We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Microplastics as an emerging menace to environment: Insights into their uptake, prevalence, fate, and sustainable solutions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review provides a comprehensive look at how microplastics enter the environment, accumulate in living organisms, and move through food chains. The paper covers sources, transport mechanisms, and the health implications of microplastic exposure for both wildlife and humans. The authors also discuss emerging solutions including biodegradable alternatives and advanced filtration technologies.
The inflated demand for plastic products has led to tremendous rise in plastic debris in different environmental matrices, thereby resulting in plastic pollution. This affects plants, animals, and even humans, as microplastics can enter the food chain and cause several health implications. Microplastics are the small plastic particles (size below 5 mm) that are largely debated nowadays owing to their environmental risk assessment. Their potential to interact with other toxic contaminants, their tendency to be ingested or taken up by living organisms and their longevity is a serious threat to our environment. However, despite wealth of recent information, still there is a gap, particularly in eco-toxicology studies, fate, prevalence and feasible solutions to cope up with the menace of microplastics pollution. This review unravels the environmental fate and behaviour of microplastics as well as their global distribution in the marine and terrestrial environment. Furthermore, we aim to contribute to the international debate on the microplastics global paradigm. We briefly suggest sustainable solutions and recommendations to achieve future research goals on microplastics. Our review reveals some of the newest biological (green algae and modified sponges) and physical (nano-particles and membrane treatment) remediation solutions to eradicate microplastics from different types of environment. This review presents a critical evaluation of the state of knowledge of micro-plastics and suggested some recommendations which can help in identifying some important key questions for future research.
More Papers Like This
Micro- and Nano-Plastics Contaminants in the Environment: Sources, Fate, Toxicity, Detection, Remediation, and Sustainable Perspectives
AI summary Read the abstract
This review provides a broad overview of micro- and nanoplastic pollution, covering where these particles come from, how they spread through the environment, and the damage they cause to living things including humans. The authors also compare different methods for removing microplastics from the environment, including physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The paper calls for more research and global cooperation to develop better tools for measuring the health risks of plastic pollution.
Microplastics as Environmental Pollutants: Biological and Health Consequences – A Comprehensive Review
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers synthesized current knowledge on microplastic sources, environmental distribution, and biological effects across aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric systems, documenting pathways by which both primary and secondary microplastics enter organisms and accumulate through food webs.
Systematic Assessment of Mechanisms, Developments, Innovative Solutions, and Future Perspectives of Microplastics and Ecotoxicity – A Review
AI summary Read the abstract
This comprehensive review summarizes current knowledge about how microplastics form, spread through the environment, and affect living organisms at every level of the food chain. It covers the toxic effects of microplastics on cells, organs, and whole organisms, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormone disruption. The review also evaluates emerging methods for breaking down microplastics, concluding that a combination of prevention, cleanup, and policy changes is needed to address this growing health threat.
Microplastics in aquatic environment: Challenges and perspectives
AI summary Read the abstract
This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in water environments, covering sources, transport, health effects, detection methods, and control strategies. Microplastics enter waterways from everyday plastic products, industrial discharge, and wastewater treatment plants, where aquatic organisms ingest them and pass them up the food chain. The review highlights the urgent need for better analytical techniques and global policies to reduce microplastic contamination that ultimately reaches human food and drinking water.
Health implications of microplastic exposure and sustainable solutions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review explores the various pathways by which microplastics contaminate aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems through human activities, and how they accumulate in the food chain. Researchers summarize the health implications of microplastic exposure through mechanisms like oxidative stress, gut microbiome disruption, and inflammation. The study emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods and stronger regulatory frameworks to address microplastic contamination in the human food supply.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.