Contact

Porträt Dr. Mayordomo Herranz, Natalia; FWOG-T

Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz

Head "TecRad" Wechselwirkung von Technetium mit Mikroorganismen, Metaboliten und an Mineral-Wasser-Grenzflächen - Radioökologische Betrachtungen
n.mayordomo-herranzhzdr.de
Phone: +49 351 260 2076

Social Media

NukSiFutur Young investigator group TecRad: Interactions of technetium with microorganisms, metabolites and at the mineral-water interface – Radioecological considerations.

Project. NukSiFutur Young investigators group TecRad: Interactions of technetium with microorganisms, metabolites and at the mineral-water interface – Radioecological considerations.

Funding source. German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).

Duration: From 1.7.2022 to 30.06.2027

Grant number. Ref 02NUK072

Project sponsor: Projektträger Karlsruhe (PTKA).

Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz works in the Surface Processes Department and since July 2022 is the leader of the NukSiFutur young investigators group TecRad. In addition to the team members funded by BMBF, Dr. Marcos Martínez Moreno joined TecRad in October 2024 and his position is funded by the Ramón Areces Fundation.

Foto: Team TecRad ©Copyright: Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz — Team members from left to right: Marcos Martínez-Moreno, Vijay K. Saini, Caroline Börner, Arkadz Bureika, Natalia Mayordomo, and Irene Cardaio.

Source: Dr. Mayordomo Herranz, Natalia

Our Motivation

Technetium is an element whose all isotopes are radioactive, being technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) the most abundant. ⁹⁹Tc is one of the main fission products of uranium-235 and plutonium-239 and it will significantly contribute to radioactivity emitted by any spent nuclear fuel since ⁹⁹Tc has a long half-life (ca. 0.2 million years). Therefore, Tc needs to be considered in the long-term safety assessment of the nuclear waste repository. In addition, ⁹⁹Tc is the daughter isotope of metastable technetium-99 (^99mTc) the most worldwide used radioisotope for cancer diagnosis at hospitals. In this context, ⁹⁹Tc is daily discharged in wastewater although in low concentrations.

Foto: Hypothetical technetium-polluted area. The arrows represent the mobility of technetium and interaction with minerals or microorganisms (yellow circles). ©Copyright: Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz — Hypothetical technetium-polluted area. The arrows represent the mobility of technetium and interaction with minerals or microorganisms (yellow circles).

Environmental transport of Tc depends on the chemical conditions (e.g., pH, presence of ions, and redox potential), and it can drastically decrease when Tc is immobilized by reactive surfaces such as minerals or microorganisms. Therefore, it is relevant to study the immobilization mechanisms of Tc to develop technologies that help to protect the human being and the entire biosphere against Tc radio- and chemotoxicity.

Our approach

For a sound understanding of Tc biogeochemical behavior, our research will be approached from a multidisciplinary point of view, combining physical as well as radio-, geo- and biochemical methods. In particular, we focus on several advanced microscopic, electrochemical, and spectroscopic techniques to determine thermodynamic data of Tc in water or at the water-biogeochemical interfaces, that is derived on a molecular level. Furthermore, we aim at developing a new methodology for spectro-electrochemical experiments that can be further applied to other redox-active pollutants such as uranium, plutonium, selenium, arsenic, or chromium.

Our goals

Our goal is to study Tc behavior under more complex conditions, which could resemble environmental scenarios. Therefore, we will investigate how Tc interacts with microorganisms, metabolites, and minerals that are potentially present in the nuclear waste repository. First, Tc coordination is investigated in binary systems. Consequently, these data serve as models to study complex ternary or quaternary systems.

We will use the obtained thermodynamic data for development and parametrization of biogeochemical models. Until now, this has hardly been possible for redox-active systems such as plutonium, arsenic or selenium.

Team

Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Caroline Börner	801/P254	2251	c.boernerhzdr.de
Arkadz Bureika	801/P201	2434	a.bureikahzdr.de
Irene Cardaio	801/P254	2251	i.cardaiohzdr.de
Dr. Marcos Felipe Martinez Moreno	801/P352	3154	m.martinez-morenohzdr.de
Dr. Natalia Mayordomo Herranz	801/P252	2076	n.mayordomo-herranzhzdr.de
Vijay Kumar Saini	801/P352	3328	v.sainihzdr.de

Alumni

Name	Position at HZDR
Thomas Zimmermann	Ph.D. student
Sonia García Gomez	Ph.D. student
Caroline Börner	Master student
Tom Pfandt	Master student
Riya Rajayyan	Master student
Yann Williot	Master student

Event organization

From November 21^st-24^th, it will take place the Joint TecRad-RULET Autumn School on Technetium and other Fission Products.
The school will be funded by TecRad and RULET projects.

Research internships

1. Vijay K. Saini plans to work from August to November 2025 at University of Florida (Gainsville, USA).
2. Irene Cardaio has worked from February to May 2025 at The University of Manchester (UK).

TecRad in the media

Selccted Publications

2025

Technetium - The Unknown Center of the Periodic Table

Strub, E.; Badea, D.; Bruns, J.; Frontera, A.; Mayordomo, N.; Sakhonenkova, A.; Roca Jungfer, M.; Wickleder, M.; Yong, C.; Zegke, M.

European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 28(2025)9, e202400780
DOI: 10.1002/ejic.202400780
Cited 1 times in Scopus

Experimental pathways of clay formation and kinetics of basalt alteration in poor drainage systems: Implications for weathering

Sriwastava, P.; Saini, V. K.; Mathew, G.; Shukla, A. D.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 396(2025), 13-27
DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2025.01.042

2023

Cadmium sorption on alumina nanoparticles, and mixtures of alumina and smectite: An experimental and modelling study

Mayordomo, N.; Missana, T.; Alonso, U.

Related publications

Data publication: Cadmium sorption on alumina nanoparticles, and mixtures of …
ROBIS: 37929 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 37488) publication

Minerals 13(2023)12, 1534
DOI: 10.3390/min13121534
Cited 1 times in Scopus

Analysis of Cadmium Retention Mechanisms by a Smectite Clay in the Presence of Carbonates

Missana, T.; Alonso, U.; Mayordomo, N.; García-Gutiérrez, M.

Related publications

Data publication: Analysis of Cadmium Retention Mechanisms by a Smectite Clay …
ROBIS: 36480 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 36478) publication

Toxics 11(2023)2, 130
DOI: 10.3390/toxics11020130
Cited 2 times in Scopus

Hybridised production of technetium-99m and technetium-101 with fluorine-18 on a low-energy biomedical cyclotron

Johnstone, E. V.; Mayordomo, N.; Mausolf, E. J.

EPJ Techniques and Instrumentation 10(2023)1, 1
DOI: 10.1140/epjti/s40485-023-00089-2

2022

Discovery, nuclear properties, synthesis and applications of technetium-101

Johnstone, E. V.; Mayordomo, N.; Mausolf, E. J.

Related publications

Data publication: Discovery, nuclear properties, synthesis and applications of …
ROBIS: 35406 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 35405) publication

Communications Chemistry 5(2022), 131
DOI: 10.1038/s42004-022-00746-9
Cited 2 times in Scopus

Thesis

Wechselwirkung von Tc mit Eisen(II)phosphaten

Börner, C.

Master thesis
Technische Universität Dresden, 2023
Mentor: Prof. Thorsten Stumpf and Dr. Natalia Mayordomo

Contributions to conferences

2025

The Effect of Metabolites on Pyrite Solubility under Anoxic Conditions

Saini, V. K.; Lehmann, F.; Müller, K.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Lecture (others)
Workshop on thermodynamic modeling, 12.-14.05.2025, Braunschweig, Germany

Sorption of [TcI(CO)₃(H₂O)₃]⁺ on redox active and inactive minerals

Börner, C.; Roca Jungfer, M.; Kretzschmar, J.; Müller, K.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Lecture (others)
Workshop on thermodynamic modeling, 12.-14.05.2025, Braunschweig, Deutschland

Nuclear fuel cycle and its waste management

Mayordomo, N.

Invited lecture (Conferences)
Lectures of Master Subject "Discussion forums on sustainable chemistry", 16.-17.01.2025, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

Technetium biogeochemistry: The relevance of studying the redox chemistry from an environmental perspective

Bureika, A.; Saini, V. K.; Börner, C.; Cardaio, I.; Kretzschmar, J.; Cherkouk, A.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Invited lecture (Conferences)
ACS Spring Meeting 2025, 23.-27.03.2025, San Diego, United States of America

2024

Molecular to Macroscopic Insights: Technetium immobilization through iron(II) phosphate

Börner, C.; Roßberg, A.; Müller, K.; Schild, D.; Seewald, F.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Involved research facilities

Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265

Related publications

DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265 is cited by this (Id 39832) publication

Lecture (Conference)
Rising Stars Workshop, 25.-26.11.2024, Joint Research Center, Karlsruhe, Germany

Pertechnetate electrochemical reduction in carbonate environment: In situ and ex-situ 99Tc-NMR and UV/VIS spectroelectrochemical studies

Bureika, A.; Kretzschmar, J.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
Electrochemistry 2024, 16.-19.09.2024, Braunschweig, Deutschland

The role of dissimilatory iron reduction by a Desulfitobacterium isolate on the immobilization of technetium-99

Cardaio, I.; Müller, K.; Cherkouk, A.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Involved research facilities

Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265

Related publications

DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265 is cited by this (Id 39476) publication

Invited lecture (Conferences) (Online presentation)
1st webinar of the Alliance’s Young Researchers, 19.09.2024, Online webinar, Germany

Interaction of Tc with iron(II) phosphate

Börner, C.; Müller, K.; Schild, D.; Seewald, F.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
10th International Conference on Nuclear and Radiochemistry – NRC10, 25.-30.08.2024, Brighton, United Kingdom

The effect of metabolites on the solubility and Tc immobilization capability of pyrite

Saini, V. K.; Pfandt, T.; Müller, K.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
10th International Conference on Nuclear and Radiochemistry - NRC10, 25.-30.08.2024, Brighton, United Kingdom

Spectroelectrochemical coupling to study Tc speciation in solution

Mayordomo, N.; Bureika, A.; Kretzschmar, J.; Müller, K.

Contribution to proceedings
ATAS - AnXAS 2024, 07.-11.10.2024, Karlsruhe, Deutschland
Poster
ATAS - AnXAS 2024, 07.-11.10.2024, Karlsruhe, Deutschland

Interaction of technetium with metabolites, microorganisms and at the mineral-water interface: radioecological considerations. A project poster

Cardaio, I.; Bureika, A.; Börner, C.; Saini, V. K.; Kretzschmar, J.; Cherkouk, A.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Nuklearchemie 2024, 05.-07.11.2024, Karlsruhe, Germany

New insights on technetium speciation in carbonate media

Bureika, A.; Kretzschmar, J.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Lecture (Conference)
Jahrestagung der Fachgruppe Nuklearchemie 2024, 05.-07.11.2024, Karlsruhe, Germany

Wechselwirkungen von Technetium mit Mikroorganismen, Metaboliten und an der Mineral-Wasser-Grenzfläche – Radioökologische Betrachtungen

Börner, C.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
Tage der Standortauswahl 2024, 18.-19.04.2024, Goslar, Deutschland
DOI: 10.21268/20240416-1

Processes driven by iron reducing bacteria on technetium immobilization

Cardaio, I.; Müller, K.; Cherkouk, A.; Stumpf, T.; Mayordomo, N.

Lecture (Conference)
Atalante 2024 - Nuclear chemistry for sustainable fuel cycles, 01.-06.09.2024, Avignon, France

2023

Microbial immobilization of technetium-99

Cardaio, I.; Mayordomo, N.; Cherkouk, A.; Stumpf, T.; Müller, K.

Lecture (Conference)
HZDR Science Conference 2023, 15.-16.11.2023, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e. V., Deutschland

Application of dissimilatory iron reduction by a novel Desulfitobacterium sp. isolate for Tc-99 immobilization

Cardaio, I.; Mayordomo, N.; Stumpf, T.; Cherkouk, A.; Müller, K.

Lecture (Conference)
ChemTUgether 2023 & Alumni Meeting 2023, 29.09.2023, TU Dresden, Deutschland

Tc(VII) reductive immobilization by S(-II) pre-sorbed on alumina

Garcia-Gomez, S.; Börner, C.; Gimenez, J.; Casas, I.; Llorca, J.; de Pablo, J.; Müller, K.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
18th International Conference on the Chemistry and Migration Behaviour of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere (Migration), 25.-29.09.2023, Nantes, France

Technetium-99 Reduction in Carbonate Environment: An Spectroelectrochemical and ⁹⁹Tc-NMR Study

Bureika, A.; Kretzschmar, J.; Mayordomo, N.

Poster
FGMR Annual Discussion Meeting 2023, 18.-21.09.2023, Konstanz, Germany

Immobilization of technetium by iron corrosion phases: Lessons learnt and future perspectives

Mayordomo, N.; Rodríguez, D. M.; Brendler, V.; Roßberg, A.; Scheinost, A.; Cardaio, I.; Bureika, A.; Börner, C.; Müller, K.

Involved research facilities

Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265

Related publications

DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265 is cited by this (Id 37250) publication

Poster
safeND 2023: Forschungssymposium des BASE, 13.-15.09.2023, Berlin, Germany
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000163227

Chloride green rust as scavenger of technetium: immobilization and spectroscopic studies

Mayordomo, N.; Roßberg, A.; Rodríguez, D. M.; Schild, D.; Scheinost, A.; Brendler, V.; Müller, K.

Involved research facilities

Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265

Related publications

DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265 is cited by this (Id 37249) publication

Poster
18th International Conference on the Chemistry and Migration Behaviour of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere (Migration), 24.-29.09.2023, Nantes, France
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000162913

Interaction of technetium with metabolites, microorganisms and at the mineral-water interface: radioecological consideration

Mayordomo, N.; Cardaio, I.; Bureika, A.; Börner, C.; Müller, K.

Poster
18th International Conference on the Chemistry and Migration Behaviour of Actinides and Fission Products in the Geosphere (Migration), 24.-29.09.2023, Nantes, France

2022

Tc(VII) reductive immobilization by Sn(II) pre-sorbed on alumina nanoparticles

Mayordomo, N.; Roßberg, A.; Prieur, D.; Scheinost, A.; Kvashnina, K.; Müller, K.

Involved research facilities

Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265

Related publications

DOI: 10.1107/S1600577520014265 is cited by this (Id 35404) publication

Lecture (Conference)
ATAS-AnXAS 2022 - Joint Workshop, 17.-21.10.2022, Grenoble, France

A brief summary about technetium: Origin, medical applications, and environmental immobilization strategies

Mayordomo, N.

Invited lecture (Conferences) (Online presentation)
Week of science at Universidad de Alcalá, 23.11.2022, Alcalá de Henares, Spain