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The game changer of biofilm in microplastic pollution and potential environmental risks: Unveiling the pivotal roles on surface modification, metal adsorption, and biological uptake
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Tiny plastic particles floating in water don't stay "clean" for long — they quickly get coated with a slimy layer of bacteria and algae called biofilm. This study found that biofilm-covered microplastics soak up nearly twice as much toxic heavy metal (like cadmium) compared to bare plastic, and when zebrafish were exposed to these coated particles, the metal buildup in their guts nearly doubled. This matters because it suggests real-world microplastics — which are almost always covered in biofilm — could be carrying more harmful metals into our food chain and bodies than lab tests on "clean" plastic have sh
Microplastics (MPs), as pervasive environmental pollutants, can act as vectors for heavy metals (HMs); however, their surface properties and environmental risks are profoundly altered by biofilm colonization under realistic aquatic conditions. In this study, we systematically investigated the adsorption behaviors of cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu) on biofilm-developed MPs of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polylactic acid (PLA), and explored the potential environmental risks associated with the enhanced vector effect of biofilm-developed MPs on HMs in aquatic environments. After 35 days of biofilm cultivation, successful biofilm colonization was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and crystal violet staining, with an order of PP > PLA > PET. Biofilm formation significantly altered surface physiochemical properties of MPs as evidenced by increasing specific surface area and introducing oxygen/nitrogen-containing functional groups. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that biofilm-developed MPs exhibited significantly enhanced adsorption capacities for Cd/Cu, with Cd adsorption on PP increasing by up to 101.34% compared with virgin MPs. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm analysis revealed that biofilm-developed MPs conformed to the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir model, and were jointly dominated by physical adsorption, chemical adsorption and biological adsorption. Importantly, zebrafish exposure experiments demonstrated that the biofilm-developed MPs increased intestinal Cd accumulation by 95.43%, suggesting that biofilm colonization amplified the vector role of MPs and enhanced their associated environmental health risks. This study demonstrates that biofilm colonization is a game changer transforming MPs into more reactive and hazardous composite pollutants, emphasizing the necessity of incorporating this biotic layer into environmental risk assessments of MP-HMs.
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Adsorption of heavy metals by biofilm-coated microplastics in aquatic environments: Mechanisms, isotherm and kinetic processes, and influencing factors
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This review synthesizes research on how biofilms—microbial coatings that naturally form on microplastics in water—alter the particles' ability to absorb heavy metals like lead, copper, and cadmium, finding that biofilmed microplastics generally adsorb more metal than bare plastic and that electrostatic forces and surface complexation are the dominant mechanisms. This matters because microplastics coated in both biofilm and toxic metals may deliver a double dose of contamination to organisms that ingest them. The review identifies key gaps, including how competitive metal mixtures and shifting biofilm composition over time affect this combined pollution risk.
Research progress on the role of biofilm in heavy metals adsorption-desorption characteristics of microplastics: A review
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This review examines how biofilm formation on microplastics in aquatic environments modifies their properties and changes how they adsorb and release heavy metals. Researchers found that biofilm-covered microplastics behave significantly differently than bare microplastics, which has important implications for understanding the combined environmental risks of microplastics and heavy metal contamination.
Biofilm on microplastics in aqueous environment: Physicochemical properties and environmental implications
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This review examines how bacteria and other microorganisms form sticky films called biofilms on microplastic surfaces in water. These biofilms change how microplastics move through the environment and increase their ability to absorb pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics. Biofilm-coated microplastics may also carry harmful bacteria, making them a greater potential health risk than clean microplastic particles.
Adsorption of Cobalt onto Microplastics in Riverine Mesocosms: Influence of Biofilm Development
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Scientists found that microplastics floating in rivers develop a slimy coating of bacteria and algae (called a "biofilm") that acts like a sponge, soaking up cobalt, a metal that can be toxic in high amounts. Without this biofilm, the plastic barely absorbed any cobalt at all, meaning the microbes living on plastic waste may make it much better at collecting and potentially spreading toxic metals through waterways. This matters because it suggests microplastics aren't just passive pollution, they could become metal-carrying vehicles as they travel through rivers, streams, and eventually into the food we eat.
Influence of microplastic-associated biofilms on the bioavailability of a mixture of cadmium and benzo[a]pyrene by the analysis of biomarker gene expression in larval zebrafish
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Researchers found that microbial biofilms — thin layers of bacteria that coat microplastics in water — selectively reduce how much of a toxic chemical called benzo[a]pyrene gets absorbed by larval zebrafish, while not affecting cadmium absorption, showing that microplastics can act as complex, biology-influenced carriers of multiple pollutants simultaneously.
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