The diagnosis of respiratory viruses of zoonotic origin (RVsZO) such as influenza and coronaviruses in humans is crucial, because their spread and pandemic threat are the highest. Surface–enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an analytical technique with promising impact for the point–of–care diagnosis of viruses. It has been applied to a variety of influenza A virus subtypes, such as the H1N1 and the novel coronavirus SARS−CoV−2. In this work, a review of the strategies used for the detection of RVsZO by SERS is presented. In addition, relevant information about the SERS technique, anthropozoonosis, and RVsZO is provided for a better understanding of the theme. The direct identification is based on trapping the viruses within the interstices of plasmonic nanoparticles and recording the SERS signal from gene fragments or membrane proteins. Quantitative mono- and multiplexed assays have been achieved following an indirect format through a SERS-based sandwich immunoassay. Based on this review, the development of multiplex assays that incorporate the detection of RVsZO together with their specific biomarkers and/or secondary disease biomarkers resulting from the infection progress would be desirable. These configurations could be used as a double confirmation or to evaluate the health condition of the patient.

Because of the intensive use of pharmaceutical substances in human life, studies on the detection of these chemical compounds and their metabolites as pollutants in water bodies are continuously reported. Some pharmaceutical agents are associated with adverse effects to aquatic life, even at very low concentrations (ng L⁻¹ to μg L⁻¹). For instance, the presence of antibiotics and hormones has been associated with increasing proliferation of antibiotic resistant pathogens and feminization and masculinization of some aquatic organisms. Currently, new attempts are being made to minimize or fully remove these types of pollutants from aquatic systems to protect the environment and human health. In this regard, physicochemical and biological treatments are among the most promising technologies for the treatment of wastewater containing pharmaceutical pollutants. These treatments are green alternatives for the degradation of hazardous organic compounds into nontoxic by-products. Here, we review some of the physicochemical and biological treatment methods used for the removal of the most extensively used antibiotics and hormones. Enzymatic oxidation, photocatalysis and electrochemical oxidation are described in terms of the aforementioned pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs). The use of membrane technologies to separate different groups of antibiotics and hormones prior to biologic or physicochemical treatment methods is also addressed.

Las bacterias son microorganismos que habitan en todos los ecosistemas del planeta y las encontramos con tres morfologías, las circulares que son llamadas cocos, las alargadas como bastones llamadas bacilos y las espirales llamadas espiroquetas. Aunque algunas de ellas pueden ser perjudiciales para los seres humanos, provocándo enfermedades (bacterias patogénicas), también hay bacterias “buenas” que ayudan a los seres humanos y aunque parezca increíble, existen muchas bacterias de éste tipo. En el presente artículo, hablaremos de una tecnología ecológica que se apoya en un tipo de bacterias llamadas electrogénicas, donde se aprovecha el proceso de respiración de estas bacterias cuando descomponen la materia orgánica contenida en el agua residual producida por los humanos y se obtiene, de forma simultánea, energía eléctrica. Esta eco-tecnología se denomina Celda de Combustible Microbiana, y aunque fue estudiada por primera vez en 1911, sigue ofreciendo un amplio campo para el desarrollo de la investigación científica, ya que el desarrollo de una tecnología que logre el tratamiento del agua residual, y con ello la obtención de energía, se considera imperativo en el camino del desarrollo hacia una sociedad responsable con el medio ambiente.