Recebido em 22/9/06; aceito em 22/5/07; publicado na web em 26/2/08 PROPERTIES AND RECENT APPLICATIONS OF CYCLODEXTRINS. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides comprised of six or more glucose units connected by α-1,4 bonds. They have hydrophobic cavities with a hydrophilic exterior, and are versatile receptors for a variety of substrates. This ability allows them to be applied in many fields, as distinct as supramolecular chemistry, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals, green chemistry, agrochemicals, analytical chemistry, toiletries, foods, and cosmetics. This review summarizes several aspects related to the physico-chemical properties of CDs and discusses their potential applications illustrated by recent examples. The prospects for their use in several areas are also described.Keywords: cyclodextrins; molecular recognition; inclusion complexes. INTRODUÇÃOAo longo das últimas décadas, as ciclodextrinas (CDs) vêm despertando grande interesse na comunidade científica e na química de macromoléculas, sendo descritas como "moléculas sedutoras, atraindo a atenção dos investigadores tanto no campo de pesquisa como no campo de tecnologias aplicadas" 1 . Szejtli afirmou que "dentre todas as moléculas receptoras em potencial, as CDs parecem ser as mais importantes" 2 . Tal afirmação deriva primordialmente do fato das mesmas, por pertencerem à família dos oligossacarídeos macrocíclicos, formarem complexos do tipo receptor-substrato servindo como um ambiente único para reações químicas 3 e possuírem a habilidade para formar complexos de inclusão com uma variedade de substâncias que têm suas propriedades alteradas pela complexação 4 . Por este motivo, as CDs vêm sendo muito utilizadas em produtos industriais, tecnológicos e em métodos analíticos. Como os efeitos tóxicos podem ser eliminados ou reduzidos pela seleção da CD apropriada, as CDs podem ser utilizadas como ingredientes de fármacos, em alimentos ou em cosméticos 2 . As CDs são formadas durante a ação de enzimas denominadas como CD glicosiltransferases (CGTases) sobre o amido 5 , sendo este o processo utilizado na produção industrial das mesmas. Usualmente, os polissacarídeos servem como precursores de oligos-sacarídeos cíclicos. Como resultado, a variedade de oligossacarídeos cíclicos naturais ou semi-sintéticos é limitada 6 . As mais importantes CDs apresentando ocorrência natural são as α-, β-e γ-CDs, que possuem 6, 7 e 8 monômeros de glicose, respectivamente (Figura 1). As características estruturais das mesmas são conhecidas com base em investigações por cristalografia de raios-X no estado sólido e por estudos de RMN em solução. Estas moléculas possuem forma assemelhada a um cone, com uma cavidade de 7,9 Å de profundidade. Os diâmetros superior e inferior da cavidade das CDs são 4,7 e 5,3 Å para a α-CD, 6,0 e 6,5 Å para a β-CD e 7,5 e 8,3 Å para a γ-CD 7. As CDs modificadas surgiram a partir da tentativa de alterar ou melhorar suas estruturas a fim de obter complexos de inclusão adequados a vários setores, como industrial, alimentício e farmacêutico 8 , e...

A theoretical approach is described t o rationalize and predict the solvatochromic behaviour of vinylogous y-pyridones. The theoretical curves obtained are shown t o reproduce the experimental UV-VIS spectroscopic behaviour of dyes 1, 2, 3 and 5. The model reconciles previous conflicting reports on the solvatochromism of these and related dyes.Solvatochromic dyes generally exhibit steady bathochromic (positive solvatochromism) or hypsochromic shifts (negative solvatochromism) in solution, as polarity of the medium is increased. Some dyes may change their behaviour in solution with a change of solvent, and revert the sign of their solvatochromic shifts at a given polarity. Compound 1 is generally Paper 4/05332J

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The fluorescence-based solvatochromism (fluorosolvatochromism) of 4-[(1-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinylidene)-ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (Brooker's merocyanine) was studied. The results revealed that the fluorescence emission band of the dye was dependent on the medium (lambda(fl)(max)= 573 nm in water and lambda(fl)(max)=622 nm in DMF). The fluorescence quantum yields (phi (f)) were calculated for the dye in the solvents investigated. Low phi (f) values ( < 10%) were obtained for the dye and in order to better comprehend the radiative and nonradiative decay processes of this dye, its fluorescence lifetime in methanol was measured and was found to be very short (230 ps). The results suggest that the dye in the excited state decays rapidly through nonradiative processes. The behavior of the probe in binary mixtures including a hydrogen-bond accepting solvent (acetonitrile, N,N-dimethylformamide, and dimethylsulfoxide) and a hydroxylic solvent (water, methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol, and butan-1-ol) was also investigated. All data were successfully fitted to a model based on solvent exchange equilibria, which allowed the separation of the different contributions of the solvent species in the solvation shell of the dye. The data obtained for the mixed solvents were explained based on solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions.

In this easy and versatile experiment, undergraduate students of experimental physical chemistry can discuss the concept of media polarity on the basis of the solvatochromic approach. Two solvatochromic dyes, Reichardt's betaine 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-1-pyridinio)-1-phenoxide and Brooker's merocyanine 4-[(1-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinylidene)ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one were used to construct polarity scales for various solvents by means of visual observation and UV-vis spectroscopy. Changes in media polarity arising from mixed solvents or added electrolytes are also easily demonstrated. The data are used to justify kinetic and spectroscopic parameters.

The rate constants of the S(N)2 reaction of sodium 4-nitrophenoxide (1) and iodomethane were determined by UV-visible spectrophotometry in acetone-water mixtures at 25, 30, and 35 degrees C. The rate-Xwater (mole fraction of water) profile shows that the reaction depends strongly on the medium. The fastest rate constant was obtained in pure acetone, and a minimum occurred at Xwater= 0.4, whereas the observed second-order rate constants increases again in the water-rich region. In pure acetone, in the presence of dicyclohexano-[18]-crown-6, increases linearly with the concentration of the crown ether as a result of the complexation of the sodium ion (KS = 104.8 M) of the ion-pair and the increase in the effective concentration of free 4-nitrophenoxide ion, which was assumed to be the only reactive species. Ion-pairing was also detected at Xwater= 0.65 with a dissociation constant Kd = 7.82 x 10(-4) M(-1). The solvatochromic behaviors of 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl-1-pyridinio)-1-phenoxide (2), 4-[(1-methyl-4(1H)-pyridinylidene)ethylidene]-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (3), and 1-methyl-8-oxy-quinolinium betaine (4) were investigated in the entire range of acetone-water mixtures. The dyes presented an increasing order of hydrophilicity compatible with their chemical structure, i.e., 2 < 3 < 4. Kinetic parameters for the methylation of 1 and the ET values of the dyes show a linear correlation of the polarity in the region of Xwater = 1.0-0.40 for 3 and 4, and it was observed that the more hydrophilic the dye the better the correlation coefficient, because of the structural similarity with 1. The activation parameter-Xwater profile shows extrema at Xwater < 0.4, reflecting an important change in the structure of the solvent that is responsible for the changes in the solvation of the reactive species including ion-pairs. These results suggest that the addition of water to acetone reduces abruptly the rate of substitution due to the preferential solvation (PS) of the phenoxide ion by the hydrogen-bonding donor (HBD) solvent. Nevertheless, the real second-order rate constant is "masked" by the association involving Na+ and 4-nitrophenoxide that extends even to water-rich mixtures. A model, based on the assumption that the free-energy terms involved in the second-order rate constant and the dissociation constant of the ion-pair have two components, is invoked to explain the kinetic data. One of the components depends on electrostatic interactions for which the main variable is the dielectric constant of the solvent mixture, and the other depends on the specific solute-solvent interactions, expressed by the activity coefficients of transfer of the species involved. The model indicates that in the range of Xwater = 1.0-0.40 the interactions are exclusively electrostatic, while for the rest of the acetone-rich region they are specific with a large contribution of the 4-nitrophenoxide ion.

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. The discussion based on surfactant cleaning action is commonly used in chemistry classrooms for the comprehension of theoretical concepts related to surface tension and micelle formation. The experimental quantification of surface tension of aqueous solutions of surfactants provides the practical instruments for this discussion. The present paper describes a simplification on the common apparatus employed for the dropweight method, making the determination of surface tension accessible to any chemistry lab. The surface tension of various liquids and the critical micelle concentration, CMC, of three commercial surfactants were measured with this modified method, and proved to be consistent with literature values.Keywords: surface tension; drop-weight method; theory/practice. INTRODUÇÃOA tensão superficial surge nos líquidos como resultado do desequilíbrio entre as forças agindo sobre as moléculas da superfície em relação àquelas que se encontram no interior da solução. As moléculas de qualquer líquido localizadas na interfase líquido-ar realizam um número menor de interações intermoleculares comparadas com as moléculas que se encontram no interior do líquido. A força resultante que atrai as moléculas da superfície de um líquido para o seu interior torna-se o principal obstáculo para a formação de bolhas, gotas e a nucleação de cristais em líquidos. Como estas forças de coesão tendem a diminuir a área superficial ocupada pelo líquido, observamos freqüentemente gotas adotarem a forma esféri-ca. Pela mesma razão ocorre a formação dos meniscos, e a conseqüente diferença de pressões através de superfícies curvas ocasiona o efeito denominado capilaridade. A esta força que atua na superfí-cie dos líquidos dá-se o nome de tensão superficial e, geralmente, quantifica-se a mesma determinando-se o trabalho necessário para aumentar a área superficial 1 . Em geral, as discussões em sala de aula sobre a importância da tensão superficial restringem-se a sua relação com o que se convencionou chamar de "molhabilidade". Assim, quanto menor a tensão superficial maior a facilidade para um líquido se espalhar. Entretanto, as implicações deste fenômeno são bem mais amplas e estão diretamente relacionadas a muitas situações industriais, como os processos de fermentação, formação de gelo durante o resfriamento de alimentos 2 e estabilidade de emulsões e espuma, bem como às funções vitais, como a tensão superficial nos pulmões. Neste último caso, os pulmões necessitam extrair o O 2 do ar e passá-lo à corrente sanguínea, e o fazem através da presença do surfactante pulmonar, fosfolipídios, que baixa sensivelmente a tensão superficial das paredes dos alvéolos, facilitando a difusão do oxigênio 3 . Da mesma forma, o processo de tingimento nas indústrias têxteis necessita da adição de uma substância que diminua a tensão superficial (um tensoativo) das soluções dos corantes, facilitando a interação destes com o tecido a ser tinto, e aumentando a umectação das fibras 4,5 . De fato, a aplicação de tensoativos, ou surfactantes, na indústria tê...