We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Stability of Microplastics: Detection of Potentially Harmful Compounds Produced by Microplastics During Accelerated Aging Studies
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers investigate how microplastics change chemically during accelerated aging, detecting potentially harmful compounds released as plastics degrade, raising concerns about the additional toxicological risks posed by weathered microplastics beyond the particles themselves.
Microplastics (MPs) have now been detected in all the main environmental compartments, and the associated environmental and health hazards have been the focus of intense social, scientific, and media attention (Goßmann et al. in Sci Total Environ 832, 2022;...
More Papers Like This
Contaminant Release from Aged Microplastic
AI summary Read the abstract
Aged microplastics release a range of adsorbed contaminants, including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, as they weather and degrade in the environment. This contaminant release mechanism makes aged microplastics particularly hazardous vectors for chemical exposure in both wildlife and humans.
Contaminant Release from Aged Microplastic
AI summary Read the abstract
Aged microplastics in the environment accumulate and release contaminants through sorption and desorption processes, acting as both reservoirs and delayed-release vectors for pollutants. As plastics weather over time, their increasing surface area and altered chemistry enhance contaminant uptake and release, meaning older environmental microplastics pose escalating toxicological risks to wildlife and humans.
A Review on the Fate of Microplastics: Their Degradation and Advanced Analytical Characterization
AI summary Read the abstract
This review covers current methods for extracting, degrading, and analytically characterizing microplastics from environmental and biological samples, highlighting major gaps in photo-oxidation, biodegradation, and photo-thermal degradation approaches. Establishing effective microplastic degradation methodologies is essential for reducing their prolonged environmental persistence and preventing ongoing bioaccumulation of plastic fragments and associated toxic chemicals in food chains.
Replicating real-world microplastics with accelerated physicochemical ageing
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed methods to artificially age microplastics in the lab so they accurately replicate the physicochemical properties of microplastics found in real-world environments. Environmentally realistic aged microplastics are essential for generating reliable toxicology data, since fresh plastic particles behave differently than weathered ones that organisms actually encounter.
Microplastics’ Aging Processes in the Aquatic Environment: Aging Mechanisms, Altered Environmental Behaviors and Ecotoxicity
AI summary Read the abstract
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.
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.