about us

EDDU
Early Drug Discovery Unit (EDDU) at the University of Barcelona

R+D+I

Data Quality

Supporting data quality and traceability in food safety and environmental protection

Mechanisms and tools aiming data quality assurance must be addressed to be able to satisfy the requirements of analytical laboratories, regardless the fields of study.

A main strategy to achieve this is the preparation of quality control materials (QCMs) and the organization of proficiency testing campaigns. The group prepares QCMs for the organization of proficiency testing covering demands in environmental and food analytical activities according to the requests of Safety Nuclear Council (CSN), Asociación Española de Técnicos Cerealistas (AETC) and Agència de Residus de Catalunya (ARC), among others. Decision makers need reliable analytical results for environmental protection and food safety and, for these purposes, availability of suitable standards and reference materials is of great importance.

New Materials

Development and application new materials for radioactivity measurements

Selective determination of radioactivity contents and fast processing of a high number of samples with a screening purpose are required in environmental monitoring and emergency situations and also, to improve material characterization and waste management from decommissioning of nuclear facilities or medical uses. The research group has wide and recognized experience in the development of plastic scintillators (PS) in form of microspheres and resins as an option to face the current analytical needs, being more versatile and less contaminant than the options currently used. Research activities include the development of resistant, porous and reactive plastic scintillators, afterwards modified by adding selective extractants to produce PSresins. Additional materials are also developed, such as fluorescent imprinted polymers for radioactive or non-radioactive pollutants. New PS materials include the PSkits, a PS foil directly prepared in a counting vial with the selective extractant on, for an ultra-fast screening. New developments are adjusted to scenarios where the use of new materials may introduce advantages in terms of time, waste generation, quality of the data or cost.

Analytical Methods

Implementing analytical methods and technologies to complex scenarios affected by pollutants.

There are a high number of scenarios in which adequate analytical determinations are required to quantify the concentration of pollutants, key information for the subsequent decision-making. The analytical approaches need to fit the purpose of the information required in terms of simplicity, time of analysis, cost or waste generation.
Analyses usually focus on providing individual information from each pollutant, leading to laborious procedures that are costly in terms of reagents, waste management and time, jeopardizing the efficiency of the decision-making. Our group develops new strategies of analysis for a rapid evaluation of the situation of polluted areas. At present, the group is mainly focused on complex and relevant scenarios affected by radioactivity, such as emergency situations, environmental monitoring, contaminated sites with naturally occurring radionuclide materials (NORM) derived from industrial activities or decommissioning of nuclear installations. New analytical methods and technologies focus on the use of selective resins, based on plastic scintillators, to simplify the analysis of alpha and beta emitters; spectra deconvolution based on chemometric tools to solve complex mixtures of radionuclides; or screening parameters such as gross alpha, gross beta or gross gamma, using liquid and solid scintillation, to define indexes that provide fast information on the risk associated to a certain polluted scenario.

Data for Modelling

Data acquisition and derivation for predictive modelling in environmental risk assessment.

Ecological risk models for assessing the impact of pollutants in socially and environmentally relevant scenarios require quality input data to predict and quantify the interaction and mobility of pollutants in environmental compartments.
Our research group has expertise in studies of diffusion, sorption and desorption of pollutants in environmental samples. In particular, the performance of sorption and desorption experiments with a well-characterized set of soils, and the creation of datasets that also include data collected in the literature, have allowed us to elucidate sorption mechanisms and soil properties governing sorption for a number of radionuclides and organic pollutants, as well as to propose predictive models and best estimates for sorption parameters. In addition, the use of chemical analogues for a target pollutant, or the use of soil analogue environmental matrices, allows filling sorption data gaps to improve the knowledge of sorption of the target pollutant in soils or other environmental matrices.

Materials for Remediation

Feasibility of the reuse of carbon-rich materials for the remediation of contaminated soils and waters.

The presence of pollutants in the environment may require the design of remediation actions to reduce their mobility in the soil-water system, such as those based on the use of effective sorbent materials. Our research team has extensive experience in the characterization of organic and inorganic materials and in the evaluation of their viability and pollutant retention capacity through the application of sorption and leaching studies. At present, carbon-rich materials such as biochar appear to be an excellent option to be considered for future remediation of contaminated soils and waters.

Biochar is a sustainable material obtained from the reuse of biomass residues through a pyrolysis process, in the absence of oxygen, and studies carried out by the research group have demonstrated its high sorption capacity for heavy metals, lanthanides and some organic pollutants. However, the possible effectiveness of biochars in sorption of pollutants depends on the interaction mechanisms involved and the biomass of origin, which requires quantifying their sorption capacity at laboratory level to assess their potential use in remediation actions.