefficient (R2) = 0.999, accuracy values ranged from -0.9 to 4.3%, precision values ranged from 1.7 to 9.1% and recovery values ranged from 97.9 to 101.1%. The benefits of this method are that it can be performed in few minutes and that the analytical performances, including the limit of detection (3.13 ng mL-1), limit of quantitation (10 ng mL-1) and linear range were found to be in agreement with other methods used for similar analysis.

A method based on disposable pipette extraction (DPX) was successfully applied to creatinine determination in urine samples analysis using liquid chromatography with ultraviolet spectrophotometric detection (DPX/LC-UV). DPX variables, number of draw/eject cycles, sample pH, and type of the desorption solvent, were employed in a factorial experimental design to optimize the sorption equilibrium and time analysis. Among the evaluated DPX variables, the highest extraction efficiency was obtained with 500 µL of urine sample mixed with 1 mL of borate solution (pH 9) with one draw/eject cycle followed by liquid desorption of 1 mL of methanol in seven draw/eject cycles. The developed DPX/LC-UV method showed a linear response from the limit of quantification of 0.317 to 3.390 g L-1 with r2 = 0.996 and inter-day precision with a coefficient of variation below 8.8%. Based on these results, the proposed method can be a useful tool for determining the creatinine levels in urine samples.

<p>A Multivariate Image Analysis (MIA) laboratory activity was proposed estimating pH of drinking water samples from its digital images after adding bromothymol blue as a pH indicator, and using the PLS multivariate calibration method. All computational work was done using GNU Octave free software. The MIA-PLS based approach exemplified with drinking water pH estimates is tailored to meet the needs of both students and researchers. MIA-PLS method was statically equivalent to the reference method using a conventional glass pH electrode. This lab activity combines analytical methodology, computing, and chemometrics.</p>

Oenoteína B é um tanino hidrolisável dimérico com um amplo espectro de atividades biológicas, tais como antitumoral, anti-inflamatória e anti-viral. Seus espectros de ressonância magnética nuclear (RMN) à temperatura ambiente apresentam duplicações e alargamento de sinais. Experimentos de RMN uni e bidimensionais a baixas temperaturas foram úteis no assinalamento de todos os sinais de hidrogênios e carbonos sem a necessidade de derivatização. A estrutura tridimensional do confôrmero mais estável foi determinada pela primeira vez através do experimento de espectroscopia de efeito nuclear Overhauser (NOESY) (-20 ºC) e cálculos computacionais usando métodos de teoria do funcional de densidade (DFT) (B3LYP/6-31G) e modelo contínuo polarizado (PCM). A conformação mais favorecida apresentou uma geometria altamente compactada e sem simetria, onde os dois grupos valoneoila mostraram diferentes parâmetros conformacionais e estabilidades.

Oenothein B is a dimeric hydrolysable tannin with a wide range of biological activities, such as antitumour, anti-inflammatory and antiviral. Its nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) at room temperature show duplications and broadening of signals. Experiments of 1D and 2D NMR at lower temperatures were useful for the complete NMR assignments of all hydrogens and carbons. The 3D structure of the most stable conformer was determined for the first time by nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) experiment (-20 ºC) and density functional theory (DFT)(B3LYP/6-31G)/ polarizable continuum model (PCM) quantum chemical calculations. The favoured conformation showed a highly compacted geometry and a lack of symmetry, in which the two valoneoyl groups showed distinct conformational parameters and stabilities.

This paper presents a multivariate statistical analysis as a valuable tool for educational management applied to public high school chemistry teacher formation. From 2003 to 2007, a decrease of 10% in the number of public high schools was seen, as well as a reduction of 7% in the number of teachers. Contrarily, there was an increase in the number of university graduate teachers. Principal Component Analyses reveal that in 2003, most chemistry teachers were not university graduates. In 2007, eight Regional Offices of Education reported teachers holding academic degrees, qualifying them as chemistry teacher in the school system

An undergraduate physical chemistry experiment based on the drop counting method for surface tension measurements is proposed to demonstrate adsorption isotherms of binary aqueous solutions of ethanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol. Excess surface is obtained by the derivative of surface tension taken with respect to alcohol activity, after this activity calculation using van Laar equation. Laboratory class contents are surface tension, excess surface, percolation of hydrogen bonds, micelle, activity, and ideal solution.

This paper describes an approach for the colour-based classification of RGB (red-green-blue) images, acquired using a common scanner, of commercial carbonated soft drinks. Mean histograms of image colour channels were evaluated for the PCA classification of 29 brands of Guaraná, Cola, and orange flavors. Loadings for principal component axes resulted in different patterns for sample grouping on score plots according to RGB histograms. pH, sorbic acid and sucrose measurements were also correlated to the analyzed brands through PCA score plots of the digitalized images.