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Characterisation, quantity and sorptive properties of microplastics extracted from cosmetics
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Researchers extracted microplastics from a specific environmental matrix and characterized their properties — including size, shape, polymer type, and sorption capacity — providing insights into the physical and chemical behavior of environmentally weathered particles.
Cosmetic products, such as facial scrubs, have been identified as potentially important primary sources of microplastics to the marine environment. This study characterises, quantifies and then investigates the sorptive properties of plastic microbeads that are used as exfoliants in cosmetics. Polyethylene microbeads were extracted from several products, and shown to have a wide size range (mean diameters between 164 and 327 μm). We estimated that between 4594 and 94,500 microbeads could be released in a single use. To examine the potential for microbeads to accumulate and transport chemicals they were exposed to a binary mixture of (3)H-phenanthrene and (14)C-DDT in seawater. The potential for transport of sorbed chemicals by microbeads was broadly similar to that of polythene (PE) particles used in previous sorption studies. In conclusion, cosmetic exfoliants are a potentially important, yet preventable source of microplastic contamination in the marine environment.
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Sorptive Properties of Microplastics Extracted from Cosmetics
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Microbeads from cosmetic products were found to have significant sorptive capacity for environmental pollutants, meaning they can accumulate and transport harmful chemicals after being flushed into wastewater systems and escaping treatment. This dual role as both a pollutant and a chemical carrier makes cosmetic microplastics a disproportionate environmental threat relative to their small size.
Sorptive Properties of Microplastics Extracted from Cosmetics
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Researchers analyzed the sorptive properties of microbeads extracted from cosmetic products, finding that these particles can readily bind pollutants from water before being flushed into wastewater systems. Because cosmetic microbeads often bypass treatment filters, they may carry adsorbed toxic chemicals directly into aquatic ecosystems and potentially up the food chain.
Insights into emerging organic pollutants extraction from polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene microplastics
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Researchers developed and validated an analytical method for extracting and measuring emerging organic pollutants absorbed onto microplastics, simultaneously accounting for particle size, weathering state, and environmental matrix effects for the first time. The method worked well across multiple polymer types and real environmental samples, providing a more reliable tool for assessing the chemical contamination hitchhiking on microplastics in the environment.
Extraction And Determination Of Personal Care Products Adsorbed On Microplastics
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Researchers developed methods for extracting and determining personal care product chemicals that adsorb onto microplastic particles, examining how these compounds concentrate on plastic surfaces. Microplastics can carry surface-adsorbed chemicals including sunscreens and preservatives, increasing chemical exposure for organisms that ingest them.
Surface functional groups determine adsorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on polypropylene microplastics
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Researchers found that surface functional groups on aged polypropylene microplastics determined their adsorption capacity for pharmaceuticals and personal care products, with aged plastic showing much higher pollutant uptake than fresh plastic due to weathering-induced surface changes.
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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.