Iron(III) acetate was synthesized by the reflux method using iron enriched in the 57Fe isotope and the compound processed by freeze-drying. The as-synthesized and freeze-dried acetates were characterized regarding their structural, thermal, vibrational and hyperfine properties. Similar diffractometric and spectroscopic results were found for both materials and also for an industrial acetate made with natural iron. However, the microstructures differed: the as-synthesized compound showed flake morphology with micrometric dimensions, whereas the freeze-dried showed flake morphology with sub-micrometric dimensions. The activation energies for thermal decomposition, calculated from the exothermic events occurring in differential scanning calorimetry measurements, were 100.9 kJ/mol (as-synthesized) and 114.7 kJ/mol (freeze-dried).

We studied the adsorption of glyphosate (GPS) onto soil mineral particles, using FT-IR and Mössbauer spectroscopy. From IR measurements for samples collected under native vegetation of a forest reserve, bands at 1632 and 1407 cm-1 could be attributed to the interaction between the carboxylic group of GPS and structural Al3+ and Fe3+ on the surface of mineral particles; bands at 1075 and 1000 cm-1 were observed only for cultivated soil. Mössbauer spectra for these soils were definitely fitted using a broad central doublet in addition to the magnetic component. This multiple quadrupolar component may be attributed to all non-magnetic Fe3+ contributions, including that of the GPS/Fe3+ complex.

The main goal of this paper was to study the degradation of synthetic dyes using photoelectrocatalytic properties of particulate films of TiO2 supported on plates of titanium and stimulated by UV-Vis radiation. The dyes decolorizations were measured using spectrophotometric methods to verify which the conditions on Ti/TiO2 electrode was the best for the photoelectrodegradation of them. The results showed that decolorization rates were higher than 90% during a period of 270 min. FT-IR spectroscopy showed that intermediate substances were formed after the decolorization and N=N group/aromatic structures were preserved independently of the specific structure of the dyes.

In the present paper some controversies on the origin of life are discussed. Did the first living beings on Earth have an autotrophic or heterotrophic origin? What did come first, genetic code or metabolism? Were cells invented early? What was the role of minerals regarding the origin of life?

Minerals adsorb more readily amino acids with charged R groups than those with uncharged R groups, so that the incorporation of amino acids with charged R groups into peptides would be more frequent than that of amino acids with uncharged R groups. However, 74% of the amino acids in the proteins of modern organisms contain uncharged R groups. Thus, what could have been the mechanism that produced peptides/proteins with more amino acids with uncharged R groups than precursors with charged R groups? The lipid world offers an alternative view of the origin of life. In the present paper, several other mechanisms are also discussed.

Glyphosate, an enzyme inhibitor herbicide, has been widely used around the world in agriculture. Dr. John Franz from Monsanto Corporation (USA) discovered glyphosate in 1970. It has been showed that glyphosate is strongly adsorbed by inorganic soil components especially aluminium and iron oxides, and the phosphate group is involved in this interaction. The inactivation of glyphosate in soils can last for days or even months depending on soil characteristics. The addition of phosphate from fertilizers can displace glyphosate from the soils and this could be the cause of decreased productivity of some crops.

The structural characterization of molecules used in the sterilization of blood for transfusions, such as crystal violet (CV), is relevant for understanding the action of these prophylactic drugs. The characterization is feasible by surface enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) of CV in solution or on surfaces. The limit of detection of CV by SERRS, in the presence of colloidal particles, using 514.5 nm as excitation radiation, was found to be around 1 ppb. The characterization of CV was also made by SERS, by using different active-particles-containing substrates, proving the versatility of this technique for the study of such structures. The results suggest that the controlled production of highly efficient SERS-active substrates may allow qualitative and quantitative analysis, with high sensitivity, with potential applications in medical and environmental fields.

Guanidina é uma substância importante para os seres vivos atuais assim como para a química prebiótica. No presente trabalho foi estudada a reação entre as espécies amônio e tiocianato em estado sólido com diferentes substâncias (areia de rio, caulin, metais de transição e sais da água do mar) e temperaturas (80, 120 e 150 ºC). As recuperações de tiocianato ou amônio nas amostras com areia de rio ou caulin a 150 ºC foram estatisticamente diferentes (p<0,05) das recuperações de tiocianato e amônio nas amostras sem aquelas substâncias. A decomposição do tiocianato de amônio nas amostras com areia de rio ou caulin a 150 ºC foi de 40%. Caulin mostrou ser mais efetivo na síntese de guanidina do que areia de rio, visto que a concentração de guanidina sempre foi maior nas amostras com caulin do que nas amostras com areia de rio. A decomposição do tiocianato de amônio nas amostras com metais de transição mais areia de rio a 120 ºC foi de 30%. Sais da água do mar ou metais de transição mais tiocianato de amônio mais areia de rio (120 ºC) aumentaram a concentração de tiouréia (água do mar: 538%, metais de transição: 357%) ou guanidina (água do mar: 393%, metais de transição: 806%) quando os resultados foram comparados com amostras sem estas substâncias. Comparando os resultados obtidos com as amostras de tiocianato de amônio (120 ºC) mais sais da água do mar ou metais de transição com a amostra de tiocianato de amônio observamos que houve um aumento na produção de tiouréia (168%) e guanidina (268%) respectivamente. Os rendimentos obtidos para a síntese de guanidina mostrados neste trabalho são melhores do que os mostrados por outros autores. Experimentos mostraram que Fe (III) está envolvido na formação do composto amarelo obtido da reação entre amônio e tiocianato e espectros Raman mostraram que este composto pode ser o enxofre.

Guanidine is an important substance for modern living beings as well as for the prebiotic chemistry. We studied the reaction between ammonium and thiocyanate species in solid state with different substances (river sand, kaolin, transition metals, salts of seawater) and temperatures (80, 120 and 150 ºC). The recoveries of thiocyanate and ammonium in the samples with river sand or kaolin at 150 ºC were statistically different (p<0.05) from the recoveries of thiocyanate and ammonium in the sample without them. The decomposition of ammonium thiocyanate in the samples river sand or kaolin at 150 ºC was about 40%. Kaolin showed to have more effect on the synthesis guanidine than river sand, because, the concentrations of guanidine in the samples with kaolin were always bigger than in the samples with river sand. The decomposition of ammonium thiocyanate in the samples with transition metals plus river sand at 120 ºC was about 30%. The salts of seawater or transition metals plus ammonium thiocyanate plus river sand (120 ºC) showed to increase the concentration of thiourea (seawater: 538%; transition metals: 357%) or guanidine (seawater: 393%, transition metals: 806%) when they were compared to the samples without them. When the results obtained with sample of ammonium thiocyanate were compared to the samples of ammonium thiocyanate (at 120 ºC) plus salts of seawater or transition metals also an increased on the production of thiourea (168%) and guanidine (268%) was obtained, respectively. The yield for the synthesis of guanidine showed in this paper is better than that obtained by other authors. Experiments showed that iron (III) is involving in the formation of the yellow compound and Raman spectra showed this compound could be sulphur.

In the present paper, a historical view from spontaneous generation of life to Oparin-Haldane hypothesis was discussed. It was also showed what is the main concern of the field of prebiotic chemistry. Several aspects of prebiotic chemistry such as synthesis of biomolecules and biopolymers, primitive metabolism and genetic code, and the importance of the adsorption for the origin of life were discussed.

Foi realizado um estudo da adsorção de L-alanina, L-tirosina, L-ácido glutâmico e L-lisina em areia do mar. Somente L-lisina adsorveu na areia do mar, provavelmente devido à sua cadeia lateral que é positivamente carregada. Portanto, estes resultados apontam dúvidas sobre a importância de areia para a pré-concentração de aminoácidos antes condensação de peptídeos na Terra primitiva.

A study of adsorption of L-alanine, L-tyrosine, L-glutamic acid, and L-lysine on sea sand was carried out. Only L-lysine showed adsorption on sea sand, probably due to the presence of the positively charged R group. Our results raise some doubts as to whether sand was important for the pre-concentration of amino acids prior to peptide condensation on the Pre-Biotic Earth.

Spectrophotometric determination of total protein is used in several areas such as clinical analysis, food science and technology, biochemistry, protein chemistry, physiology. Five spectrophotometric methods are mostly used: biuret, Lowry, Bradford, Smith and UV absorption. In this review a general overview of these methods is presented (interferences, applications); other methodologies are also discussed.