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Toxicological Research on Nano and Microplastics in Environmental Pollution: Current Advances and Future Directions
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This review summarizes existing research on how nano- and microplastics from our massive global plastic production enter aquatic environments, absorb harmful chemicals, and move through food chains into living organisms. Studies show these particles can cause brain damage, disrupt metabolism, trigger inflammation, and produce harmful oxidative stress in aquatic species, with microplastics even detected in commercial fish that people eat.
This review explains the sources of nanoplastics (NPs) and microplastics (MPs), their release, fate, and associated health risks in the aquatic environment. In the 21st century, scientists are grappling with a major challenge posed by MPs and NPs. The global production of plastic has skyrocketed from 1.5 million tons in the 1950s to an astonishing 390.7 million tons in 2021. This pervasive presence of these materials in our environment has spurred scientific inquiry into their potentially harmful effects on living organisms. Studies have revealed that while MPs, with their larger surface area, are capable of absorbing contaminants and pathogens from the surroundings, NPs can easily be transferred through the food chain. As a result, living organisms may ingest them and accumulate them within their bodies. Due to their minuscule size, NPs are particularly difficult to isolate and quantify. Furthermore, exposure to both NPs and MPs has been linked to various adverse health effects in aquatic species, including neurological impairments, disruption of lipid and energy metabolism, and increased susceptibility to cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. It is alarming to note that MPs have even been detected in commercial fish, highlighting the severity of this issue. There are also challenges associated with elucidating the toxicological effects of NPs and MPs, which are discussed in detail in this review. In conclusion, plastic pollution is a pressing issue that governments should tackle by ensuring proper implementation of rules and regulations at national and provincial levels to reduce its health risks.
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Micro(nano)plastics Prevalence, Food Web Interactions, and Toxicity Assessment in Aquatic Organisms: A Review
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This review examines the prevalence of micro- and nanoplastics across aquatic environments and their documented toxic effects on organisms ranging from plankton to fish, including DNA damage, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity. Researchers found clear evidence that these particles transfer through aquatic food webs and can ultimately reach humans through seafood consumption. The study calls for more research into how microplastics carrying multiple contaminants cause combined toxic effects in marine organisms.
Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.
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This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.
The Impact of Micro- and Nanoplastics on Aquatic Organisms: Mechanisms of Oxidative Stress and Implications for Human Health—A Review
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This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics cause oxidative stress, a harmful chemical imbalance, in aquatic organisms from plankton to fish. These tiny plastics accumulate in the food chain and may reach humans through seafood consumption. While the evidence of harm in aquatic species is growing, more research is needed to fully understand the implications for human health.
Overview of the ecotoxicological impacts of micro and nanoplastics in aquatic environments
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This review summarises the ecotoxicological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on marine and freshwater ecosystems, covering mechanisms including physical damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, reproductive impairment, and metabolic disruption in aquatic species. It also discusses bioaccumulation and trophic transfer dynamics.
Toxicological assessment of nanoparticles and microplastics
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This review examines the toxicological effects of nanoparticles and microplastics on aquatic organisms, summarizing mechanisms of harm including oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, DNA damage, tissue injury, and neurological disruption in fish. It highlights that secondary nanoplastics formed from macro- and microplastic degradation are more heterogeneous than primary particles, and that combined exposure with chemical pollutants amplifies toxicity, including the capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier in fish.
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