About Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo
Dr. Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo is a globally recognized Research Professor of Materials and Environmental Chemistry at Eastern Mediterranean University. Ranked among the world's Top 2% Scientists, his expertise bridges nanotechnology, renewable energy, and electro-analytical chemistry. He specializes in advanced materials synthesis for wastewater treatment, highly sensitive electrochemical biosensors, and solar energy conversion. By integrating machine learning and artificial neural networks, his research drives scalable deep-tech innovations in environmental sustainability and energy storage.
Recent Comments
Interisting. Would this be valid for microplastics in terrestrial environments/soil as well?
Hi @Luciana Christante - Springer,
Thank you for bringing this up! Yes, absolutely—the argument is just as critical, if not more so, for terrestrial and soil environments.
While aquatic microplastics get a lot of attention, soil microplastics interact with a uniquely complex matrix:
Extreme Physical and Chemical Weathering: Agricultural soils and topsoils are subjected to intense mechanical stress (plowing, bioturbation by earthworms), high oxidative weathering, and diurnal UV exposure. Microplastics quickly become fractured, highly irregular, and micro-cracked—far removed from smooth, pristine spheres.
Soil Bio-Corona and Organic Matter (NOM): Soil is rich in dissolved organic matter, humic acids, fulvic acids, and root exudates. Weathered microplastics in soil rapidly acquire a specialized "eco-corona" made of soil macromolecules. This drastically alters how soil organisms (like earthworms, nematodes, and soil microbes) interact with and ingest the particles.
Pesticide and Heavy Metal Aggregation: Soil particles naturally adsorb agrochemicals, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants. Weathered, high-surface-area microplastics act as potent sinks and vectors for pesticides (like glyphosate or neonicotinoids), carrying them directly into the gut of soil fauna via the Trojan Horse mechanism.
Physical Soil Dynamics: Pristine spheres roll easily and don't reflect how real micro-fibers or weathered fragments clog pore spaces, alter soil water-holding capacity, or affect root growth.
Testing pristine beads in soil toxicology completely ignores the biochemical interplay between plastics, humic substances, and soil biota. Extending standardized weathering protocols to terrestrial ecotoxicology is vital if we want realistic agricultural and environmental risk assessments!
Great wok!
True innovation in agricultural materials science is not defined by how efficiently a carrier delivers its payload. It is defined by how seamlessly it disappears when the job is done.............and how beneficially its residues merge into the plant–soil matrix.
@Hadijah NS
Thank you for reading, Hadijah!
You’ve hit on an incredibly critical point that elevates this entire discussion: “merging beneficially.”
True circularity in agricultural materials means the empty carrier shouldn't just be an "inert ghost" that disappears—it should actively become a secondary resource. When we design matrices using natural polyelectrolytes or metal-organic frameworks built with nutrient-based metal nodes (like magnesium or iron) and organic linkers (like amino acids), the degradation fragments act as micro-nutrients or biostimulants for the soil microbiome.
The goal isn't just zero toxicity; it’s active soil enrichment.
What type of bio-degradable matrices do you think hold the most promise for achieving this kind of dual-benefit delivery system?
I've laid out the materials case—what's the biggest non‑technical barrier you see? Public acceptance? Supply chain? Regulatory inertia? I'd genuinely like to hear from water engineers, sanitation specialists, and behavioural scientists.