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Aging transforms marine microplastics into reactive interfaces with environmental consequences
Summary
This review pulls together research showing that when microplastics in the ocean get weathered by sun, waves, and bacteria, their surfaces become rougher and chemically "stickier"—turning them into magnets for heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics. This matters because these aged plastics can then carry a cocktail of toxic hitchhikers through the food chain, potentially ending up on our plates via seafood, and may behave in ways that are harder to predict or clean up than fresh, unweathered plastic.
Microplastics are pervasive contaminants in marine ecosystems and pose widespread threats to marine organisms and ecological processes. Diverse environmental stressors trigger microplastic aging through photooxidation, mechanical abrasion, and microbial colonization, which reshapes their physicochemical and biological traits. Aging induces polymer degradation, chemical group transformation, and increased surface roughness, greatly enhancing interfacial reactivity and adsorption toward heavy metals, organic pollutants, and antibiotics. It also alters microplastic transport, bioavailability, and toxicity, leading to cascading marine ecological risks. This review summarizes recent advances in marine microplastic aging mechanisms and surface evolution. An "interface reprogramming" framework is proposed to clarify how aging governs microplastic behaviors, pollutant interactions, and ecological fates. These findings deepen the understanding of microplastic hazards and support science-driven strategies for marine pollution mitigation.