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Chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) has gained a rapid momentum in the recent past due to depleting reserves of “easy-oil” and soaring oil prices. Hence, CEOR is now being considered for several candidates with varied oils and reservoir conditions, which demands the need for large hydrophobe surfactants. A new class of thermally and chemically stable large hydrophobe surfactant, Guerbet alkoxy carboxylates (GAC) has been tested. Unlike Guerbet alkoxy sulfates, GAC are stable at all pH and can be extremely useful in cases where alkali usage is prohibitive. They also exhibit synergistic behavior with internal olefin sulfonates (IOS) and alkyl benzene sulfonates (ABS), with the mixture showing enhanced calcium tolerance than the individual surfactants. Furthermore, in an attempt to diversify the raw material base, a new class of hydrophobe, viz. tristyrylphenol (TSP) based on petrochemical feed stock has also been developed and evaluated. Given the fact that there are hundreds of surfactants that can be tested for a particular candidate, the difficulty often lies in choosing the right surfactant to begin with. In an attempt to simplify that, a new correlation to predict the optimum surfactant structure has been developed. It relates the optimum surfactant structure to the formulation variables like oil properties, salinity, and temperature, including the parameters like PO and EO for new-generation surfactants. The correlation can serve as a guideline in choosing the optimum surfactant and will help in improving our understanding of the relationship among variables affecting the optimum surfactant structure. Surfactant retention is an important factor affecting the economics of chemical flooding and has to be studied carefully. Using an extensive data obtained from core flood studies a new correlation for predicting surfactant retention including the variables like pH, TAN, salinity, mobility ratio, temperature, co-solvent, and surfactant molecular weight has been developed. All these are new and highly significant advance in the optimization of chemical EOR processes that will greatly reduce the time and cost of the effort required to develop a good formulation as well as to improve its performance. / text

As espécies patogênicas do gênero Colletotrichum apresentam importância mundial, pois causam danos a várias culturas de interesse agronômico. Diversas medidas de controle são empregadas, mas estas nem sempre são eficazes devido à ocorrência de linhagens resistentes. Desta forma, se faz necessário a busca por novos compostos que possam ser utilizados no manejo integrado desta doença. Os produtos naturais isolados de micro-organismos podem ser uma alternativa para o desenvolvimento de novos defensivos agrícolas. Dentre os micro-organismos, as actinobactérias são conhecidas pela produção de inúmeros compostos antimicrobianos. Neste contexto, o presente estudo teve como objetivo o isolamento e a identificação de compostos antifúngicos produzidos por actinobactérias da rizosfera de guaranazeiros. Para isto, a seleção de actinobactérias foi baseada em dois ensaios. No primeiro, as 65 actinobactérias foram avaliadas em ensaio de cultivo pareado frente ao fitopatógeno Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Destas, os isolados mais promissores foram AM1 (43,78 % de inibição do crescimento micelial), AM3 (43,98 %), AM18 (37,86 %), AM25 (43,17 %), AM30 (47,12 %), AM61 (40,12 %) e AM68 (47,94 %). No segundo ensaio, estes isolados foram cultivados em meio BD e, após o cultivo, o meio metabólico foi submetido a três métodos de extração: (a) partição líquido-líquido com n-butanol; (b) partição líquido-líquido com acetato de etila e (c) coluna sílica gel C18. As frações obtidas a partir das três metodologias foram avaliadas pelo método de difusão em disco de papel contra C. gloeosporioides. Neste ensaio de difusão em disco foram selecionadas as linhagens AM1(n-butanol), AM3 (acetato de etila) e AM25 (C18) para o estudo de bioprospecção. Estas foram identificadas por técnicas moleculares como pertencentes ao gênero Streptomyces. A partir do extrato bruto da Streptomyces sp. AM1 foi isolado um composto análogo do ácido proclavamínico, o qual apresentou atividade mínima inibitória (MIC) de 1,25 mg mL-1 contra o fitopatógeno C. gloeosporioides. Da linhagem Streptomyces sp. AM3 foi isolado o composto streptimidona que apresentou MIC de 1,25 mg mL-1. Já no estudo de Streptomyces sp. AM25 um composto não identificado apresentou MIC de 2,50 mg mL-1. Estes três compostos apresentaram atividade superior aos fungicidas Captan SC® (Captana) e Dithane NT® (Mancozeb), e inferior ao Score® (Difenoconazol). A atividade antifúngica destes compostos ao C. gloeosporioides está sendo relatada pela primeira vez. / The pathogenic species of the genus Colletotrichum present importance worldwide because they cause damage to numerous crops of agronomic interest. Several control methods are employed, but they are not always effective due to the occurrence of resistant strains. Thus, it is necessary searching for new compounds that can be used in the integrated management of this disease. Natural products isolated from microorganisms can be an alternative for the development of new agricultural pesticides. Among microorganisms, actinobacteria are known to produce numerous antimicrobial compounds. In this context, the present study aimed to isolate and identify antifungal compounds produced by actinobacteria from guarana rhizosphere. For this, the selection of actinobacteria was based on two tests. In the first one, the 65 actinobacteria were evaluated in paired cultivation test against the plant pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Among them, the most promising isolates were AM1 (43.78% inhibition), AM3 (43.98%), AM18 (37.86%), AM25 (43.17%), AM30 (47.12%), AM61 (40.12%) and AM68 (47.94%). In the second assay, these isolates were cultured in BD medium and, after culturing, the metabolic medium was subjected to three extraction methods: (a) liquid-liquid partition with n-butanol; (B) liquid-liquid partition with ethyl acetate and (c) silica gel column C18. The fractions obtained from the three methodologies were evaluated by paper disc diffusion method against C. gloeosporioides. In this disk diffusion assay, the strains AM1 (n-butanol), AM3 (ethyl acetate) and AM25 (C18) were selected for the bioprospecting study. These were identified by molecular techniques as belonging to the genus Streptomyces. From the crude extract of Streptomyces sp. AM1 the analogous compound proclavaminic acid was isolated, which presented minimal inhibitory activity (MIC) of 1.25 mg mL -1 against the plant pathogen C. gloeosporioides. From Streptomyces sp. AM3, the compound streptimidone was isolated, which presented MIC of 1.25 mg mL-1. In the study of Streptomyces sp. AM25 an unidentified compound had MIC of 2.50 mg mL-1. These three compounds presented superior activity to the fungicides Captan SC® (Captan) and Dithane NT® (Mancozeb), and inferior to the Score® (Difenoconazole). The antifungal activity of these compounds to C. gloeosporioides is being reported here for the first time.

As espécies patogênicas do gênero Colletotrichum apresentam importância mundial, pois causam danos a várias culturas de interesse agronômico. Diversas medidas de controle são empregadas, mas estas nem sempre são eficazes devido à ocorrência de linhagens resistentes. Desta forma, se faz necessário a busca por novos compostos que possam ser utilizados no manejo integrado desta doença. Os produtos naturais isolados de micro-organismos podem ser uma alternativa para o desenvolvimento de novos defensivos agrícolas. Dentre os micro-organismos, as actinobactérias são conhecidas pela produção de inúmeros compostos antimicrobianos. Neste contexto, o presente estudo teve como objetivo o isolamento e a identificação de compostos antifúngicos produzidos por actinobactérias da rizosfera de guaranazeiros. Para isto, a seleção de actinobactérias foi baseada em dois ensaios. No primeiro, as 65 actinobactérias foram avaliadas em ensaio de cultivo pareado frente ao fitopatógeno Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Destas, os isolados mais promissores foram AM1 (43,78 % de inibição do crescimento micelial), AM3 (43,98 %), AM18 (37,86 %), AM25 (43,17 %), AM30 (47,12 %), AM61 (40,12 %) e AM68 (47,94 %). No segundo ensaio, estes isolados foram cultivados em meio BD e, após o cultivo, o meio metabólico foi submetido a três métodos de extração: (a) partição líquido-líquido com n-butanol; (b) partição líquido-líquido com acetato de etila e (c) coluna sílica gel C18. As frações obtidas a partir das três metodologias foram avaliadas pelo método de difusão em disco de papel contra C. gloeosporioides. Neste ensaio de difusão em disco foram selecionadas as linhagens AM1(n-butanol), AM3 (acetato de etila) e AM25 (C18) para o estudo de bioprospecção. Estas foram identificadas por técnicas moleculares como pertencentes ao gênero Streptomyces. A partir do extrato bruto da Streptomyces sp. AM1 foi isolado um composto análogo do ácido proclavamínico, o qual apresentou atividade mínima inibitória (MIC) de 1,25 mg mL-1 contra o fitopatógeno C. gloeosporioides. Da linhagem Streptomyces sp. AM3 foi isolado o composto streptimidona que apresentou MIC de 1,25 mg mL-1. Já no estudo de Streptomyces sp. AM25 um composto não identificado apresentou MIC de 2,50 mg mL-1. Estes três compostos apresentaram atividade superior aos fungicidas Captan SC® (Captana) e Dithane NT® (Mancozeb), e inferior ao Score® (Difenoconazol). A atividade antifúngica destes compostos ao C. gloeosporioides está sendo relatada pela primeira vez. / The pathogenic species of the genus Colletotrichum present importance worldwide because they cause damage to numerous crops of agronomic interest. Several control methods are employed, but they are not always effective due to the occurrence of resistant strains. Thus, it is necessary searching for new compounds that can be used in the integrated management of this disease. Natural products isolated from microorganisms can be an alternative for the development of new agricultural pesticides. Among microorganisms, actinobacteria are known to produce numerous antimicrobial compounds. In this context, the present study aimed to isolate and identify antifungal compounds produced by actinobacteria from guarana rhizosphere. For this, the selection of actinobacteria was based on two tests. In the first one, the 65 actinobacteria were evaluated in paired cultivation test against the plant pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Among them, the most promising isolates were AM1 (43.78% inhibition), AM3 (43.98%), AM18 (37.86%), AM25 (43.17%), AM30 (47.12%), AM61 (40.12%) and AM68 (47.94%). In the second assay, these isolates were cultured in BD medium and, after culturing, the metabolic medium was subjected to three extraction methods: (a) liquid-liquid partition with n-butanol; (B) liquid-liquid partition with ethyl acetate and (c) silica gel column C18. The fractions obtained from the three methodologies were evaluated by paper disc diffusion method against C. gloeosporioides. In this disk diffusion assay, the strains AM1 (n-butanol), AM3 (ethyl acetate) and AM25 (C18) were selected for the bioprospecting study. These were identified by molecular techniques as belonging to the genus Streptomyces. From the crude extract of Streptomyces sp. AM1 the analogous compound proclavaminic acid was isolated, which presented minimal inhibitory activity (MIC) of 1.25 mg mL -1 against the plant pathogen C. gloeosporioides. From Streptomyces sp. AM3, the compound streptimidone was isolated, which presented MIC of 1.25 mg mL-1. In the study of Streptomyces sp. AM25 an unidentified compound had MIC of 2.50 mg mL-1. These three compounds presented superior activity to the fungicides Captan SC® (Captan) and Dithane NT® (Mancozeb), and inferior to the Score® (Difenoconazole). The antifungal activity of these compounds to C. gloeosporioides is being reported here for the first time.

Advantages such as chemical, mechanical and thermal stability together with high selectivity for the templated analyte render molecularly imprinted polymers MIPs interesting alternatives to routinely applied separation materials or antibodies. Nevertheless, many factors such as the choice of functional monomer, cross-linker, and porogenic solvent, as well as the ratio between template, functional monomer, and cross-linker will affect the resulting imprinting efficiency and polymer particle size and morphology. The research described in this thesis contributes to the development of new synthetic strategies for the generation of imprinted micro- and nanospheres for 17beta-estradiol (E2) focusing on accurate control and optimization of the governing parameters for precipitation polymerization, including the polymerization temperature and the cross-linker, yielding a one-step synthetic approach with superior control on the bead diameter, shape, monodispersity and imprinting efficiency. Thus synthesized imprinting materials for E2 were successfully applied in HPLC separation, solid phase extraction and radioligand binding assays. As the optimization of imprinted materials is based on fundamental understanding of the binding site properties, the investigations is aimed at establishing a more rational basis for further tailoring imprinted materials to the desired analytical application. The relationships between the particle porosity and rebinding properties were detailed, providing useful guidelines for controlling the particle properties for the desired application including, SPE pre-concentration, HPLC separations, and biomimetic binding assays. Furthermore, analytical techniques (1H-NMR and IR, etc.) and molecular modeling were combined in this thesis to facilitate advanced understanding of the fundamental principles governing selective recognition of molecularly imprinted polymers at a molecular level. The molecular interactions involved in the templating process of molecularly imprinted polymers based on the self-assembly approach were simulated in molecular dynamic simulation model by building a modeling system include all the imprinting components with correct ratio, which has never been reported before. Molecular level interactions such as hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking interactions as well as the free energy governing complex formation of E2 with the functional monomers 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) and methacrylic acid (MAA), and the cross-linker divinylbenzene (DVB) were discussed.