Recent advances in lanthanide spectroscopy in Brazil

This review discusses recent advances in lanthanide spectroscopy involving luminescence applications Q2 carried out in Brazil. The revised topics include glasses, sol–gel, light-emitting diodes, nanoparticles, metal–organic frameworks, coordination polymers, thin films, energy transfer processes, upconversion and development of new theoretical tools. The important role played by Prof. Oscar L. Malta on this subject is evidenced by his many contributions to the broad range of investigations reported here and this review is dedicated to him, on the occasion of his 60th birthday

Screening of Central and South American plant extracts for antimycobacterial activity by the alamar blue test

Quarenta e oito extratos brutos etanólicos e frações (em hexano, diclorometano, acetato de etila e n-butanol) de dez plantas brasileiras pertencentes às famílias Leguminosae, Monimiaceae e Verbenaceae; uma da Costa Rica (Verbenaceae) e uma da Argentina (Verbenaceae) foram ensaiados para verifi cação da atividade anti-micobacteriana contra Mycobacterium tuberculosis (ATCC-27294 H37Rv), pelo teste do Alamar Blue, a uma concentração fi xa de 100 μg/mL. Dentre os quarenta e oito extratos e frações estudados, sete mostraram-se ativos na concentração ensaiada - frações em hexano e diclorometano de folhas de Lantana trifolia, extrato em metanol:água, 1:1 de cascas de Vitex cooperi, frações em hexano e diclorometano de folhas de Lippia lacunosa e de Lippia rotundifolia, sendo que todas essas plantas pertencem à família Verbenaceae.Forty eight ethanolic crude extracts and fractions (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol) from ten Brazilian plants (Leguminosae, Monimiaceae and Verbenaceae), 1 from Costa Rica (Verbenaceae) and 1 from Argentina (Verbenaceae) were screened for antimycobacterium activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (ATCC-27294 H37Rv), by the Alamar Blue test, at a fi xed concentration of 100 μg/mL. Out of the forty eight, seven were active at this concentration, corresponding to Lantana trifolia (hexane and dichloromethane extracts from leaves), Vitex cooperi (methanol:water, 1:1 extract from barks), Lippia lacunosa (hexane and dichloromethane extracts from leaves) and Lippia rotundifolia (hexane and dichloromethane extracts from leaves), all from the Verbenaceae family