Ciencias Exactas y Ciencias de la Salud
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11285/551039
Pertenecen a esta colección Tesis y Trabajos de grado de las Maestrías correspondientes a las Escuelas de Ingeniería y Ciencias así como a Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud.
Browse
Search Results
- Development of a nanostructured membrane-based passive sampler as a tool for the monitoring of viral pathogens through wastewater-based epidemiology(Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 2022) Jiménez Rodríguez, Mildred Gissel; PARRA SALDIVAR, ROBERTO; 2035753; Parra Saldívar, Roberto; emipsanchez; Oyervides Muñoz, Mariel Araceli; Coronado Apodaca, Karina Guadalupe; Martínez Ruiz, Manuel; School of Engineering and Sciences; Campus Monterrey; Sosa Hernández, Juan EduardoInfectious disease outbreaks are a global burden that is continuously increasing. Classic epidemiological approaches to identify infected individuals and prevent the spread of the diseases usually include individual clinical screenings, sentinel surveillance, and the analysis of surveys, hospital data, and mortality and morbidity rates. However, these methods have failed to detect early warnings of future outbreaks and are resource-dependent. Thus, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used as a novel community-wide monitoring tool capable of providing comprehensive real-time data on the public and environmental health status, which can ultimately contribute to a faster adoption of public health interventions. Efficient spatial and temporal sampling is critical for the success of WBE, however, current sampling methods mainly consist of grab samples, which can lead to the over- or underestimation of pathogen concentration. Passive samplers are a promising alternative to improve WBE since they can be used for prolonged periods to obtain more representative information of the real conditions in the area. Advances in nanotechnology have also helped to overcome the efficiency of recovery yields for membrane-based methods. WBE monitoring was employed at Tecnologico de Monterrey to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 risk throughout its community.Therefore, this research project aimed to develop a nanostructured polymeric membrane-based passive sampler to monitor SARS-CoV-2’s RNA through WBE. The scope of the study was to determine the membrane’s morphology, its stability, and RNA adsorption kinetics, which were evaluated to establish a WBE passive sampling protocol to detect and quantify the viral load in wastewater and study the trends in the circulation. Different formulations were explored to determine the influence of the selected membrane components in its morphology and RNA adsorption capacity. Three suitable candidates were selected to further pursue as potential stand-alone detection devices. RNA adsorption was achieved within 0.5 h and 1 h of magnetic stirring in previously spiked water samples with two of the selected samplers. However, the obtained values were very low and cannot be used to conclude that the passive samplers work as per their intended use. Nonetheless, they are an indication of potential opportunity areas within such formulations.
- Exploration of microalgae biorefinery: accumulation of polyhydroxyalkanoates, lipids and carbohydratesin the microalgae Scenedesmussp. under nutrient-deficient conditions(Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, 2020-11-16) García, Gabriela; Parra Saldívar, Roberto; tolmquevedo; Castillo Zacarías, Carlos Jesús; School of Engineering and Sciences; Campus Monterrey; Sosa Hernández, Juan EduardoThe current global economy depends heavily on the oil-based industry, which is unsustainable in the long term, both due to the finite nature of the resources on which it is based and due to the environmental damage related to the activities involved in its processes. As an alternative to petroleum biorefineries, microalgae biorefineries are considered as a more sustainable source of bio-resources for the energy and polymer industries. In particular, polyhydroxyalkanoates, a natural form of carbon and energy storage in various microorganisms, including microalgae, are considered as potential replacements for conventional plastics, the increasing use of which has caused severe environmental damage. This study investigated the influence of glucose, N, P, Fe, and salinity over the production of PHA by Scenedesmus sp., a freshwater microalga strain not previously explored for this purpose. To assess the effect of the variables, a fractional Taguchi experimental design involving 16 experimental runs was planned and executed. Biopolymer was obtained in all the experiments in a wide range of concentrations (0.83-29.92%, w/w DW), and identified as PHB by FT-IR analysis. The statistical analysis of the response was carried out using Minitab 16 where phosphorus, glucose, and iron were identified as significant factors, together with the P-Fe and glucose-N interactions. the crucial role of iron in maintaining the continuity of the PHA synthesis process under phosphorus deficiency is highlighted. The accumulation of carbohydrates and lipids, relevant macromolecules for the production of bioethanol and biodiesel, respectively, was also assessed. After identifying the relevant factors that influence the production of each of these compounds, the conditions to achieve enhanced accumulation of the three of them were stablished. Maximum coaccumulation of up to 62.4% (28% CH, 26.3% PHA and 7.9% lipids) of the cell dry weight was achieved under phosphate and nitrogen starvation. Doing this, this work contributes to the understanding of the critical factors that control PHA production and present Scenedesmus sp. as a promising species to produce bio-resources in commercial systems.