Papers

Electronic Tongues and Noses: A General Overview

This overview describes electronic tongue and nose devices that use sensor arrays to detect chemicals in food, water, and air more quickly than traditional lab testing. While not specifically about microplastics, these sensor technologies could be adapted to help monitor water quality and detect plastic-related contaminants that affect human health.

Microplastic Identification Using Impedance Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Algorithms

Scientists developed a new method to detect and classify microplastics in water using electrical measurements and machine learning. The system can identify different sizes of PET microplastic particles with high accuracy, offering a potential tool for real-time water quality monitoring. Better detection methods like this are important for understanding how much microplastic contamination exists in drinking water and other water sources.

Impact of Microplastic Ingestion on Commercial Fish: A Trophic-Level Analysis

Researchers analyzed over 1,600 fish from two Colombian estuaries and found a significant link between a fish species' position in the food chain and the amount of microplastics it ingests. Fish that feed at higher levels of the food web accumulated more microplastics, and those that had ingested plastics showed signs of poorer body condition. The findings highlight how microplastics build up through the marine food chain, with potential consequences for both ecosystem and human health.

Widespread microplastic ingestion in Colombian Caribbean marine fish: Trophic influence, spatial-temporal trends, and polymer composition

Researchers examined three commercially important fish species from the Colombian Caribbean and found microplastics in over 82% of individuals across both continental and island waters. Fiber and fragment shapes were the most common types, with higher concentrations found in coastal areas and during the wet season. The findings suggest that microplastic ingestion is widespread among Caribbean fish, with potential implications for seafood consumers in the region.

Removal of emerging contaminants from wastewater using advanced treatments. A review

Production of Starch-Based Flexible Food Packaging in Developing Countries: Analysis of the Processes, Challenges, and Requirements

This review examines the full production process for biodegradable starch-based food packaging, from raw material preparation through industrial-scale molding to storage. The authors focus on challenges particularly relevant to developing countries, where single-use plastic packaging dominates food industries despite rich biodiversity and agricultural resources. The study highlights that improving moisture resistance and scaling production are key barriers to replacing conventional plastic packaging with starch-based alternatives.

Worldwide cases of water pollution by emerging contaminants: a review

Mercury in Neotropical birds: a synthesis and prospectus on 13 years of exposure data

Researchers compiled the largest database of mercury contamination in Neotropical birds (2,316 samples across 322 species and 9 countries), finding that birds near artisanal gold mining sites had mercury levels more than four times higher than elsewhere — raising serious conservation concerns for the world's most biodiverse region.

Characterization of microplastics in human placenta in Manizales (Colombia): effects of sampling, placental anatomy, and digestion reagent

Impacto en la salud causado por los nanoplásticos contenidos en alimentos y su posible atenuación mediante un proceso de bioingeniería

This review examines the health impacts of nanoplastics found in food, tracing their origins to the indiscriminate disposal of synthetic, non-biodegradable materials into waterways and land. Researchers discuss how plastics containing toxic chemical additives break down into increasingly smaller particles that contaminate the food supply. The study explores potential bioengineering approaches that could help mitigate nanoplastic contamination in food products.

Accumulation of microplastics in mangrove sediments in relation to differences in forest structure along the Colombian Pacific coast

Spatial distribution and increase of microplastics over time in sediments of Buenaventura Bay, Colombian Pacific

Microplastic concentrations in sediment cores from Buenaventura Bay in Colombia increased substantially over time from the 1980s to the present, with depth profiles reflecting the history of regional plastic use, and current surface sediment concentrations among the highest reported for South American coastal systems.

Presence of microplastics: Impacts in a marine-coastal environment of the Colombian Caribbean

Researchers surveyed microplastic presence in a marine-coastal environment in Colombia, characterizing particle abundance, polymer types, and size distribution in water and sediment samples. Fibres dominated the samples, with polyester and nylon the most common polymers, pointing to synthetic textile washing as a key local source.

Identification and characterisation of microplastics in human placenta by physicochemical analysis

Marine litter in mangroves: composition, magnitude, and impacts

A field and literature review of marine litter accumulation in mangrove ecosystems documented diverse debris types dominated by single-use plastics and fishing gear, with litter altering physical habitat structure and posing ingestion and entanglement risks. Mangroves are highlighted as both a sink for marine litter and an ecosystem whose ecological functions are degraded by it.

Elucidating Biomass-Derived Pyrolytic Lignin Structures from Demethylation Reactions through Density Functional Theory Calculations

This study used density functional theory calculations to investigate the structural transformations of pyrolytic lignin during demethylation reactions, providing molecular-level insight into degradation pathways relevant to upgrading biomass pyrolysis oil into fuel and chemical feedstocks.

Characterization of Microplastics in Bees and Their Products in Urban and Rural Areas of the Sabana De Bogotá, Colombia

Researchers characterized microplastics in honey bees and their products (honey, wax, propolis) from both urban and rural areas of the Sabana de Bogota, Colombia. Microplastics were found across all matrices and bee types, with urban bees showing higher contamination levels, raising concerns about both pollinator health and honey safety.

Abundancia y composición de residuos marinos en playas de la bahía de Buenaventura, en el Pacífico Colombiano

A survey of three beaches in Colombia's Pacific coast found that plastic debris made up 96.6% of all marine litter collected, with expanded polystyrene (foam) being the most common polymer. The average density was about 17 items per square meter, and all three beaches were rated in an "unacceptable" state of cleanliness. The study highlights how poorly managed plastic waste in rapidly growing coastal cities translates directly into heavily contaminated shorelines, with implications for marine wildlife and local communities.

Effect of water quality variation on fish assemblages in an anthropogenically impacted tropical estuary, Colombian Pacific

Researchers found that fish diversity in Buenaventura Bay, a polluted tropical estuary in Colombia, was strongly shaped by water quality — species that tolerate low oxygen and high nitrite dominated, while overall species richness dropped as nutrients from human activity increased. This shows how pollution from urban and agricultural runoff can fundamentally restructure the fish communities that local fisheries depend on.

Widespread microplastic pollution across the Caribbean Sea confirmed using queen conch

Researchers confirmed widespread microplastic pollution across eleven Caribbean Sea sites using fecal samples from queen conch as a non-lethal biomonitoring method, finding plastic particles in all locations and documenting contamination throughout this biodiversity-rich marine ecosystem.

Development and Characterization of Reinforced Flexible Packaging Based on Amazonian Cassava Starch Through Flat Sheet Extrusion

Scientists created eco-friendly food packaging from cassava starch (a plant-based material) mixed with natural ingredients like beeswax and plantain leaf fibers. This new packaging is much stronger and better at keeping moisture out than regular plant-based plastics, making it a promising replacement for petroleum-based plastic bags. This matters because it could help reduce plastic pollution while still protecting our food effectively.

Microplastic Detection in Water Using a Sensor Network, An Electronic Tongue and Spectroscopy Impedance

Researchers developed an electronic sensor system using impedance spectroscopy to detect microplastics in drinking water without needing expensive laboratory equipment. By running 160 experiments with different water contaminant combinations, they showed that the technique can distinguish microplastic contamination using electrochemical signals and statistical analysis. Affordable, portable detection systems like this are important for monitoring water supplies in regions where lab infrastructure is limited.

Fruit Peels as a Sustainable Waste for the Biosorption of Heavy Metals in Wastewater: A Review

This review systematically analyzed scientific literature on using fruit peels as low-cost biosorbents for removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater, finding strong evidence across Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases that fruit peel waste is an effective and sustainable remediation material.

Clasificación de microplásticos usando lenguas electrónicas

Colombian engineers developed an electrochemical sensor array (electronic tongue) combined with pattern recognition algorithms to classify microplastics in drinking water samples in near-real time. The system successfully distinguished between clean tap water and water spiked with PET microplastics, demonstrating a potential alternative to slow, labor-intensive laboratory methods. Fast, continuous monitoring tools like this are critical for water utilities that need early warning of microplastic contamination.