Papers

Effects of combined microplastics and heavy metals pollution on terrestrial plants and rhizosphere environment: A review

This review summarizes how microplastics and heavy metals interact in soil to affect plant growth and the surrounding ecosystem. When present together, these pollutants cause significantly more harm than either alone, reducing plant weight by up to 87.5% and altering how heavy metals accumulate in crops -- raising concerns about food safety and human exposure through contaminated agricultural products.

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on cadmium accumulation in Solanum nigrum L.: A study involving microbial communities and metabolomics profiles

This study found that polyethylene microplastics in soil reduced the ability of a plant known for cleaning up cadmium contamination to absorb the toxic metal. The microplastics changed the soil's microbial community and altered the plant's metabolism in ways that disrupted its natural heavy metal uptake process. This is important because it suggests microplastic pollution in farmland could interfere with natural and engineered soil cleanup strategies for heavy metals.

Effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) on the physiology and molecular metabolism of corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings

Researchers exposed corn seedlings to polystyrene nanoplastics of different sizes and measured effects on plant growth, photosynthesis, and molecular metabolism. They found that the nanoplastics accumulated in roots and disrupted antioxidant enzyme systems and metabolic pathways, though photosynthesis was relatively unaffected. The study suggests that nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils could subtly impair crop development at the molecular level.

Nanoplastic-induced antibody liquid-liquid phase separation: Insights into potential immunotoxic implications

Researchers found that carboxyl-modified polystyrene nanoparticles can induce liquid-liquid phase separation (a process where proteins condense into dense droplets) in antibodies in a size-dependent manner, disrupting antigen-binding capability — identifying a novel mechanism by which nanoplastics may impair immune function at the molecular level.

Polystyrene nanoplastics modulate VGLL3 phase separation by enhancing intermolecular interactions: Implications for fibrosis and beyond

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect the behavior of VGLL3, a protein involved in fibrosis, by modulating its ability to form liquid-like condensates inside cells. They found that negatively charged nanoplastics selectively triggered VGLL3 to cluster together in a concentration- and size-dependent manner by stabilizing protein-to-protein contacts on the particle surface. The study provides a mechanistic basis for how aged or surface-modified microplastics could potentially influence fibrosis-related cellular processes.

Potential of a novel magnetic gangue material for remediating wastewater and field co-polluted by microplastics and heavy metals

Polystyrene nanoplastics enhance macrophyte litter decomposition via bacterial-fungal interactions in urban lake

Efficient removal of microplastics from aqueous solution by a novel magnetic biochar: performance, mechanism, and reusability

Researchers developed a magnetic biochar from rice husks that achieved 99.96% removal of microplastics from water, with the material showing excellent reusability and performance under various environmental conditions.

Combined Exposure of Microplastics and Climate Warming Affects the Bacteria-Driven Macrophyte Litter Decomposition in an Urban Lake

Researchers conducted a 30-day microcosm experiment to study how climate warming and polystyrene microplastics interact to affect plant litter decomposition in lake ecosystems. The study found that combined warming and high microplastic concentrations promoted litter decomposition by increasing bacterial biomass and diversity, but also raised concerns by boosting potentially harmful bacteria on microplastic surfaces.

In situ effects of microplastics on the decomposition of aquatic macrophyte litter in eutrophic shallow lake sediments, China

Researchers conducted an in situ experiment to examine how polypropylene microplastics in lake sediments affect the decomposition of aquatic plant litter. The study found that high concentrations and larger sizes of microplastics can accelerate leaf litter breakdown and nutrient release, with effects mediated through changes in microbial respiration and macroinvertebrate communities.

Liquid-liquid phase separation as a regenerative framework for adaptive and sustainable pollution management

Researchers review how liquid-liquid phase separation — the same molecular process that forms membrane-less compartments in cells — can be harnessed to selectively capture and release pollutants including micro- and nanoplastics, proposing it as a foundation for regenerable, adaptive water treatment systems that recover and reuse the separation material.

Enhanced removal of microplastics from wastewater treatment plants by a novel magnetic filter

This study developed a novel magnetic adsorption approach to enhance microplastic removal in wastewater treatment plant effluents, achieving high removal efficiency across a range of particle sizes and polymer types.

Removal of polystyrene nanoplastics in multisolute systems with metallic contaminants using magnetic particles

Dissolved organic matter decreases the interaction between polystyrene nanoplastics and magnetic biochar in multi-solute systems

[Characteristics, Risk Assessment of Microplastics, and Heavy Metal Pollution in Farmland Soils in the Upper Hanjiang River].

Researchers characterized microplastic and heavy metal pollution in farmland soils of the upper Hanjiang River, finding microplastic abundances of 360-6,300 particles/kg dominated by film-shaped PP and PE fragments under 0.5 mm, with Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb exceeding background values and moderate overall compound pollution risk.

Nanoplastic-Induced Antibody Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation: Insights into Potential Immunotoxic Implications