Expanding exploration of dynamic microplastic surface characteristics and interactions

Combined abiotic and biotic weathering of microplastic particles: Alterations of their physicochemical properties and interactions with cells

Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Physicochemical Properties and Toxicity of Microplastics: A Concise Review

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Researchers reviewing biofilm formation on microplastics found that microbial colonization alters the particles' surface chemistry, density, and pollutant adsorption capacity, ultimately affecting how microplastics are ingested by organisms and how they influence nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems.

Replicating real-world microplastics with accelerated physicochemical ageing

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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.

Interfaces That Never Settle: Reconceptualizing Micro- and Nanoplastic Interaction Coefficients as Evolving Descriptors

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Scientists have long used fixed "interaction numbers" to predict how tiny plastic particles behave in water, soil, and living things, like how easily they pick up toxic chemicals or get absorbed into cells. This paper argues those numbers aren't actually fixed at all: as plastic particles sit in the environment or the body, their surfaces constantly change (gaining coatings of proteins, bacteria, or grime), which changes how they interact with their surroundings over time. This matters because current safety and risk models may be underestimating or misjudging how microplastics behave in our bodies and environment, since they're based on outdated, one-time-

Microplastic Fate and Impacts in the Environment

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Microplastic pollution has been documented across virtually every ecosystem on Earth, from sea surfaces to deep sediments, polar regions to tropical rivers, and inside a wide range of organisms spanning multiple trophic levels. This comprehensive environmental presence confirms that microplastics pose systemic risks to biodiversity and human health through multiple exposure pathways.