Faculty of Philosophy Sciences and Letters of Ribeirão Preto
University of Sao Paulo
Research lines
Our research group has been developing chromatographic and electrophoretic methods (capillary electrophoresis) for the analysis of different analytes in different matrices. The main lines of research that we have been working on are listed below
In vitro metabolism study of natural products and chiral agrochemical
This line of research aims to study the metabolism of these compounds using "in vitro" models of analysis. We used hepatic microsomes from rats, humans and recombinant enzymes and evaluated the metabolic profile of the compound (which enzyme (s) are responsible for metabolism), determination of kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax), enzyme inhibition and drug interaction studies and in vivo prediction of some toxic / pharmacokinetic parameters. In addition, it also aims at the characterization and structural elucidation of possible formed metabolites, using for this purpose several analytical techniques, such as LC-MS / MS, HRMS / MS, GC-MS and NMR.
Miniaturized sample preparation techniques
Development of new miniaturized sample preparation procedures for the analysis of drugs and metabolites in different matrices (plasma, urine, culture medium, liver microsomes) using chromatographic or electrophoretic techniques. The main techniques developed are solid phase microextraction (SPME), liquid phase microextraction using hollow cylindrical membranes (HF-LPME) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME).
Enantioselective analysis of pharmacologically active metabolites using fungi in the biotransformation process
Development and validation methods for the enantioselective analysis of pharmacologically active and chiral metabolites using fungi in the biotransformation process and suggest a new way of obtaining such metabolites. The analytical techniques employed are: high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis.
