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Papers
39 resultsShowing papers from University of Debrecen
ClearMicro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona’s Role Revealed
Researchers showed that nanometer-sized polystyrene particles can reach the mouse brain within just 2 hours of being swallowed, crossing the blood-brain barrier that normally protects the brain from harmful substances. Computer simulations revealed that cholesterol molecules on the particle surface helped the nanoplastics slip through this barrier, suggesting that the tiniest plastic particles in our environment could potentially affect brain health.
Review of Crop Response to Soil Salinity Stress: Possible Approaches from Leaching to Nano-Management
This review covers approaches to managing soil salinity, a problem that threatens global food production, using methods ranging from traditional leaching to newer nanotechnology-based solutions. While not directly about microplastics, soil health is connected to microplastic contamination because plastic mulch films used in agriculture are a major source of microplastic pollution in farmland soils.
Pharmaceuticals and Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: A Comprehensive Review of Pathways and Distribution, Toxicological and Ecological Effects
This review examines how pharmaceuticals and microplastics travel through the environment and accumulate in aquatic food chains, with drug residues found at measurable levels in surface waters and microplastics reaching densities of up to a million particles per cubic meter in some water systems. When aquatic organisms absorb these combined pollutants, the contaminants can biomagnify up the food chain to humans, affecting growth, reproduction, and immune function.
Tellurium and Nano-Tellurium: Medicine or Poison?
This review examines tellurium, a rare element used in electronics and industry, exploring its dual nature as both a toxin and a potential medicine. While not directly about microplastics, nano-tellurium particles share similar concerns with nanoplastics regarding how tiny particles interact with the body -- tellurium nanoparticles can be toxic to kidneys, liver, and the nervous system, but may also have antibacterial and anticancer properties depending on their form and dose.
Exposome and unhealthy aging: environmental drivers from air pollution to occupational exposures
Researchers reviewed how environmental exposures over a lifetime — including air pollution, pesticides, heavy metals, and other toxicants — accelerate aging and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease, in part by crossing the blood-brain barrier and triggering inflammation. Understanding these exposome-aging links is key to developing strategies that protect brain and heart health as populations grow older.
Accumulation of Microplastics and Potentially Toxic Elements in Plant Leaves Along an Urbanization Gradient in Bangladesh
Researchers analyzed plant leaves along an urbanization gradient in Bangladesh and found that both microplastics and toxic metals like cadmium, lead, and zinc accumulated on leaf surfaces, with the highest levels near industrial areas. Only PET (polyethylene terephthalate) microplastics were detected, and their concentration correlated with industrial activity. The study shows that airborne microplastics and heavy metals co-accumulate on food-related vegetation, creating a potential pathway for human exposure through contaminated produce.
Why do some bird species incorporate more anthropogenic materials into their nests than others?
This review examines why certain bird species incorporate plastic and other human-made materials into their nests more than others, considering factors like habitat, diet, and nesting style. While the materials can sometimes provide benefits like pest deterrence, they also carry risks including entanglement and reduced insulation. The study illustrates how pervasive plastic pollution has become in natural ecosystems, with wildlife interactions serving as indicators of environmental microplastic contamination.
Nanofarming: Promising Solutions for the Future of the Global Agricultural Industry
This review covers how nanotechnology is being applied to improve agriculture through nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and nanosensors that can boost crop yields while reducing environmental impact. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because nano-based agricultural solutions could reduce reliance on plastic-intensive farming practices like plastic mulch films. Smarter farming technology may help decrease the amount of plastic entering agricultural soils.
Building Nanoplastic Models for Molecular Calculations
Researchers developed a systematic method for building computer models of nanoplastic particles using simulated annealing and quantum chemistry calculations. The resulting models for polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and nylon closely matched experimentally observed structures, providing a reliable foundation for future computational studies of how nanoplastics interact with biological systems.
Comparative Phytotoxicity of Metallic Elements on Duckweed Lemna gibba L. Using Growth- and Chlorophyll Fluorescence Induction-Based Endpoints
This study tested the toxic effects of twelve different metals and metalloids on duckweed plants using a chlorophyll fluorescence imaging method. Researchers found that growth-based measurements were more sensitive than photosynthesis-based ones for detecting metal toxicity, and they ranked the metals by their relative harm to this common aquatic plant.
Role of Microplastics in Global Warming and Climate Change: A Review
This review examines how microplastics contribute to climate change through multiple pathways, including disrupting ocean carbon capture by phytoplankton, releasing greenhouse gases from soil, and potentially influencing cloud formation in the atmosphere. Researchers found that climate-driven extreme weather events also redistribute microplastics, creating a feedback loop that worsens both problems. The study makes the case that microplastic pollution and climate change should be addressed as interconnected challenges.
Microplastics in water, sediments, and fish at Alpine River, originating from the Hindu Kush Mountain, Pakistan: implications for conservation
Researchers examined microplastic contamination in water, sediments, and fish from the Swat River in Pakistan, originating from the Hindu Kush Mountains. The study found microplastics present across all sample types, even in this relatively remote mountain river system, with concentrations linked to municipal and industrial discharges along the river.
Soil Degradation under a Changing Climate: Management from Traditional to Nano-Approaches
This review examines how climate change accelerates soil degradation through erosion, salinization, and contamination from pollutants like microplastics. Researchers surveyed management approaches ranging from traditional conservation practices to cutting-edge nanotechnology-based solutions for soil restoration. The study highlights that combining conventional methods with emerging nano-approaches may offer the most effective path to protecting soil health under changing environmental conditions.
Comprehensive overview of sustainable food packaging material alternatives
This review provides a comprehensive overview of alternative packaging materials being developed to replace conventional plastics, including biodegradable plastics, cellulose, bamboo, edible packaging, and nano-cellulose. Researchers found that recycling plastics and producing bioplastics have not yet proven to be fully effective solutions, and the environmental impact of many alternatives remains unclear. The study notes that while no single alternative can fully replace plastic packaging, emerging materials show promise for reducing environmental impact and waste.
Planning for disposal of COVID-19 pandemic wastes in developing countries: a review of current challenges
Researchers review the acute challenges developing countries face in managing the surge of COVID-19-related medical waste, highlighting how pre-existing deficiencies in waste infrastructure, treatment capacity, and disposal practices create serious risks of accelerating viral spread and environmental contamination.
Nano-Food Farming: Toward Sustainable Applications of Proteins, Mushrooms, Nano-Nutrients, and Nanofibers
This review covers four key areas of nano-farming: nano-mushroom production, protein-based nanoparticles, nano-nutrients, and nanofibers for agricultural applications. Researchers highlight how nanotechnology can support sustainable food production, while noting the importance of understanding the environmental fate of nanomaterials including potential overlap with micro- and nanoplastic concerns.
The adsorption of drugs on nanoplastics has severe biological impact
Researchers used computational chemistry to examine how the antibiotic tetracycline adsorbs onto four different types of nanoplastics — polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and nylon. They found that nylon nanoplastics showed the strongest binding affinity for tetracycline, and these drug-plastic aggregates had significant biological impacts. The study suggests that nanoplastics carrying adsorbed pharmaceuticals could amplify health risks compared to either contaminant alone.
Biological Nanofertilizers to Enhance Growth Potential of Strawberry Seedlings by Boosting Photosynthetic Pigments, Plant Enzymatic Antioxidants, and Nutritional Status
Researchers found that biological nanofertilizers enhanced strawberry seedling growth by boosting photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activity, and nutritional status, offering a promising approach to overcome rooting challenges in strawberry production.
Burbot (Lota lota) as a bioindicator of microplastic pollution in the Tisza River: Multi-tissue contamination, polymer characterisation, and implications for ecological and human-health risks
Researchers provided the first evidence of microplastic contamination in burbot fish from the Hungarian Tisza River, detecting an average of 24.6 particles per individual across all sampled fish. Most particles were textile-derived fibers, with gills and the gastrointestinal tract showing the highest concentrations, and estimated human exposure through fish consumption ranged from 14 to 321 microplastic particles per week depending on age and diet.
Building Nanoplastic Models for Molecular Calculations
Researchers developed a systematic workflow for building stable nanoplastic computer models using simulated annealing and quantum chemical calculations. They applied the approach to four common plastic types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and nylon-66, and found that the resulting structures matched features observed in earlier theoretical and experimental studies. The method provides a foundation for more accurate molecular simulations of nanoplastic toxicity.
Nanoplastics can build themselves
Researchers developed a new computational approach to model how nanoplastic particles form, starting from individual monomer units that aggregate and grow into polymer strands. The simulation produces stable nanoplastic particles with diverse polymer lengths without requiring predefined structural assumptions, providing more realistic model particles for studying nanoplastic toxicity and environmental behavior.
Polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in a colitis mouse model – effects on biodistribution, macrophage polarization, and gut microbiome
Researchers exposed colitis mouse models to polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics to test whether MNP exposure worsens inflammatory bowel disease, finding that MNPs altered biodistribution and exacerbated inflammatory responses in animals with pre-existing gut inflammation.
Polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in a colitis mouse model – effects on biodistribution, macrophage polarization, and gut microbiome
Researchers induced colitis in mice using dextran sodium sulfate and orally administered polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics of three sizes, then tracked biodistribution, macrophage polarization, and gut microbiome changes. In colitis conditions, microplastic uptake into systemic tissues was enhanced, macrophages shifted toward a pro-inflammatory phenotype, and gut microbial diversity decreased, suggesting that inflammatory bowel disease increases vulnerability to microplastic-driven systemic harm.
Nanoplastics Alter DNA
Researchers demonstrated that positively charged polystyrene chains can bind directly to DNA helices through electrostatic interactions with phosphate groups, inducing structural changes in the DNA. The findings suggest nanoplastics with charged surfaces could interfere with DNA structure and function at the molecular level.