Roberto Rosal

University of Alcalá | UAH

This work studied the occurrence of microplastics in primary and secondary effluents and mixed sludge of a WWTP as well as in processed heat-dried sludge marketed as soil amendment. Sampled microparticles were divided into fragments and fibres, the latter defined as those with cylindrical shape and length to diameter ratio >3. We showed the presenc...

Nowadays, there is no direct evidence about the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere above ground level. Here, we investigated the occurrence, chemical composition, shape, and size of MPs in aircraft sampling campaigns flying within and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The results showed that MPs were present with concentratio...

The morphological description of microplastic particles is mostly based on subjective descriptors. However, data intercomparison requires unambiguous classifications. This work presents a morphological description based on the lengths of the smallest enclosing orthogonal parallelepiped. Three dimensionless parameters, namely equancy, platiness and...

Plastic litter dispersed in the different environmental compartments represents one of the most concerning problems associated with human activities. Specifically, plastic particles in the micro and nano size scale are ubiquitous and represent a threat to human health and the environment. In the last few decades, a huge amount of research has been...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in drinking water in Spain by comparing tap water from different locations using common sampling and identification procedures. We sampled tap water from 24 points in 8 different locations from continental Spain and the Canary Islands by means of 25 μm opening size s...

Plastic production continues to increase every year, yet it is widely acknowledged that a significant portion of this material ends up in ecosystems as microplastics (MPs). Among all the environmental compartments affected by MPs, the atmosphere remains the least well-known. Here, we conducted a one-year simultaneous monitoring of atmospheric MPs d...

Mismanaged plastic litter submitted to environmental conditions may breakdown into smaller fragments, eventually reaching nano-scale particles (nanoplastics, NPLs). In this study, pristine beads of four different types of polymers, three oil-based (polypropylene, PP; polystyrene, PS; and low-density polyethylene, LDPE) and one bio-based (polylactic...

In this work, a Co3O4 coating prepared by precipitation and vacuum filtration was applied to photoactivate peroxymonosulfate (PMS), for the degradation of imidacloprid (IMD) under continuous-flow conditions. The effects of PMS concentration, flow rate, and type of irradiation were evaluated. Under optimal conditions (0.2 gPMS L-1, 0.1 mL min-1, and...

Farmlands represent a source of aged plastics and pesticides to the surrounding environments. It has been shown that chemicals can be sorbed and desorbed from plastics, but the interaction between plastic and mixtures of pesticides and their effects on freshwater biota has not been assessed yet. The aim of the work was to assess the potential role...

A series of robust octahedral bimetallic metal-organic frameworks, NH2-UiO-66(Zr/M), denoted as Zr/M-ATA, (where M is Fe, Co, or Cu) were prepared by solvothermal de novo reaction of 2-aminoterephthalic acid (denoted as H2ATA) and mixed metal salts using benzoic acid as a modulator. Photocatalytic studies revealed that Zr/Fe-ATA, Zr/Cu-ATA and Zr/C...

This study aimed at evaluating the influence of biofilm in the role of microplastics (MPs) as vectors of pollutants and their impact on Daphnia magna. To do this, virgin polyethylene MPs, (PE-MPs, 40–48 μm) were exposed for four weeks to wastewater (WW) from influent and effluent to promote biofouling. Then, the exposed PE-MPs were put in contact w...

The plastisphere has been widely studied in the oceans; however, there is little information on how living organisms interact with the plastisphere in freshwater ecosystems, and particularly on how this interaction changes over time. We have characterized, over one year, the evolution of the eukaryotic and bacterial communities colonizing four ever...

Metal-free carbon nitride-based membranes were prepared by embedding bulk or exfoliated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) photocatalysts in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix. Supported membranes were also fabricated by immobilising these photocatalysts on a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate. The membranes were tested for venlafaxine (V...

Surface microbial colonization and its potential biofilm formation are currently a major unsolved problem, causing almost 75% of human infectious diseases. Pathogenic biofilms are capable of surviving high antibiotic doses, resulting in inefficient treatments and, subsequently, raised infection prevalence rates. Antibacterial coatings have become a...

In this work, we used palladium-doped polystyrene NPLs (PS-NPLs with a primary size of 286 ± 4 nm) with an irregular surface morphology which allowed for particle tracking and evaluation of their toxicity on two primary producers (cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC7120 and green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and one primary consumer (crustacean,...

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used as reservoirs of metal ions with relevant antibacterial effects. Here, two novel Zn-based MOFs with the formulas [Zn4(μ4-O)(μ-FA)L2] (GR-MOF-8) and [Zn4(μ4-O)L2(H2O)] (GR-MOF-9) (H3L: 5-((4-carboxyphenyl)ethynyl) in isophthalic acid and FA (formate anion) were solvothermally synthetized and fully characte...

The fragmentation of plastic litter into smaller fragments, known as microplastics and nanoplastics, as well as their toxicity and environmental distribution have become issues of high concern. Furthermore, the popularization of bioplastics as a greener substitute of conventional plastics represents a challenge for the scientific community in view...

The increase of plastic waste in the environment is a serious environmental concern. After plastics are discarded and abandoned, they do not remain stationary. Instead, they can be indefinitely transferred between different habitats (such as soil, river, ocean etc.). Plastics have several ecotoxicological impacts; one of the most unexpected is that...

Pesticides are agrochemical compounds used to kill pests (insects, rodents, fungi, or unwanted plants), which are key to meet the world food demand. Regrettably, some important issues associated with their widespread/extensive use (contamination, bioaccumulation, and development of pest resistances) demand a reduction in the amount of pesticide app...

Bioplastics are thought as a safe substitute of non-biodegradable polymers. However, once released in the environment, biodegradation may be very slow, and they also suffer abiotic fragmentation processes, which may give rise to different fractions of polymer sizes. We present novel data on abiotic hydrolytic degradation of polycaprolactone (PCL),...

There is an increasing need for photocatalytic materials capable to remove pollutants and to deactivate microorganisms for a wide range of applications. Here we report the preparation of fly ash-based zeolite material in which ZnO was incorporating using an alkaline hydrothermal method. The zeolitic materials were used to functionalized glass subst...

The generation of small fragments from the environmental ageing of microplastics (MPs) is still a poorly known process. This work addresses the fragmentation of MPs obtained from marine debris consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene (PE and PP in environmental mixture) and polystyrene (PS) after exposure to accelerated ageing by irradiation an...

This work investigated the structural and chemical changes of plastics undergoing accelerated ageing upon irradiation that simulated the ultraviolet component of solar radiation for a five-year period. The plastics selected were polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) microplastic debris sampled from a sandy beach as well as pure pellets and fragm...

Current knowledge on the capacity of plastics as vectors of microorganisms and their ability to transfer microorganisms between different habitats (i.e. air, soil and river) is limited. The objective of this study was to characterise the evolution of the bacterial community adhered to environmental plastics [low-density polyethylene (LDPE)] across...

The knowledge about the interaction of nanoplastics with other aquatic pollutants and their combined effects on biota is very scarce. In this work, we studied the interaction between polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs) (30 nm) and the micropollutants in a biologically treated wastewater effluent (WW). The capacity of PS NPs to sorb micropollutants wa...

The pollution due to the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is a major cause for concern because of the serious threat it supposes to human health and ecosystem functions. Many efforts have been geared toward their removal to guarantee safer freshwater. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline hybrid materials with high surf...

Ingestion of microplastics by aquatic organisms is often harmful due to the dilution of their regular food with low-calorie microplastic particles, but can also be beneficial if nutritious biofilms are present on the microplastic surface. This begs the question: is ingestion of microplastic harmful or beneficial and can the net effect of the two me...

Infectious diseases are still a major cause of death worldwide. One way of fighting against infectious agents is to develop intrinsically antimicrobial materials to reduce the risk of pathogen spreading through contact with surfaces. Photoactive coatings offer the possibility to produce long-lasting antimicrobial surfaces that destroy microorganism...

Two synthesized zirconium-based Metal-Organic Frameworks (Zr-MOFs), using 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (NDC) and amino-functionalized NDC (4,8-diaminonaphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, NDC-2NH2) as linkers, have been studied in photoelectrocatalytic disinfection processes. The Zr-based MOFs were deposited onto graphite paper and were deeply ana...

Composted Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) is used in agricultural soils as a source of organic matter and nutrients. Besides, its use avoids landfilling or incineration following the principles of circular economy. It is well established that source separated OFMSW is suitable for compost production, but its quality depends on the...

In this work, we studied the hydrolytic and photochemical degradation of three low-density polyethylene (LDPE) materials, within the size range of microplastics (MP). The MPs were exposed to mechanical agitation and UV irradiation equivalent to one year of solar UVB + UVA in a stirred photoreactor. Flow cytometry was used to track the formation of...

Microbial contamination is a challenging concern due to the health threat caused by infections. Therefore, the development of efficient antimicrobial materials and processes is a crucial need for disinfecting water and surfaces. In this study, electrospray was used to prepare composite photoanodes for photoelectrodisinfection. Titanium dioxide (TiO...

The amount of plastics produced per year is in constant growth alongside their use in different sectors like the textile industry, agriculture or, more recently, in nanotechnology. Under certain environmental conditions, plastics break down into smaller pieces. Those plastics in the nanosize range are the most difficult to identify, quantify and re...

Plastics have been found in several compartments in Antarctica. However, there is currently no evidence of their presence on Antarctic glaciers. Our pilot study investigated plastic occurrence on two ice surfaces (one area around Uruguay Lake and another one around Ionosferico Lake) that constitute part of the ablation zone of Collins Glacier (King...

Microplastics (MPs) have been found everywhere as they are easily transported between environmental compartments. Through their transport, MPs are quickly colonized by microorganisms; this microbial community is known as the plastisphere. Here, we characterized the plastisphere of three MPs, one biodegradable (PHB) and two non-biodegradables (HDPE...

This work reports the use of conjugated polymer nanostructures (CPNs) as photoactivated antimicrobial compounds against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. Two representative CPNs of polythiophene (PEDOT) and polyaniline (PANI) were prepared as nanofibres with an average diameter of 40 nm and length in the micrometer range. Both CPNs ex...

The antimicrobial lysozyme (Lys) was electrostatically incorporated to negatively charged crosslinked poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (c-PGMA) macromolecular assemblies. The resulting material was characterized by AFM, infrared spectra, water contact angle measurements and the staining with the primary amino specific dye fluorescamine. c-PGMA nanoparti...

In this work, the antibacterial activity of the polymeric precursor dicarbonyldichlororuthenium has been studied against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This Ru carbonyl precursor shows minimum inhibitory concentration at nanogram per millilitre, which renders it a novel antimicrobial polymer without any organic ligands. Besides, dicarb...

Despite the large number of recent studies on microplastics (MPs) and their ability to act as carriers of pollutants, the knowledge about the biological effects of MPs loaded with chemicals is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of MPs as vectors for the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS). For it, we tested low-density polyethyle...

Microbial colonization of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems is a well-known phenomenon; however, there is insufficient knowledge of the early colonization phase. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents have been proposed as important pathways for MPs entry and transport in aquatic environments and are hotspots of bacterial pathogens and...

The physical-chemical properties of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers give them attractive qualities for multiple applications, including biomedical purposes. Their use has significantly increased in recent years, and there is currently a lack of information on their potential adverse effects on biological systems, which raises particular concerns...

Infectious diseases of humans and wildlife are increasing globally but the contribution of novel artificial anthropogenic entities such as nano-sized plastics to disease dynamics remain unknown. Despite mounting evidence for the adverse effects of nanoplastics (NPs) on single organisms, it is unclear whether and how they affect the interaction betw...

Ruthenium coordination compounds have demonstrated a promising anticancer and antibacterial activity, but their poor water solubility and low stability under physiological conditions may limit their therapeutic applications. Physical encapsulation or covalent conjugation with polymers may overcome these drawbacks, but generally involve multistep re...

Microplastics are ubiquitous and their sampling is a difficult task. Honeybees interact with the environment inside their foraging range and take pollutants with them. In this work, we demonstrated for the first time that worker bees can act as active samplers of microplastics. We collected honeybees from apiaries located in the centre of Copenhage...

Microplastics have been found in all environmental compartments investigated so far, even reaching remote areas. However, their presence in Antarctic freshwaters has not been yet reported. Here, we investigated the occurrence of microplastics in a stream from an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island-ASPA No. 126), w...

Water pollution due to microplastics (MPs) is recognized as a major anthropogenic impact. Once MPs reach the ecosystems, they are exposed to a variety of other pollutants, which can be sorbed on them, transported and eventually desorbed. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that MPs can behave as conveyors for delivering chemicals toxic to aquati...

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this tra...

Plastics have been found in marine water and sediments, sea ice, marine invertebrates, and penguins in Antarctica; however, there is no evidence of their presence in Antarctic glaciers. Our pilot study investigated plastic occurrence on two ice surfaces that constitute part of the ablation zone of Collins Glacier (King George Island, Antarctica). O...

Fibers are found in all environments. However, the impact of their presence on ecosystems and human health is not yet well understood, especially in the case of the atmosphere. In this work, we presented evidence that fibers traveling through the atmosphere act as vectors to spread microorganisms. Here, we investigated the presence of viable microo...

Highly efficient photoactive antimicrobial coatings were obtained using zinc oxide-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (ZnO-rGO). Their remarkable antibacterial activity and high stability demonstrated their potential use for photoactive biocide surfaces. ZnO-rGO nanocomposites were prepared by sol-gel technique to create photocatalytic surfaces...

The demand for new water resources has been increasing worldwide due to the growing global population and industrialization. Membranes play a central role in water purification processes with continuous technology improvements, new uses and cost reductions. Phase inversion is the most commonly used technique for preparing polymeric membranes. Howev...

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) ultrafiltration membranes with improved antifouling and antibiofouling properties were prepared by non-solvent induced phase inversion using a hyperbranched polyamidoamine as additive. PVC reacted into the casting solution with the commercial polyamidoamine nanomaterial Helux-3316 by means of a nucleophilic substitution r...

We studied the occurrence of microplastics in sediments of artificially and non-artificially recharged lagoons from the network of endorheic wetlands called “La Mancha Húmeda”, declared Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The particles sampled in this study covered the 25 μm–5 mm range. Films were the dominant microplastic typology in non-artificially rec...

We investigated the presence of microplastics and other anthropogenic litter in the sediments adhered to rocks of an Arctic freshwater lake at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard Archipelago, 78°N; 11°E). Most of the sampled microparticles were fibers (>90%). The identification of polymer types and additives was performed by combining three spectroscopic techniqu...

The relevant information about the impacts caused by presence of emerging pollutants in mixtures on the ecological environment, especially on the more vulnerable compartments such as activated sludge (AS) is relatively limited. This study investigated the effect of ibuprofen (IBU) and triclosan (TCS), alone and in combination to the performance and...

The development of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for bio-applications has gained great relevance over the last years, mainly due to their potential as drug carriers and/or imaging agents. Although the bioactive azelaic acid has also been widely used as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drug, it presents low solubility, being of utmost import...

Due to their ecological relevance, low cost, and easy maintenance, cyanobacteria have been used for bioreporter development. In this study, a battery of cyanobacterial bioreporters has been used to assess the ecotoxicity of four highly used metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The toxicity of these NPs was tested using the bioreporter Nostoc CPB4337 (Anab...

Surface biofilm inhibition is still currently a considerable challenge. Among other organisms, Staphylococcus aureus is notable for its ability to form a strong biofilm with proved resistance to chemotherapy. Contamination of high-touch surfaces with S. aureus biofilm not only promotes disease spread but also generates tremendous health-associated...

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) have been widely studied for different biomedical and environmental applications. In this study we evaluated the toxicity and potential alterations of relevant physiological parameters caused to the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) upon exposure to SPION. The results showed dose...

Carbon-based nanomaterials exhibit unique properties that make them suitable for a wide variety of industrial and biomedical applications. In this work, we studied the acute toxicity of graphite-diamond nanoparticles (GDN) combined with the fungicide thiabendazole (TBZ) to the immobilization of the cladoceran Daphnia magna in the presence and absen...

Due to the wide range of applications of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs), a risk assessment of their biological effects using environmentally relevant species becomes highly important. There are contradictory reports on the effects of CeO2NPs, which may be related to the use of different types of nanoparticles (NPs) and coatings. CeO2NPs may a...