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Potential Health Risks of Micro-Nanoplastics and Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Review of Exposure Pathways and Toxic Effects
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This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics can enhance the bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants through a Trojan horse effect, leading to combined inflammatory, cellular, and metabolic toxic effects that threaten human health beyond what either contaminant causes alone.
Human exposure to micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) occurs concurrently via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. Once inside the body, MNPs may act as carriers for POPs due to their adsorption capacity, potentially enhancing the bioavailability and tissue distribution of these toxic compounds through a "Trojan horse" effect. This interaction can lead to combined toxicological effects—such as inflammatory responses, cellular dysfunction, and metabolic disturbances—that threaten human health. This review critically assesses the combined health impacts of MNP–POP co-exposure, evaluates advanced methodological approaches including in vitro organoid models and multi-omics integration, and identifies key research priorities such as intracellular transport mechanisms and the development of human-relevant risk assessment frameworks. Our goal is to provide a scientific basis for improved health risk assessment and preventive health strategies related to mixed pollutant exposure.
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Combined toxicity of micro/nanoplastics loaded with environmental pollutants to organisms and cells: Role, effects, and mechanism
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This review of 162 articles found that micro/nanoplastics act as vectors transporting heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, drugs, bacteria, and viruses into organisms, with combined exposure often increasing toxicity beyond individual pollutant effects. Nanoplastics' 'Trojan horse' effect specifically increased the bioaccessibility of environmental pollutants, elevating carcinogenic risk to humans.
Toxic Chemicals and Persistent Organic Pollutants Associated with Micro-and Nanoplastics Pollution
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Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics act as carriers for toxic chemical additives and persistent organic pollutants — like flame retardants and pesticides — making these contaminants more available and harmful once they enter food chains and human bodies. The review identifies major gaps in understanding how these chemicals detach from plastic particles inside living organisms and what health effects they cause.
A review on the combined toxicological effects of microplastics and their attached pollutants
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as carriers for other environmental pollutants — including heavy metals and persistent organic chemicals — and how these combinations produce toxic effects in organisms that are more severe than either contaminant alone. The findings highlight a complex, layered toxicity problem that affects microbes, invertebrates, and vertebrates across marine and terrestrial environments.
Trojan horse in the intestine: A review on the biotoxicity of microplastics combined environmental contaminants
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This review examines how microplastics act as 'Trojan horses' by carrying other environmental contaminants such as heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, and pathogens into the intestinal system. Researchers analyzed the mechanisms by which microplastics adsorb and release these co-contaminants and how the combinations affect the gut barrier. The study highlights that the interactive toxicity of microplastics with other pollutants may be more harmful than either pollutant alone, particularly to intestinal health.
Microplastics as vectors for environmental contaminants in the food chain: Assessing the combined toxicological effects and bioavailability
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This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics act as carriers for environmental pollutants including heavy metals, organic chemicals, and microbial agents as they move through food chains. Researchers detail how polymer type, particle size, and environmental conditions influence the binding and release of these contaminants. The study highlights that the combined toxicity of microplastics together with the pollutants they carry may be greater than either would cause alone.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.