Plastic additives and microplastics as emerging contaminants: Mechanisms and analytical assessment

Plastic additives comprise a plethora of substances that serve numerous purposes in the plastic industry. These can be used to assist the molding of plastics and can contribute to providing optimal performance to the material when molded and used, or, simply, to reduce costs. However, these additives, and non-polymerized monomers, far more hazardous than their poly-counterparts, may be released throughout the entire life cycle of plastics, posing risks to the environment and, ultimately, human health. Hence, many studies have delved into the mechanistic uptake/release of these compounds. Herein, we briefly overview the current knowledge on the underlying processes affecting these mechanisms. We also outline the potential ecological consequences of these hazardous substances and explore some of the prevailing analytical methodologies used for their determination in both environment and laboratory studies. Furthermore, we highlight the key limitations of the currently available literature and present a prospective outlook for future research.