Roberto Rosal

University of Alcalá | UAH

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 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...

The morphological description of microplastic particles is mostly based on subjective descriptors. However, data intercomparison require 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 e...

This work reports the production of nanoplastics (NPs) from polypropylene (PP) free of the antioxidant Irgafos® 168 (IRG) and alkane oligomers (ALK). PP pellets were milled into a powder with particle sizes in the 100-500 μm range. Additives and oligomers were removed using dichloromethane, and the powder exposed to UV irradiation, followed by filt...

The threat of plastic pollution has escalated to unprecedented levels, with particular concern surrounding microplastics (MPs) and artificial fibers or particles (AFs) due to their wide distribution across ecosystems and their bioavailability to wildlife. Although research on the impact of plastic on wild birds is rapidly growing, knowledge of terr...

Imaging techniques play a crucial role in characterizing environmental plastics. However, most reported findings rely on two-dimensional projections of particles resting on flat surfaces. This limitation makes it challenging to accurately determine mass concentration, which is essential for deriving toxicologically relevant exposure data. The prima...

Microplastics (MPs) and artificial fibers (AFs) have been detected suspended tens of meters above ground level in the atmosphere, yet empirical data on them remain scarce. This study aimed to investigate the presence of MPs and AFs in the digestive and respiratory systems of two abundant bird species, the Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) and...

This investigation explored the presence of microplastics (MPs) and artificial cellulosic particles (ACPs) in commercial water marketed in single use 1.5 L poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles. In this work we determined a mass concentration of 1.61 (1.10–2.88) µg/L and 1.04 (0.43–1.82) µg/L for MPs and ACPs respectively in five top-selling brands...

Plastics, essential to contemporary living, have engendered environmental challenges characterized by the escalation of waste and the generation of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs). These diminutive plastic particles, represented by their small size, present substantial threats to ecosystems and human well-being. As plastic usage continue...

The pollution due to plastic and other anthropogenic particles has steadily increased over the last few decades, presenting a significant threat to the environment and organisms, including avian species. This research aimed to investigate the occurrence of anthropogenic pollutants in the digestive and respiratory systems of four birds of prey: Comm...

The understanding of microplastic degradation and its effects remains limited due to the absence of accurate analytical techniques for detecting and quantifying micro- and nanoplastics. In this study, we investigated the release of nanoplastics and small microplastics in water from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) greenhouse cover films under simula...

Dear Colleague, As the global community is increasingly recognizing the need for sustainable practices, the development and use of bioplastics have gained significant attention. Bioplastics, derived from renewable resources such as plants, microbes, or agricultural by-products, represent a promising alternative to traditional plastics derived from...

Nanoplastics have garnered significant global attention as emerging environmental contaminants due to their susceptibility to be internalized by organisms, potentially leading to higher ecological and health risks compared to microplastics. Recently, adsorption has emerged as a promising strategy for nanoplastic removal, and new adsorbents have dem...

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...

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...

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...

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...