La vida cotidiana como aprendizaje y motivación para el estudio de la química

Resumen elaborado a partir de la publicaciónSe esboza un estudio sobre la exigencia del profesorado por hacer atractiva la ciencia a un sector de población joven, a fin de que resulte familiar e incremente la inquietud por esta. Es por eso que adquiere una gran importancia la implementación paulatina en las aulas de nuevas metodologías que ayuden a tener una nueva visión, más concretamente para las materias de Ciencias. El objetivo de este estudio es proponer actividades relacionadas con la vida cotidiana, a través de las cuales se facilite a los alumnos la adquisición de competencias y conceptos de química, incrementando su interés y motivación hacia la misma, además de comprender cuál es su utilidad en nuestra sociedad.Castilla y LeónES

Electrochemically Active Thin Carbon Films with Enhanced Adhesion to Silicon Substrates

Thin carbon films deposited on technologically relevant substrates, such as silicon wafers, can be easily implemented in miniaturized electrochemical devices and used for sensing applications. However, a major issue in most carbon films is the weak film/substrate adhesion that shortens the working device lifetime. This paper describes the facile preparation of robust thin carbon films on silicon substrates by one-pot sol-gel synthesis. The improved adherence of these carbon films is based on the incorporation of silica through the controlled synthesis of a resorcinol/formaldehyde gel modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The films demonstrate excellent adhesion to the silicon substrate, good homogeneity, excellent electrical conductivity and superior electrochemical performance. Moreover, this approach opens the door to the fabrication of carbon thin-film electrodes by photolithographic techniques.G. Antorrena from the Laboratorio de Microscopias Avanzadas of the Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón is acknowledged for performing XPS analysis. This research was partially funded by, the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 614155, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in cofounding with the European Social Funds through the MAT2012-35324 project, the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV- 2015-0496) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR213, 2014SGR1645). The Chinese Scholarship Council fellowship (201206240033) to P.N. and the COST Action MP1202 are also acknowledged.Peer Reviewe

Development of electrochemical devices for the determination of drugs of abuse

Uno de los problemas que afecta a todas las clases sociales es el tráfico y consumo de drogas de abuso. Estas sustancias no sólo dañan la salud del individuo sino que conllevan consecuencias como la exclusión social, el encarcelamiento por posesión o la conducción bajo su efecto. Consecuentemente, los estudios de investigación han sido orientados hacia el desarrollo de metodologías analíticas para determinar de forma precisa este tipo de compuestos. La tecnología serigráfica permite la fabricación de dispositivos de pequeño tamaño para el análisis in situ de analitos, proporcionando una gran variedad de materiales y diseños según el requerimiento del análisis. Estos dispositivos admiten la posibilidad de ser modificados adicionalmente con enzimas, anticuerpos o nanomateriales, para ofrecer mayor selectividad hacia el análisis del compuesto de interés. Teniendo esto en cuenta, en esta tesis doctoral se han desarrollado sensores y biosensores electroquímicos, miniaturizados y desechables, para la determinación sensible y selectiva de drogas de abuso, como la cocaína y la codeína, en muestras adulteradas, biológicas y fármacos.Drug abuse is a global problem that affects all kind of social classes. The misuse and trafficking of these drugs have very strong and severe consequences on victims, such as social exclusion, imprisonment for drug possession or for driving under their influence, health problems or even death. Thus, research works have been orientated towards the development of analytical methodologies to accurately and precisely determine these compounds. The screen-printing technology allows the fabrication of small devices for in situ analyses, providing a wide variety of materials and designs, depending on the requirements of the analysis. Additionally, these devices can be modified with enzymes, antibodies or nanomaterials, in order to offer a greater selectivity towards the analysis of the compound of interest. Bearing this in mind, this PhD thesis is based on the development of miniaturized and disposable electrochemical sensors and biosensors for the sensitive and selective determination of drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and codeine, in biological, pharmaceutical and street sample

Electrochemically Active Thin Carbon Films with Enhanced Adhesion to Silicon Substrates

Thin carbon films deposited on technologically relevant substrates, such as silicon wafers, can be easily implemented in miniaturized electrochemical devices and used for sensing applications. However, a major issue in most carbon films is the weak film/substrate adhesion that shortens the working device lifetime. This paper describes the facile preparation of robust thin carbon films on silicon substrates by one-pot sol–gel synthesis. The improved adherence of these carbon films is based on the incorporation of silica through the controlled synthesis of a resorcinol/formaldehyde gel modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The films demonstrate excellent adhesion to the silicon substrate, good homogeneity, excellent electrical conductivity and superior electrochemical performance. Moreover, this approach opens the door to the fabrication of carbon thin-film electrodes by photolithographic techniques