María Estela del Castillo Busto

PhD in Chemistry from the University of A Coruña, she is a member of the Applied Analytical Chemistry Research Group (QANAP), recognized as a consolidated excellence group within the Galician university system since its creation in 2006, and has been employed by the University of A Coruña as an Associate Researcher since 2016. Since June 2025, she has been a member of the CITEEC consortium.
She has participated in more than 15 national and international research projects and in 10 projects related to R&D&I contracts with companies and public administrations. Her research focuses on the development of new analytical strategies—rapid, sensitive, selective, and environmentally sustainable—for the determination of chemical substances in industrial, environmental, and agri-food fields. This includes the assessment of priority, persistent, and emerging contaminants, as well as degradation products (hydrocarbons, pesticides, personal care products, plasticizers and organometallic compounds, endocrine disruptors, etc.), and micro- and nanoplastics, with specialization in air quality, water quality, the marine environment (water, sediments, biota), soils, and food.
The results of this research are reflected in the publication of more than 30 articles in high-impact international scientific journals.