Blessed inventors
Unicamp researchers shine at the Governor’s Award
of the State with patents for the benefit of public health

CARLOS TIDEI

A new test for deafness of genetic origin, more accurate and rapid tests for the concentration of uric acid and dopamine in blood and urine, use of waste from incineration of hospital waste to produce sunscreens, a process for reusing catalysts in fine chemicals, effective products in combating some types of cancer, and cleaner and more functional drug formulation processes for controlling high blood pressure. These are inventions by Unicamp researchers who have been patented and won the State Governor's Award.

All patents result in great economic and social benefits with application in the area of ​​public health. Although the research has complicated titles (see table on the next page), they allowed the development of relatively simple and practical equipment or processes, which will offer a better quality of life for the entire society. Within the limit of two pages, we seek to convey to the reader the importance of the award-winning works.

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Small potentiometric sensor

The potentiometric sensor developed is a small device containing a plastic ring measuring less than a centimeter, with a core of material made up of glue and graphite and a hole through which a membrane made of synthetic material (EVA – ethylene-vinyl acetate) is inserted. doped with iron. This membrane is sensitive to detect uric acid and emits signals that are immediately deciphered by the equipment.

The exam result is instantaneous and its accuracy has been extensively tested. The proposed process, of potentiometric measurement to quantify excess uric acid in urine or blood serum, is unprecedented. It should replace more complicated and time-consuming tests. “Simple solutions are the best”, summarizes Lauro Tatsuo Kubota, professor at the Institute of Chemistry (IQ) at Unicamp and one of the researchers awarded for the invention. The equipment is mainly intended for use in clinical analysis laboratories and hospitals, but also in the chemical area, for analyzing pharmaceutical products. Excess uric acid in the human body is responsible for “gout” and other uncomfortable manifestations. The same system can be used to detect some other biomolecules, such as xanthines.

Another award-winning invention uses the same system, with changes in the device's core, for dopamine analysis. The membrane is made with a copper-based product and EVA or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with essential functions for the human nervous system. This new process also simplifies other more complicated processes used in medicine. “With the potentiometric sensor, you can either insert the miniaturized device into the body or perform the test on the blood after sampling”, explains Kubota.

The greatest use of the device, however, is to help uncover how the transmission of nerve impulses works and to look for the cause of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. It can also be used to monitor treatments for neurological diseases and in the analysis of components of pharmaceutical products that contain dopamine. Another interesting aspect is that these types of exams, and others that are being developed, can be grouped in series, providing in just one battery, and with the same material, several types of simultaneous results.

Optical Filter from hospital waste

Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FEM) at Unicamp discovered that waste from the treatment of hospital waste at the thermal plasma plant – a system used by the IPT (Institute for Technological Research) in São Paulo – can be reused for noble purposes, such as optical filters light protection (ultraviolet and infrared) and also as a thermal insulator.

The plasma system, which has a torch that reaches 10.000 degrees Celsius inside a closed reactor, is proven to be the most efficient means of eliminating the potential for contamination of hospital waste. Conventional treatment systems, such as incineration, do not eliminate heavy metals (which return to the water table) and release dioxin, a highly carcinogenic product.

The plasma plant, in turn, gasifies organic compounds that generate energy for heating systems, with zero pollutant emissions, and offers two other easily separable and totally inert products: ferrous material, which is reused by metallurgical plants, and ceramic material, which until now had no targeted application and only served to increase the volume of asphalt or raw materials for civil construction.

“We discovered that a very cheap material, practically thrown away, has high commercial value”, highlights Carlos Kenichi Suzuki, professor at FEM and one of the authors of the patent developed in collaboration with doctors Raul Fernando Cuevas and Paulo Henrique de Godoy, also from Unicamp. , and professor Roberto Nunes Szente, from IPT.
During studies of ceramic glass, a shiny and very hard material, it was found that it has optical properties with an absorption spectrum identical to that of optical filters, a commercial product with high added value and used to absorb ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation. Additionally, it serves as a shield to conserve thermal energy.

The most common application of ceramic glass is in protective mask displays for welding with torches. If its application is considered on a large scale, it can reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation caused by ozone holes, which causes skin cancer. “We are now studying the possibility of transforming this product into powder, to be used as a sunscreen in the form of a lotion, as it has been proven that the material is inert”, adds Suzuki.

Reuse of catalysts

This process simplifies catalyst separation methods used in fine chemicals, allowing their reuse in industrial production. A classic case of using a catalyst is the manufacture of margarine, prepared from vegetable oil (soy, for example), with the cream obtained through a chemical process. “The catalyst controls the process and favors the formation of the desired product”, explains Professor Watson Loh, from the Department of Physical Chemistry at Unicamp, one of the authors of the patent.

Because it is very specific, the catalyst has a high cost, despite the fact that its reuse is essential for the production process. There are several ways to recover catalysts and the originality of the patent lies in simplifying the processes with the same result. “Our invention is a process that can be adapted to various types of catalysts, much simpler, with less energy and time consumption, and consequently at a lower cost. We took advantage of an idea that already existed and the innovation lies in the ease of applying the process to an important problem”, says Loh. The method is applied in industries that use fine chemicals, such as food and pharmaceuticals, among others.

The separation of products is carried out by affinity, with the liquids physically divided, as happens when water and oil are put in a glass (they do not mix). “It is not possible to include water in the process, but the comparison is valid in terms of appearance. It is simple to recover the products and the catalyst separately”, explains the researcher. According to him, the pharmaceutical industry uses catalysts similar to those studied and could adhere to the developed process. “We have already tested three or four types of catalysts, the most common, and we are doing the same with others”, concludes Watson Loh.

To be continued ...