Infrastructure

LABORATORY INFRASTRUCTURE

The PPGCF have improved the research laboratory infrastructure: i) through the efforts of the professors, who have participated in public notices seeking funding, ii) through agencies such as CNPq, FAPEMIG and FINEP or iii) through institutional support. 

With assistance in the maintenance of multi-user equipment for the program and also for the acquisition of small and medium-sized equipment through public notices of support for research groups, which reflected in the improvement of quality for the development of research in all Graduate Programs of the Institution. 

The laboratories currently involved in the Program are described below:

1-Basic Microbiology and Immunology Laboratory – Enables research activities in Microbiology, Immunology, Mycology and activities associated with the preparation of practical classes. Main equipment: laminar flow hoods, ovens, optical microscopes, refrigerated microcentrifuges, orbital shaker, lyophiliser, electrophoresis vats/sources, thermostatic circulation bath, ultrasonic bath, thermocycler, UV-VIS spectrophotometer and CO2 oven;

2-Crystallography, Crystal Growth and Structural Chemistry Laboratories – Located on the Santa Clara Campus in Alfenas, it has the following equipment: Rigaku Denki automatic powder diffractometer with scintillation detector; Infrared spectrometer; TGA-DTA and DSC equipment (TA Instruments); Retsch high performance mill; Electro-magnetic stirrer and round sieves; Crystallization oven with controlled temperature; High performance servers; Optical microscope, magnifying glass with polarized light; Electrolab® TDT-08 L dissolution apparatus; Shimadzu® liquid chromatograph, model LC-20AD; Shimadzu® UV/Vis Spectrophotometers, models 1601PC and 2001PC; Temperature-controlled agitator chamber. Software: License to use the CSD and its related software; MATCH Software – Phase Identification from Powder Diffraction; GOLD/SILVER Software (GOLD 3.0.1); Complete set of software used in crystallographic analysis.

3-Laboratory of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (LAFEC) – It deals with pre-clinical research projects related to the pharmacology of the treatment of arterial hypertension and diabetes; therapeutic strategies for addiction to drugs of abuse. Main equipment: equipment for behavioral tests (open field and elevated plus maze), camera for image acquisition used in behavioral tests, analytical balance, semi-analytical balance, pH meter, vortex, sample homogenizer, water bath. ImageQUANT LAS 500 image scanner – GE Healthcare®, Hexport® flake ice machine – 50 kg/day capacity, Heated magnetic stirrer, BioRad® Western blot (electrophoresis and transfer) equipment, Purispin 17 model Cryste refrigerated centrifuge, Refrigerator.

4-Research Laboratory in Medicinal Chemistry (PeQuiM) – It has basic infrastructure for the work of synthesis of bioactive substances. The Laboratory has 2 fume hoods, 1 oven, 1 inert gas and compressed air line, 1 ultrasound bath, 1 high-vacuum line, 2 rota-evaporators coupled to a vacuum system and closed circulation of chilled water, 1 freezer, 1 refrigerator, 1 UV light chamber, 2 scales, 1 gas drying system for procedures under inert atmosphere, 1 air conditioning system and 1 chiller system for cooling distillation systems. Attached to the laboratory, we have 1 shared study room, approximately 27 m2, for students equipped with internet, air conditioning, computer and printer.

5-Pharmaceutical Chemistry Research Laboratory (LQFar) – The activities of this laboratory are related to the development of research in the area of ​​planning, synthesis and characterization of potentially bioactive substances, mainly focused on the pharmaceutical area, but also on agrochemical applications. He is also interested in the development of new synthetic methodologies to obtain organic compounds of interest in these areas. The laboratory has an air-conditioned environment and has the following equipment and materials: stirring and heating plates, water baths, ovens, refrigerator, freezer, scales, computers for processing NMR and IR spectra and general use by students, microwave oven for synthesis, ultrasound reactor for synthesis, rotaevaporators, high vacuum pumps, five fume hoods, equipment for determining the melting point and an ultraviolet light chamber for the development of chromatograms. It also has special gases such as hydrogen and argon channeled directly into the workbench and reagents for the different types of organic reactions, in addition to all typical glassware for the procedures of synthesis, isolation and purification of organic substances. tantrums. In addition, it has access to and uses weekly the following multi-user equipment present at the Santa Clara Campus of UNIFAL-MG: 300 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and infrared absorption spectrometer with ATR device.

6-Laboratory of Analysis of Toxicants and Drugs (LATF) – It deals with the development of chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques for the identification of toxicants and their biotransformation products present in different matrices. Main equipment: security cabin, three gas chromatographs, one of which is coupled to a mass detector, three liquid chromatographs, one of which is coupled to a mass detector, water purifier (Milli Q), ultra freezer, sample concentrator/dryer, chemical safety, ultrasound baths, centrifuges and equipment necessary to carry out solid-phase extraction, solid-phase micro-extraction and liquid-phase micro-extraction techniques;

7-Clinical and Experimental Biochemistry Laboratory – This laboratory is used for the development of research activities related to the evaluation of biological activity of natural and synthetic products (pre-clinical assays) of interest for the treatment and/or prevention of stress-related disorders oxidative and nitrosative as inflammatory processes, diabetes, atherosclerosis, among others. This laboratory brings together areas located in Unit II (Santa Clara neighborhood), built with FINEP resources, with a cell culture room and a vivarium with an animal experimentation room in addition to two rooms located in Building C of the Headquarters. Main equipment: ventilated rack for maintenance of rats and mice, refrigerated centrifuge, Genesis 10 UV spectrophotometer (1), vacuum sample concentrator, Labmax Plenno automated biochemical analyzer, electrophoresis and western blotting system, automatic HPLC variant hemoglobin analyzer ( D-10, BioRad), laminar flow, CO2 oven, inverted microscope, Elisa reader and other equipment necessary for performing routine biochemical determinations.

8-Central Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (LACEN) – It is a complementary body of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences that, through the provision of services to the community for carrying out laboratory tests of the internal and external population of Unifal-MG, contributes to the realization of laboratory tests and supply of biological material (respecting ethical issues) for the development of research projects coordinated by PPGCF professors.

9- Drug Delivery Systems Research Laboratory (LSLF) – In this laboratory, research is carried out in the area of ​​drug development, especially new forms of drug delivery, including nanotechnology, and studies of new routes of administration. Main equipment: Vertical diffusion cell – (Hanson) for in vitro skin permeation and release assays, tablet and capsule dissolution device, liquid chromatograph, Particle size and zeta potential analyzer – Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern), system (Milli-Q), chemical safety hood, ultrasonic bath, ultra-turrax stirrer, centrifuge, oven and scales.

10-Quality Control Core Laboratory – NCQ-FCF/UNIFAL-MG: This laboratory is qualified to perform Pharmaceutical Equivalence of Generic Candidate Drugs through physical-chemical tests of solid, semi-solid dosage forms; liquids and microbiological assays for non-sterile products. The NCQ is duly licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply for quality control activity with physical-chemical and microbiological analyzes for veterinary pharmaceutical products. The main equipment available are: – Differential Scanning Calorimeter DSC3500, Netzsch; New ethics disintegrator, model 3013; – Novaética Disintegrator, model 3013 (Vargem Grande paulista, SP, Brazil).- DissolutorsElectrolab ® models TDT-08 L and EDT-08LX (n=8), comsinkers (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). – Nova Ethics Durometer, model 298 AATS (Vargem Grande São Paulo, SP, Brazil).- Shimadzu ® Fourier Transform infrared spectrophotometer, Affinity-1 model coupled with attenuated total reflectance sampling accessory.-Spectrophotometer in the UV/ Vis Shimadzu®, model UV-1601 PC (Kyoto, Japan). – Shimadzu® UV/Vis region spectrophotometer, model UV-1601 PC (Kyoto, Japan). – Ethiktechnology Greenhouse, model 400-2 ND (Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil). – Nova Ethics Friabilometer, model 300-1 (Vargem Grande paulista, SP, Brazil). – MARCONI Shaking Table, model MA420 (Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil).- UV/Vis spectrophotometers, models 1601PC and 2001PC; Liquid chromatography system, LC-10 A series with CLASS-VP integration system, LC-Advp pump, DGU degasser, injmanual etor 7725i, UV detector spd-10avp/ automatic injector/ DAD detector model spd-M10avp, oven CTO-10Avp and controller SCL-10Avp. – Shimadzu (Kyoto, Japan) LC-10A HPLC liquid chromatography system with pump, LC-20AD, CTO 20-A oven, DGU-20A degasser, DAD to SPD-MD20A detector, SIL-20-AC auto-injector HT and CBM-20A controller. – Gehaka® water purification system, model 10 LTH reverse osmosis (São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil).

11-Laboratory of Oxidative Stress and Macromolecule Chemistry – Allows carrying out research in the basic area of ​​Biochemistry. Main equipment: high efficiency liquid chromatograph (HPLC, Shimadzu brand, Prominence model), coupled to DAD, fluorescence and electrochemical detectors; equipment for carrying out cell culture (cellular incubator with continuous flow of CO2/O2, water purification system, three UV-VIS spectrophotometers, one of which for enzymatic kinetic analysis, two complete equipment for vertical protein electrophoresis in SDS- PAGE and corresponding systems for analysis by western blotting, spectrofluorimeter, luminometer, ovens and centrifuges.

12-Laboratory of Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapics – Allows for carrying out research activities in the areas of obtaining and analyzing phytotherapics, plant genetics and cytogenetics, biotechnology and plant physiology and ecotoxicology. Main equipment: freeze dryers, chemical safety hood, spray dryer, ovens, muffles, rotoevaporator, BOD growth chambers, light microscopes and stereomicroscopes.

13-Laboratory of Analysis and Characterization of Drugs (LACFar) – Develops research and analysis in the area of ​​characterization of drugs and formulations, especially in the development of new methodologies for quality control and stability studies in polymorphs and biopharmaceuticals Main equipment: Calorimeter DSC- 7020 EXSTAR, TG-DTA-7300 Thermobalance, UPLC liquid chromatograph, FT-IR spectrometer with ATR, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, water ultrapurifier (Milli-Q) and analytical balance.

14-Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Microorganisms – Allows research in the field of Molecular Biology of different microbial groups, aiming at the elucidation of factors associated with virulence, drug resistance mechanisms, the evaluation of the activity of new drugs and possible mechanisms of action , in addition to identifying new strains. Among the main equipment there are thermocyclers, refrigerated centrifuge, laminar flow chamber, BOD incubator, vat and source for electrophoresis and transilluminator, water purification system.

15-Bioprocess Laboratory – It is responsible for the isolation and selection of microbial strains from natural products (soil and plant samples) for the evaluation of their ability to produce bioactive compounds with antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative activity and enzymes of industrial interest . Main equipment: laminar flow chambers, CO2 incubator, centrifuge, spectrophotometer, optical microscopes, orbital shaking incubators, autoclaves, incubator oven, BOD incubators, rotoevaporator and liquid cooler;

16-Laboratory of Cosmetic Technology – Responsible for conducting research in the development of cosmetic products. Main equipment: rheometer, ovens, centrifuge, pH meters, conductivity meters and agitators.

17-Laboratory of Immunopathology of Mycoses – The laboratory has two laminar flows, a CO2 oven, greenhouses, one of which is CO2, centrifuge for Eppendorf tubes, phase microscope with image acquisition system, filtration systems for culture media , computers, ELISA reader, automatic plate washer, stereoscopic magnifying glass, inverted microscope, -20oC freezers, refrigerators, scales, being an analytical one, water baths, agitators, shaker for the cultivation of microorganisms, potentiometer, microwave oven, other equipment smaller. 

COMPUTER INFRASTRUCTURE

Of the laboratories that serve the Graduate Program, UNIFAL-MG has the Molecular Modeling and Computational Simulation Laboratory / MolModCS, which has 11 computers connected in a network, with i7 hardware configuration with 1Tb HD with 16 Gb RAM. These computers are in their own air-conditioned infrastructure, in a 55 m2 room, serving postgraduate students with research activities, focused on genomics and medicinal chemistry, with bioinformatics and molecular modeling software for the analysis of genomic sequencing and proteomic data, using structural bioinformatics for design and discovery of new drug prototype candidates, molecular homology modeling (MODELLER software), protein-protein and protein-ligand docking (AutoDock Vina and Maestro), Molecular Dynamics ( GROMACS software), as well as countless other small bioinformatics software ca and computational chemistry.In addition to this laboratory, there are other computer labs linked to courses in letters, geography, mathematics, computing and inclusive practices. The PPGCF uses one of these laboratories – the Epidemiology Laboratory – for the discipline of Biostatistics. These laboratories have 22 computers connected to the internet and with the SSPS and Statistical R software. In 2018, 7 teaching laboratories were updated, either by installing new computers or upgrading existing ones (https://www.unifal-mg. edu.br/nti/). Also, in addition to the local structure, there is the provision of remote access, via VPN to be used to access UNIFAL-MG’s Information Technology resources and access to the Capes Portal (http://www.unifal-mg.edu.br /nti/installationguideutilizacaovpn). 

LIBRARY INFRASTRUCTURE

Currently, UNIFAL-MG’s Integrated Library System is composed of four libraries, namely: Central Library (Headquarters); Library of the Educational Unit (Santa Clara Campus); Poços de Caldas Campus Library and Varginha Campus Library.The Central Library, located on the main campus, in Alfenas, with 2,661m² of built area, 1,703m² on the ground floor and 958m² on the mezzanine (study area). It has a capacity of 300 seats, 5 rooms for group study. Users also have, as a source of research, a Computer Laboratory with 39 computers connected to the INTERNET and a reprographic service. It has in its collection more than 96 thousand copies, including books, dissertations and theses, foreign and national periodicals and special materials (CD, CD-Rom, DVD, etc.). The Library of the Educational Unit – Alfenas, occupies its own building with 200m², capacity for 60 seats, 1 (one) group study room. It has 4,138 copies of books, making a total of 873 titles.With the collection automated by the SophiA Biblioteca Advanced Version software, the Libraries serve more than 4000 registered users, including undergraduate and graduate students, professors and UNIFAL-MG employees. Users also have, as a source of research, a Computer Laboratory with 39 computers connected to the INTERNET. Access to the local consultation, study area, computer lab and photocopying is also open to the entire external community. The Libraries, on their website, offer collection consultation, renewal and reservation services, information on functioning, staff, user guide, links directed to scientific research. They provide access to the Standardization Manual for the Elaboration of Academic Works, Dissertations and Theses of UNIFAL-MG.

They have the following cooperative services and agreements:

  • BIREME – Latin American and Caribbean Center for Health Sciences Information
  • IBICT – Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD)
  • IBICT – National Collective Catalog of Serial Publications (CCN)
  • Bibliographic Commutation Program (COMUT)
  • Capes Periodicals Portal
  • BIBLIODATA Network (FGV) – Cooperative Network of Brazilian Libraries.
  • Website: http://www.unifal-mg.edu.br/bibliotecas/