Insights into responses of an adsorption‑biological coupling system to polystyrene microplastics exposed to different aging mechanisms

Aging Characteristics and Adsorption Properties of Microplastics: Research Progress

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Tiny plastic bits (microplastics) don't just sit unchanged in the environment, sunlight, weather, and other natural forces break them down over time, and this "aging" process actually makes them better at soaking up toxic substances like heavy metals. This review pulls together existing research to show that aged microplastics may pose a bigger contamination risk than fresh ones, which matters because these particles can end up in our water, food, and eventually our bodies. Understanding how this works helps scientists better predict the real-world risks microplastics pose to human health.

Adsorption behaviors and mechanisms of azithromycin on degradable and non-degradable microplastics aged with UV/sodium percarbonate

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Scientists found that when microplastics (both regular plastic and "eco-friendly" biodegradable plastic) get weathered by sunlight and cleaning chemicals used in wastewater treatment, their surfaces become rougher and chemically altered, making them up to 4 times better at soaking up azithromycin, a common antibiotic that surged in use during COVID-19. This matters because these antibiotic-loaded microplastics could act as carriers, potentially transporting drugs through water systems and the environment in ways that aren't fully understood yet, including possibly contributing to antibiotic resistance or human exposure down the line.

Temporal dynamics of bacterial biofilms and their relationship with heavy metals on expanded polystyrene microplastics

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A year-long field exposure study on expanded polystyrene microplastics at an aquaculture farm in the South China Sea found significant seasonal variation in attached bacterial communities dominated by Pseudomonas and Exiguobacterium, with high correlations between bacterial composition and co-occurring heavy metals. The findings demonstrate that EPS microplastics in aquaculture environments serve as dynamic carriers of both pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals, posing compounding contamination risks to farmed seafood and the humans who consume it.

Combined abiotic and biotic weathering of microplastic particles: Alterations of their physicochemical properties and interactions with cells

Microplastics’ Aging Processes in the Aquatic Environment: Aging Mechanisms, Altered Environmental Behaviors and Ecotoxicity

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This review details how physical, chemical, and biological aging processes transform microplastics in aquatic environments, altering their surface properties, pollutant adsorption capacity, and ability to leach plasticizers and flame retardants. Aged microplastics pose compounded risks to aquatic organisms and human health by acting as more potent carriers of toxic chemicals and penetrating biological tissues more readily than pristine particles.