Mario Rodríguez is a chemist (2014) by UNAM. He earned a master’s and a Ph. D. degree in analytical and environmental chemistry from UNAM, Mexico in 2017 and 2023, respectively. He was hired as  Técnico Académico Asociado in 2020 at Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His scientific interests lie in the development and validation of analytical methodologies based on liquid and gas chromatography for the determination and monitoring of volatile and non-volatile organic compounds, such as permanent gases (H₂,CO₂, light hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, etc.) in catalytic and photocatalytic reactions and environmental matrices, which include wastewater, sediment, soil, inter alia). He has published about 8 research papers, 2 book chapters and has been cited about 92 times (Scopus, h-index 6).

Development, validation, and application of analytical methodologies based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of organic compounds in the environment, food, and biochemical matrices.

Development, validation, and application of analytical methodologies based on gas chromatography with detection conducted via TCD, FID and mass spectrometry for the determination and monitoring of permanent gases and light hydrocarbons in water splitting, alcohol reformation, artificial photosynthesis, reduction, and oxidation reactions.

Kinetic and byproduct identification in catalytic and photocatalytic studies.

Implementation of sample treating strategies for analytes in complex matrices.

Mobility of organic compound in the environment.

• CONACYT. “Understanding the supported bimetallic catalysts under dynamic reaction conditions”
• PAPIIT-DGAPA-UNAM. “Potential for environmental dissemination of SARS-COV-2; A risk approach based on the soil and the urban water cycle in Central Mexico.”
• PAPIIT-DGAPA-UNAM. “A spectroscopic route for studying extracts from plants.”
• Private. “Opuntia ficus índica Mucilage. Functional characterization, nutritional applications, and shelf life of food”.

Juan C. Durán-Álvarez, Blanca Prado, Rodolfo Zanella, Mario Rodríguez, Suhaila Díaz, “Wastewater surveillance of pharmaceuticals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico City and the Mezquital Valley: A comprehensive environmental risk assessment”, Science of the Total Environment, 900, 165886, (2023).

Juan C. Durán-Álvarez, Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Erick J. Verdeja-Muñoz, María S. Córdova-Aguilar. “Determination of the monosaccharide composition in mucilage of Opuntia Ficus Indica by HPLC-ESI-MS-validation of the sample preparation and the analytical method”, Journal of Food and Measurement and Characterization, 15, 4233- 4244, (2021).

Juan C. Durán Álvarez, Blanca Jiménez, Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Blanca Prado. “The Mezquital Valley from the perspective of the new Dryland Development Paradigm (DDP): Present and future challenges to achieve sustainable development”, Environmental Sustainability, 48, 139-150, (2021).

Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Juan C. Durán-Álvarez, Blanca Jiménez-Cisneros, Olivia Zamora, Blanca Prado. “Ocurrence of perfluorinated carboxylic acids in Mexico City’s wastewater: A monitoring study in the sewerage and mega wastewater treatment plant”, Science of the Total Environment, 774, 145060, (2021).

Rodríguez-Varela, M., Durán-Álvarez, J.C., Cortés, S., Zamora, O., Prado, B., “Analytical strategies to detect and quantify pharmaceutical residues in marine biota”, en: Pharmaceuticals in Marine and Coastal Environments: Occurrence, Effects and Challenges in a Changing World, Volume 1 of the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences, Durán-Álvarez, J.C., Jiménez-Cisneros, B., (Eds.), Elsevier, The Neetherlands, (2021).

Prado, B., Rodríguez-Varela, M., Castro Gutiérrez, J., “Occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in marine sediments”, en: Pharmaceuticals in Marine and Coastal Environments: Occurrence, Effects and Challenges in a Changing World, Volume 1 of the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences, Durán-Álvarez, J.C., Jiménez-Cisneros, B., (Eds.), Elsevier, The Neetherlands, (2021).

Juan C. Durán-Álvarez, Carolina Martínez-Avelar, Eduardo González-Cervantes, Ricardo A. Gutiérrez-Márquez, Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Ana Sofía Varela, Felipe Castillón, Rodolfo Zanella. “Degradation and mineralization of oxotetracycline in pure and tap water under visible light irradiation using bismuth oxyiodides and the effect of depositing Au nanoparticles”, Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology A: Chemistry, 388, 112163, (2020).

J.C. Durán-Álvarez, V.A. Hernández-Morales, M. Rodríguez-Varela, D. Guerrero-Araque, D. Ramírez-Ortega, F. Castillón, P. Acevedo-Peña, R. Zanella. “Ag2O/TiO2 nanostructures for the photocatalytic mineralization of the highly recalcitrant pollutant iopromide in pure and tap water”, Catalysis Today, 341, 71-81, (2020).

J.C. Durán-Álvarez, M. Méndez-Galván, L. Lartundo-Rojas, M. Rodríguez-Varela, D. Ramírez-Ortega, D. Guerrero-Araque, R. Zanella, “Synthesis and Characterization of the All solid Z-Scheme Bi₂WO₆/Ag/AgBr for the Photocatalytic Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Water”, Topics in Catalysis, 62, 1011-1025, (2019).

Ivette Martínez-Vieyra, Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Diana García-Rubio, Beatriz De la Mora-Mojica, Juan Méndez-Méndez, Carlos Durán-Álvarez, Doris Cerecedo, “Alterations to plasma membrane lipid contents affect the biophysical properties of erythrocytes from individuals with hypertension”, BBA-Biomembranes, 1861, 182996, (2019).

Mario Rodríguez-Varela, Juan C. Durán-Álvarez, Blanca Jiménez-Cisneros, Olivia Zamora, Blanca Prado. “Ocurrence of perfluorinated carboxylic acids in Mexico City’s wastewater: A monitoring study in the sewerage and mega wastewater treatment plant”, Science of the Total Environment, 774, 145060, (2021).

Rodríguez-Varela, M., Durán-Álvarez, J.C., Cortés, S., Zamora, O., Prado, B., “Analytical strategies to detect and quantify pharmaceutical residues in marine biota”, en: Pharmaceuticals in Marine and Coastal Environments: Occurrence, Effects and Challenges in a Changing World, Volume 1 of the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences, Durán-Álvarez, J.C., Jiménez-Cisneros, B., (Eds.), Elsevier, The Neetherlands, (2021).

Undergraduate:

• Emmanuel Abiut López-Ruíz
• Brandon Alejandro Carrillo-Hernández
• Mariana Elizabeth Ruiz-Barba
• Ana Cristina Lozada-Illescas