Papers

Strategy towards producing relevant and reliable data for the hazard assessment of micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils

This paper outlines a strategy for producing better scientific data on the hazards of micro and nanoplastics in agricultural soils. Current research suffers from a lack of standardized testing methods, unrealistic experimental conditions, and inconsistent materials, making it hard to draw reliable conclusions. The authors provide specific recommendations for more environmentally relevant experiments that could support meaningful regulations to protect soil ecosystems and food safety.

Microplastics in drinking water treatment – Current knowledge and research needs

This review examines the current state of knowledge about microplastics in drinking water treatment, including how treatment plants remove these particles. Researchers found that conventional treatment processes like coagulation and filtration can remove a significant portion of microplastics, but some particles still pass through to finished water. The study identifies key research gaps around the effectiveness of different treatment technologies and the health implications of residual microplastics.

Photocatalysis dramatically influences motion of magnetic microrobots: Application to removal of microplastics and dyes

Researchers developed magnetic microrobots with photocatalytic capabilities that can capture and break down microplastics and dyes in water. They discovered that the photocatalysis process itself significantly changes the robots' movement patterns, which must be accounted for in design. This technology represents a promising approach to actively removing microplastic pollution from water environments.

Exploring the impacts of microplastics and associated chemicals in the terrestrial environment – Exposure of soil invertebrates to tire particles

Researchers exposed three species of soil invertebrates to ground-up tire particles and found that at concentrations similar to those found near roadsides, the particles reduced reproduction and survival in springtails and suppressed enzyme activity in woodlice. The tire particles contained high levels of zinc and various organic pollutants. The study suggests that tire wear microplastics, one of the largest sources of environmental microplastic, can have measurable harmful effects on soil-dwelling organisms.

Toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on microalgae Chlorella vulgaris: Changes in biomass, photosynthetic pigments and morphology

This study tested how polystyrene nanoplastics of three different sizes affect green algae and found a clear pattern: smaller particles were more toxic than larger ones. The smallest nanoplastics (90 nm) caused the greatest reductions in algal growth and photosynthetic pigments, along with visible changes in cell shape and increased clumping. The findings suggest that as plastics break down into ever-smaller particles in the environment, their potential for biological harm may increase.

The measurement of food safety and security risks associated with micro- and nanoplastic pollution

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastic pollution enters the human food chain through agricultural systems, raising concerns for food safety and security. They identified major gaps in our ability to assess the risks of plastic contamination in food and feed sources. The study calls for interdisciplinary approaches and better analytical methods to understand and address this growing challenge.

A Maze in Plastic Wastes: Autonomous Motile Photocatalytic Microrobots against Microplastics

Researchers developed sunlight-powered microrobots that can autonomously navigate through water channels, capture microplastic particles, and break them down through photocatalysis. The tiny robots combine photocatalytic and magnetic materials, allowing them to self-propel under visible light and be precisely guided with magnets. The study demonstrates a novel, energy-efficient approach to actively seeking out and degrading microplastic pollution in aquatic environments.

Partitioning of chemical contaminants to microplastics: Sorption mechanisms, environmental distribution and effects on toxicity and bioaccumulation

This review critically examines how chemical contaminants like persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals sorb onto microplastic surfaces in the environment. Researchers found that while microplastics can concentrate pollutants at levels far above surrounding water, the actual contribution of microplastics to contaminant transfer into organisms may be less significant than direct exposure from water and food. The study calls for more realistic experimental designs to clarify the true risk.

Pretreatment-free SERS sensing of microplastics using a self-attention-based neural network on hierarchically porous Ag foams

Researchers developed a new sensor platform that can identify six common types of microplastics in environmental samples without the time-consuming separation and pre-treatment steps usually required. The system uses specially designed silver surfaces combined with an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyze the unique chemical fingerprints of different plastics. Faster, cheaper microplastic detection tools like this are essential for monitoring contamination levels in water and food that affect human health.

Microplastic Removal and Degradation by Mussel‐Inspired Adhesive Magnetic/Enzymatic Microrobots

Researchers developed tiny magnetic microrobots inspired by mussel adhesive chemistry that can capture and break down microplastics in water. The microrobots use a sticky polydopamine coating to grab microplastic particles and an enzymatic component to degrade them. The study demonstrates a novel, biocompatible approach to actively removing microplastic pollution from aquatic environments, offering a potential alternative to passive filtration methods.

Occurrence of microplastics in raw and treated drinking water

Researchers analyzed raw and treated water from three water treatment plants and found microplastics in all samples, though treatment reduced particle counts by roughly 70 to 80 percent. The vast majority of detected particles were smaller than 10 micrometers, a size range often missed by other studies. The findings highlight that while water treatment removes most microplastics, very small particles can still pass through conventional filtration systems.

Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastics’ (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part II—Freshwater Organisms

This systematic review summarizes existing research on how nano- and microplastic particles affect the way freshwater organisms absorb environmental pollutants. The study found that tiny plastics can act as carriers for harmful chemicals like heavy metals and pesticides, potentially increasing their toxicity to fish and other freshwater life. This matters for human health because contaminated freshwater organisms can pass these pollutant-loaded plastics up the food chain to people.

Detection of Polystyrene Microplastics up to the Single Nanoparticle Limit Using SERS and Advanced ANN Design (KANformer)

Researchers developed a new detection method that can identify a single polystyrene nanoparticle using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy combined with an advanced machine learning algorithm. By heating microplastic samples to melt them into plasmonic hot spots on a sensor surface, they overcame a key limitation of previous detection approaches. The technique also works for other common plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene, offering a powerful tool for monitoring microplastic contamination at extremely low concentrations.

A step to microplastic formation: Microcracking and associated surface transformations of recycled LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, and PP plastics exposed to UV radiation

Combined toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and lead on Chlorella vulgaris growth, membrane lipid peroxidation, antioxidant capacity, and morphological alterations

Researchers found that amino-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics and lead act synergistically to inhibit the growth of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris, with combined exposure producing greater reductions in chlorophyll, biomass, and cell size than either pollutant alone.

A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms

This systematic review investigates whether microplastics and nanoplastics help other environmental contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides accumulate in soil organisms. The research finds that the presence of plastic particles can change how much of these pollutants earthworms and other soil creatures absorb. This matters because contaminants that build up in soil organisms can eventually work their way into the food we grow and eat.

Production and characterisation of environmentally relevant microplastic test materials derived from agricultural plastics

Researchers produced large batches of microplastic test materials from agricultural mulching films, including both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable starch-based films. They thoroughly characterized the physical and chemical properties of both the original films and the resulting microplastic particles, including screening for chemical additives. The study provides much-needed standardized reference materials for scientists studying how agricultural microplastics behave in and affect soil environments.

Trapping and detecting nanoplastics by MXene-derived oxide microrobots

Researchers developed MXene-derived oxide microrobots capable of autonomously capturing nanoplastics from water using light-powered movement and magnetic collection. The self-propelled microrobots trapped nanoplastics on their surfaces and enabled subsequent electrochemical detection, offering a proof-of-concept for on-site nanoplastic screening and water remediation.

ASSURED Point-of-Need Food Safety Screening: A Critical Assessment of Portable Food Analyzers

This review assesses portable and handheld devices for rapid food safety screening at the point of need, covering technologies for detecting chemical contaminants, allergens, and adulterants. While not focused on microplastics specifically, the study evaluates analytical approaches that could be adapted for detecting microplastic contamination in food products.

Tracking additives fate from a biodegradable mulch film to soil: a comprehensive LC-MS investigation

Researchers conducted the first field study tracking how chemical additives leach from buried biodegradable mulch films into surrounding soil over time, finding that additive migration depends on molecular weight and polarity — with some stabilizers persisting in microplastic fragments for long-term accumulation while more polar additives migrate vertically through the soil profile.

Novel strategies for the determination of plastic additives derived from agricultural plastics in soil using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS)

Researchers developed new analytical methods using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to detect plastic additives that leach from agricultural mulching films into soil. They successfully identified and quantified multiple plastic additives including UV stabilizers, antioxidants, and plasticizers in soil samples from agricultural fields. The study highlights that these loosely bound chemical additives represent an underexplored source of soil contamination from agricultural plastic use.

Microplastic fibers influence Ag toxicity and bioaccumulation in Eisenia andrei but not in Enchytraeus crypticus

Researchers exposed two soil invertebrates — Eisenia andrei earthworms and Enchytraeus crypticus enchytraeids — to silver nanoparticles combined with microplastic fibers, finding that fibers increased silver accumulation and toxicity in earthworms but not in enchytraeids, revealing species-specific interactions between these co-contaminants.

Photocatalytic Microplastics “On‐The‐fly” Degradation via Motile Quantum Materials‐Based Microrobots

Researchers developed motile quantum material-based microrobots capable of photocatalytic degradation of microplastics on the fly, offering a promising active approach to breaking down plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

Pick up and dispose of pollutants from water via temperature-responsive micellar copolymers on magnetite nanorobots

Researchers developed temperature-responsive magnetic nanorobots that can actively swim through water, adsorb toxic pollutants like arsenic and herbicides onto their surface, and then release those pollutants for disposal simply by cooling the water. This nano-scale water treatment approach showed excellent removal efficiency and could be reused multiple times, offering a promising new tool for targeting specific contaminants in polluted water.