RESEARCH LINES 

Biomass and waste valorization and effluent treatment - This line includes research based on the principles of green chemistry and following the biorefinery concept with the aim of developing sustainable and innovative products and processes from renewable raw materials and valorizing pre- and post-consumer agro-industrial waste. The studies are related to the production of biofuels, bioproducts and value-added products from renewable sources, pre-treatment and hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, degradation, modification and conversion of biomass, waste and rejects, degradation of dyes and treatment of effluents (textiles), using biocatalysts, chemical catalysis, green solvents, green technologies (ultrasound, microwaves, etc.) and traditional physical-chemical adsorption techniques, among others. The studies also involve the preparation and immobilization of (bio)catalysts and the characterization and chemical and physical analysis of raw materials (biomass, waste, effluents) and the products or materials generated. 

Development and evaluation of analytical methods - This line aims to select, characterize and validate analytical methodologies within the field of activity of PPGQ teachers. It aims to develop, characterize and validate new analytical methodologies. 

Development, improvement, processing and application of materials and nanomaterials - Research in this line focuses on the development, synthesis, improvement and characterization of polymeric materials (blends and composites), inorganic materials, fibrous materials (textile fibers) and nanostructured materials, including carbon nanomaterials, aiming at the development of sustainable and intelligent technologies and materials that, above all, integrate solutions in the energy, optical devices, health, agriculture, industrial production sectors, among others, meeting regional and global demands of our society. Due to its regional importance, special focus is also given to the processing of textile materials (preparation, coloring and finishing) involving biocatalysts and nanotechnology. 

Synthesis, isolation, characterization and evaluation of the properties of natural and synthetic compounds - This line of research covers the organic synthesis and enantioselective separation of compounds with possible biological activities, and may use compounds obtained by biocatalytic processes or abundant secondary metabolites previously isolated or commercially available as synthetic precursors. It deals with the isolation, chemical characterization and evaluation of the biological activities of natural substances extracted from plants, animals and microorganisms. The extracts, fractions and pure substances identified are subsequently evaluated in biological and pharmacological activity tests, aiming to understand the profile, potency and mechanisms of action, and potential for the generation of new drugs. Among the biological activities investigated are antimicrobial (lato sensu), immunomodulatory, metabolic, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory. Different analytical techniques, mainly chromatographic and spectroscopic, are used in the characterization of the samples, with the possible investigation of other molecular properties. It also includes the production of optically active compounds, which can be used as precursors of more complex molecules in asymmetric synthesis.   

REQUIRED COURSES - MASTER'S DEGREE

Advanced Organic Chemistry - ___ hours/class
Molecular structure. Principle of stereochemistry. Aliphatic nucleophilic substitution reactions; elimination and addition reactions; reactions of the carbonyl group; electrophilic aromatic substitution: benzene compounds and π-excessive heterocycles; nucleophilic aromatic substitution in π-deficient heterocycles. Radical reactions and pericyclic reactions.  

Advanced Physical Chemistry - ___ hours/class

Kinetic theory of gases; Thermodynamics and the complexity of laws in ideal and non-ideal systems; Statistical composed on independent and indistinguishable molecules (translation, rotational, vibrational and electronic movements.  

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry - ___ hours/class
Symmetry elements and operations. Point groups. Chemistry of hard and soft acids and bases. Coordination chemistry. Valence bonding and molecular orbital theories. Crystal-field and ligand-field theories. Electronic spectra and magnetism of coordination compounds. Structure and reactivity. Organometallic chemistry. 

Advanced Analytical Chemistry  - ___ hours/class
Electrolytes and chemical activity. Balance in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Acid-base, solubility, complexation and oxidation reduction equilibrium. Graphical representations of ionic chemical species distribution. Thermodynamic treatment of chemical equilibrium. Titration curves. Applied statistics for analytical chemistry.  

Seminars - ___ hours/class
Transdisciplinary space for the presentation and discussion of specific topics of interest to students, focused on the program's research lines, with the exchange of experience and socialization of proposals, activities and materials between faculty members and students 

Teaching Internship - ___ hours/class
Teaching in higher education, an integral part of graduate training, aimed at preparing students for teaching and qualifying them for undergraduate teaching. All scholarship holders from funding agencies must complete the teaching internship at PPGQ. 

ELECTIVE COURSES - MASTER'S DEGREE

Volatile Organic Compounds - ___ hours/class

Metabolic pathways of the main classes of volatile organic compounds; extraction and structural characterization techniques; biological properties and applications; structural modification and biological assays of interest. Study of concrete cases under investigation in the SINETEC and REBIFLORA groups and perspectives. Experimental activity using essential oils from propolis and/or plant species native to the Atlantic Forest. 

Chemical Finishing Of Textiles - ___ hours/class
Fiber chemistry, chemistry of dyes and textile auxiliaries. The chemical theory and technology of textile finishing processes: preparation, dyeing, finishing and printing. Innovative trends in textile processing.  

Green Chemistry, Biofuels and Biorefinery - ___ hours/class
The 12 principles of green chemistry and their metrics. Examples of green chemistry reactions and processes. Green solvents and technologies. The concepts of linear and circular economy, bioeconomy, sustainability, biomass, biorefinery, bioproducts and biomaterials. National and global energy matrix. Energy policy and sustainability. Energy sources and consumption and related environmental problems (greenhouse effect, CO2 emissions, etc.). Main types of biorefineries to produce energy, fuels, materials, and chemicals. Analysis and composition of the most important biomasses, energy crops and agro-industrial wastes; prospects for the conversion of these renewable sources into energy, biofuels and bioproducts (pre-treatments, biomass hydrolysis; biotransformation of biomass, etc.). Study of the main processes, stages, and products of biorefineries.

Biocatalysis and Biotransformation - ___ hours/class
Basic concepts of biocatalysis and biotransformation with enzymes and microorganisms. Fundamentals of structure and catalysis with enzymes, their classification, and the chemical mechanisms of enzymes; Relationship between the three-dimensional structure of enzymes and the mechanism of action on their substrates. The main theoretical models of enzyme kinetics, mathematical treatment, analysis of parameters and kinetic constants, heterogeneous enzyme catalysis, the effects of stability, inhibition, and cooperativeness. Immobilization techniques, enzyme engineering, the main technological applications of enzymes and laboratory methods used in enzyme analysis. Biotransformation in organic synthesis; condensation, hydrolysis, reduction and oxidation reactions catalyzed by enzymes and microorganisms; other biotransformations; bioprocess technology.  Introduction to biocatalysis and biotransformation; Enzymes and microorganisms; Biotransformation in organic synthesis; Condensation, hydrolysis, oxidation and reduction reactions catalyzed by enzymes and microorganisms; Other biotransformations; BioProcess technology.

Chromatographic Methods - ___ hours/class
Introduction: Concepts, classification, intermolecular forces and separation mechanisms. Thin-layer chromatography. Gas chromatography. High performance liquid chromatography. Optimization of separation parameters. Hyphenated techniques - mass spectrometry. Applications.Bibliografia / Bibliography.

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - ___ hours/class
Differences between nanostructured and massive systems. Band structure and crystal structures. Synthesis of nanoparticles, understanding of nucleation and growth phenomena. Nanoparticles of metals, oxides and carbon and their properties. Nanomaterials with improved properties. Nanocomposites. Techniques for characterizing nanomaterials.  

Chemistry of Natural Products - ___ hours/class
Introduction to the main biosynthetic routes and classes of plant secondary metabolites. Carbohydrates and primary metabolism. Isoprenoid metabolic route. Metabolic route of shikimic acid and polyketides. Alkaloids. Methods in plant analysis: General methods of extraction, separation and isolation of plant origin compounds. Strategies for the identification of natural products.

Surface Chemistry - ___ hours/class
Surface phenomena: surface and interfacial tension, capillarity and wettability, emulsions and colloids, thin films, micelles, electrical aspects of interface, adsorption on solids and liquids, adsorption isotherms, surface engineering of nanostructures, introduction to heterogeneous catalysis.

Organic Synthesis - ___ hours/class
Concept of disconnection, synthon and synthetic equivalent. Functional group transformations. Disconnections of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Rearrangements in synthesis. Isolated and fused π-defficient and π-excessive heterocycles: natural occurrence, synthesis and reactivity. Multi-step synthesis, analysis of representative examples from the literature.

Spectroscopic Methods - ___ hours/class
Absorption spectroscopy in the infrared and ultraviolet-visible region, theoretical foundations, instrumentation, electronic excitation, absorption of chromophores, bonding forces, vibrational levels of chemical bonds, interpretation of spectra.  

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance - ___ hours/class
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry: theoretical foundations, nuclear spin, signal correlation, spectra interpretation. Hydrogen and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR). Advanced 2D NMR techniques. Use of joint techniques to determine molecular structures.  

Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Natural and Synthetic Products - ___ hours/class
Structure, function and metabolism of prokaryotes. Mechanism of action of antimicrobial agents. Obtaining and evaluating antimicrobial compounds derived from natural and synthetic products of pharmaceutical interest.

Design and Optimization of Experiments - ___ hours/class
Introduction and concepts. Univariate and multivariate methods of optimization. Factorial designs and fractional factorial designs. Mixture designs. Optimization designs (response surface methods). Analysis and interpretation of results. Construction of empirical models. Use of statistical programs.  

Biodiversity and Innovation in Biopolymers - ___ hours/class
This discipline aims to explore the intersection between biodiversity and innovation in biopolymers. Biopolymers are polymeric materials derived from natural sources, such as plants, animals, microorganisms, and are essential for environmental sustainability and the development of innovative technologies. The discipline will address biodiversity as a source of inspiration for the development of biopolymers, as well as the techniques for the production, characterization, and application of these innovative materials.

Bioinorganic Chemistry and Catalysis - ___ hours/class
Introduction to Bioinorganic Chemistry. Metalloproteins and Metalloenzymes and their biological role. Biological and bioinorganic systems containing iron, copper, manganese, among others. The role of metals in photosynthesis. Biological and bioinorganic mechanisms and catalytic systems  

Oriented Topics in Chemistry I, II, III, IV - ___ hours/class
Deals with current issues and is related to the research activities of teachers.