Persona: María Hormigos, Roberto
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María Hormigos
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Publicación Preclinical Validation of an Electrochemical Sensor for Alcohol Consumption Monitoring in a Polydrug Self-Administration Animal Model(MDPI, 2025-03-08) Garrido Matilla, Lucía; María Hormigos, Roberto; Monago Maraña, Olga; Marcos, Alberto; Ambrosio Flores, Emilio; González Crevillén, AgustínAn electrochemical sensor for identification and monitoring of alcoholism was preclinically validated by analyzing plasma from polydrug-consuming rats (alcohol and cocaine). The sensor measures by adsorptive transfer square wave voltammetry the glycosylation level of transferrin, which is an alcoholism biomarker, through a recently reported parameter called the electrochemical index of glycosylation (EIG). Three rat groups were designed: saline group, cocaine group, and cocaine–alcohol group. Moreover, two periods of withdrawal were studied, after 2 days and 30 days. The alcohol–cocaine group after 2 days of withdrawal showed significantly lower EIG values (p < 0.1) than the rest of groups and also alcohol–cocaine group after 30 days of withdrawal, so the sensor was able to identify the alcohol consumption in rats and to monitor the recovery of glycosylation level after 30 days of withdrawal, even combined with cocaine. Furthermore, the effect of sex was also considered. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were developed for each sex and the corresponding cut-off values were determined. The sensor showed a clinical sensitivity of 70% for male and 75% for female, and a specificity of 67% for both sexes. This preclinical validation demonstrated the possibilities of this sensor for point of care testing of alcoholism, even in cocaine addicts, making it a potential tool for diagnosis and monitoring of alcohol consumption in detox treatments for humans.Publicación Prussian Blue/Chitosan Micromotors with Intrinsic Enzyme-like Activity for (bio)-Sensing Assays(ACS Publications, 2022) Molinero-Fernández, Águeda; Jurado Sánchez, Beatriz; Escarpa, Alberto; María Hormigos, Roberto; Novillo López, Miguel ÁngelPrussian Blue (PB)/chitosan enzyme mimetic tubular micromotors are used here for on-the-fly (bio)-sensing assays. The micromotors are easily prepared by direct deposition of chitosan into the pores of a membrane template and in situ PB synthesis during hydrogel deposition. Under judicious pH control, PB micromotors display enzyme mimetic capabilities with three key functions on board: the autonomous oxygen bubble propulsion (with PB acting as a catalase mimic for hydrogen peroxide decomposition), 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidation (with PB acting as a peroxidase mimic for analyte detection), and as a magnetic material (to simplify the (bio)-sensing steps). In connection with chitosan capabilities, these unique enzyme mimetic micromotors are further functionalized with acetylthiocholinesterase enzyme (ATChE) to be explored in fast inhibition assays (20 min) for the colorimetric determination of the nerve agent neostigmine, with excellent analytical performance in terms of quantification limit (0.30 μM) and concentration linear range (up to 500 μM), without compromising efficient micromotor propulsion. The new concept illustrated holds considerable potential for a myriad of (bio)-sensing applications, including forensics, where this conceptual approach remains to be explored. Micromotor-based tests to be used in crime scenes are also envisioned due to the reliable neostigmine determination in unpretreated samples.Publicación Nanostructured Hybrid BioBots for Beer Brewing(American Chemical Society, 2023-04-12) María Hormigos, Roberto; Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C.; Kinčl, Tomáš; Pumera, MartinThe brewing industry will amass a revenue above 500 billion euros in 2022, and the market is expected to grow annually. This industrial process is based on a slow sugar fermentation by yeast (commonly Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Herein, we encapsulate yeast cells into a biocompatible alginate (ALG) polymer along Fe3O4 nanoparticles to produce magneto/catalytic nanostructured ALG@yeast-Fe3O4 BioBots. Yeast encapsulated in these biocompatible BioBots keeps their biological activity (growth, reproduction, and catalytic fermentation) essential for brewing. Catalytic fermentation of sugars into CO2 gas caused a continuous oscillatory motion of the BioBots in the solution. This BioBot motion is employed to enhance the beer fermentation process compared to static-free yeast cells. When the process is finished, magnetic actuation of BioBots is employed for their retrieval from the beer samples, which avoids the need of additional filtration steps. All in all, we demonstrate how an industrial process such as beer production can be benefited by miniaturized autonomous magneto/catalytic BioBots.Publicación Microrobots in food science and technology(2025-12-03) María Hormigos, Roberto; Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C.; Pumera, MartinThe global food supply chain is highly susceptible to spoilage and contamination risks, posing severe health hazards to consumers. This creates the need for preservation and safety-monitoring methods to reduce the exposure of both industries and consumers to these risks. Recent innovations using functional materials to construct nano- and microrobots of different shapes and sizes show substantial improvements in optimizing various food processes. Here we review the benefits of applying autonomous functional microrobotics to food science and technology, focusing on applications in food safety control, preservation and processing. We identify current limitations specific to each application and general constraints that must be overcome to transition from proof of concept to real-world implementation in the food industry.Publicación Magnetic Hydrogel Microrobots as Insecticide Carriers for In Vivo Insect Pest Control in Plants(Wiley, 2022-12-30) María Hormigos, Roberto; Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C.; Pumera, MartinThe cost of insect pests to human society exceeds USD70 billion per year worldwide in goods, livestock, and healthcare services. Therefore, pesticides are needed to prevent insect damage despite the secondary effects of these chemical agents on non-target organisms. Chemicals encapsulation into carriers is a promising strategy to improve their specificity. Hydrogel-based microrobots show enormous potential as chemical carriers. Herein, hydrogel chitosan magnetic microrobots encapsulating ethyl parathion (EP)-CHI@Fe3O4 are used to efficiently kill mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor). The mechanism takes advantage of pH-responsive chitosan degradation at Tenebrio molitor midgut pH to efficiently deliver pesticide into the mealworm intestinal tract in just 2 h. It is observed that under a transversal rotating magnetic field, mealworm populations show higher mortality after 30 min compared to free pesticide. This example of active pesticide carriers based on soft microrobots opens new avenues for microrobots applications in the agrochemical field as active chemical carriers.Publicación Soft Magnetic Microrobots for Photoactive Pollutant Removal(Wiley, 2022-11-21) María Hormigos, Roberto; Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C.; Pumera, Martin“Soft” robotics based on hydrogels appears as an alternative to the traditional technology of “hard” robotics. Soft microrobots are employed for drug delivery and cell manipulation. This work develops magnetic hydrogel-based microrobots using chitosan (CHI) as the body of the micromotor and Fe3O4 nanoparticles to allow for its magnetic actuation. In addition, ZnO nanoparticles are incorporated inside the CHI body of the microrobot to act as an active component for pollutants photodegradation. CHI@Fe3O4-ZnO microrobots are used for the efficient photodegradation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The high absorption of CHI hydrogel enhances the POP photodegradation, degrading it 75% in just 30 min. The adsorption-degradation and magnetic properties of CHI@Fe3O4-ZnO microrobots are used in five cycles while maintaining up to 60% photodegradation efficiency. The proof-of-concept present in this work represents a simple way to obtain soft microrobots with magnetic actuation and photodegradation functionalities for several water purification applications.Publicación Wearable sensor for solar ultraviolet A radiation monitoring based on a basic bismuth nitrate / graphene quantum dots composite(Elsevier, 2025-11-26) María Hormigos, Roberto; Monago Maraña, Olga; Zapardiel Palenzuela, Antonio; González Crevillén, Agustín; Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)/SantanderUltraviolet A (UV-A) radiation from the Sun is a significant risk factor for skin cancer owing to long-term exposition for outdoor workers. The growing need for wearable health monitoring devices demands real-time UV-A sensors with high analytical performance to avoid skin conditions resulting from prolonged UV-A exposure. In this work, we aimed to develop a novel, power-less, low-cost, long-term-stable, and flexible wearable sensor. Such a sensor is based on basic bismuth nitrate (BBN) covered with graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as a photodetector. BBN@GQD photoelectrical material was produced by a very low-cost pyrolytic procedure in gram-scale quantities on a simple hot plate. GQDs improved photoelectrical activity of BBN, yielding good responsivity of 0.25 mA·W−1 (at 0 V bias, incident light intensity 17 μW·cm−2 and 365 nm wavelength). The combination of BBN@GQD and ITO electrodes provided a very sensitive and selective photodetector (a limit of detection of 1.6 ± 0.6 μW·cm−2 light intensity at 0 V bias for 365 nm UV-A wavelength), better than most current UV-A photodetectors. Its high sensitivity at 0 V bias enables its employment as a functional power-free real-time UV-A monitor device. Moreover, the wearable sensor showed acceptable reproducibility (18.9 % relative standard deviation at 12.5 μW·cm−2 light intensity) and long-term stability (up to 1 month of storage). This work proposes a promising wearable device for UV-A monitoring in an outdoor environment, using a new photosensitive material (BBN@GQD), which offers new opportunities in the development of UV photodetectors.Publicación High-throughput Photoactive Magnetic Microrobots for Food Quality Control(Wiley, 2025-03-11) María Hormigos, Roberto; Mayorga-Martinez, Carmen C.; Kim, Jeonghyo; Pumera, MartinEnsuring food quality and safety according to stringent global standards requires analytical procedures that are accurate, cost-effective, and efficient. This present innovative high-throughput microrobots designed for the detection of antioxidants in food samples. These microrobots consist of photocatalytic bismuth subcarbonate anchored on silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles. Upon exposure to UV light, they generate reactive oxygen species via photocatalysis, which oxidize the colorless dye into a green-colored radical cation. The presence of antioxidants inhibits this reaction, allowing for the quantification of antioxidant activity. The magnetic Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ core enables steering of the microrobots using a transverse rotating magnetic field, facilitating automated assays on a custom-designed 3D-printed sensing platform. This results demonstrate that these magneto-photocatalytic microrobots can perform automated, high-throughput assessments of food quality, representing a significant advancement in food analysis technology.