We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Do microplastics mediate the effects of chemicals on aquatic organisms?
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examined whether microplastics act as vectors for chemical contaminants in aquatic organisms, finding that while chemicals can sorb to microplastics, the evidence for microplastics significantly enhancing chemical toxicity in natural settings remains limited.
Microplastics are ubiquitous in both marine and freshwater ecosystems, where they can act as a physical contaminant, as well as interact with chemicals present in the environment. It has been suggested that chemical contaminants can sorb to microplastics, such that microplastics act as a vector for chemicals into aquatic biota and enhance their negative effects. It has been repeatedly suggested that the main factors underpinning the binding of chemicals to microplastics are hydrophobic partitioning and the size of microplastic particles. Therefore, we used the hydrophobicity of chemicals, as log K, as well as the size of microplastic particles to conduct a quantitative analysis of published results to evaluate the influence of microplastics on chemical toxicity. We collated data from 39 laboratory studies that assessed the effects of microplastics, chemicals and their combination on several ecotoxicological responses of freshwater and marine organisms. Each chemical was assigned the relevant octanol / water partition coefficient (log K) as a measure of its hydrophobicity, and the mean size of microplastics particles used in each study was recorded. We found no effect of log K or the size of microplastic particles on the interaction between microplastics and chemicals with regards to any of the relevant ecotoxicological responses (behaviour, growth, survival and cellular) considered in this study. These findings are significant in showing that the effect of microplastics on the toxicity of chemicals is more complex than just considering hydrophobicity of chemicals and size of microplastics. We call for more mechanistic experiments to motivate a robust risk assessment and mitigation of microplastic toxicity in the environment.
More Papers Like This
Effect of microplastics on the environmental behavior of emerging contaminants in aquatic matrices
AI summary Read the abstract
This study examines how microplastics affect the environmental behavior of emerging contaminants in aquatic systems. Microplastics can adsorb other pollutants and alter their bioavailability, potentially increasing or decreasing toxic effects depending on the chemicals and environmental conditions.
Weight of Evidence for the Microplastic Vector Effect in the Context of Chemical Risk Assessment
AI summary Read the abstract
This study critically evaluates the evidence for microplastics acting as vectors that increase organism exposure to plastic-associated chemicals, finding that the vector effect is generally minor compared to other exposure routes in realistic environmental scenarios.
Microplastics as vectors of pharmaceuticals in aquatic organisms – An overview of their environmental implications
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as "vectors" for pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic environments, absorbing drugs onto their surfaces and then releasing them inside organisms after ingestion — potentially amplifying the toxicity of pharmaceuticals throughout the food web.
Interactive effects of micro/nanoplastics and nanomaterials/pharmaceuticals: Their ecotoxicological consequences in the aquatic systems
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics interact with co-occurring nanomaterials and pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments, finding that plastics act as vectors that can either amplify or attenuate the bioavailability and toxicity of these contaminants depending on species, trophic level, and environmental conditions.
Microplastics as vectors of contaminants
AI summary Read the abstract
This review highlights the emerging role of microplastics as carriers of biological and chemical contaminants in water environments. Researchers note that while microplastic pollution is increasingly well-documented, the interactions between contaminants adsorbed onto microplastic surfaces and aquatic organisms remain poorly understood. The study stresses the need for further investigation into how microplastics may facilitate the transport and bioavailability of pollutants.
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.