Papers

Multi-Interacting Natural and Anthropogenic Stressors on Freshwater Ecosystems: Their Current Status and Future Prospects for 21st Century

This review examines how multiple environmental stressors including pollution, climate change, invasive species, and nanoparticles are simultaneously degrading freshwater ecosystems worldwide. The combined effects of these stressors, including microplastic contamination, threaten both the ecological health of freshwater systems and the clean water supplies that human civilization depends on.

Actinomycete-Derived Pigments: A Path Toward Sustainable Industrial Colorants

This review explores how pigments made from soil bacteria called actinomycetes could replace synthetic dyes derived from petroleum. Synthetic pigments resist breakdown and accumulate in water systems, contributing to microplastic-like pollution. Bio-based pigments offer a more sustainable alternative, though scaling up production remains a challenge.

TiO₂-based photocatalytic degradation of microplastics in water: Current status, challenges and future perspectives

This review examines how titanium dioxide-based materials can break down microplastics in water using light energy, generating reactive molecules that dismantle plastic polymer chains. While promising, the technology still faces challenges with efficiency and potential harmful byproducts, and more research is needed before it can be used at scale to clean microplastics from real-world water supplies.

Current hurdles to the translation of nanomedicines from bench to the clinic

This review examines the challenges of translating nanomedicine research from the lab to approved medical treatments, focusing on regulatory hurdles and manufacturing consistency. While not directly about microplastics, the review is relevant because the same nanoparticle characterization methods and safety testing frameworks apply to understanding how nanoplastics behave in the human body. Lessons from nanomedicine development can help researchers better assess the health risks of nanoplastic exposure.

Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem

This study argues that groundwater should be recognized as a "keystone ecosystem" because of its critical role in sustaining surface environments, biodiversity, and human water supplies. Over half of the world's land surface has significant interaction with groundwater, yet it remains overlooked in conservation planning. Protecting groundwater is essential for planetary health, including safeguarding water sources from emerging contaminants like microplastics.

Synergistic Effects of Climate Change and Marine Pollution: An Overlooked Interaction in Coastal and Estuarine Areas

This systematic review examines how climate change and marine pollution, including microplastics, interact to produce combined effects that are worse than either problem alone. These synergistic effects in coastal areas are important to understand because they can amplify the health risks that pollutants pose to marine life and, through the food chain, to humans.

Impact of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) on the marine environment: Raising awareness, challenges, legislation, and mitigation approaches under the One Health concept

This review examines how PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), often called 'forever chemicals,' are contaminating marine environments and interacting with other pollutants including microplastics. PFAS accumulate in marine food chains and can combine with microplastics to amplify toxic effects on ocean wildlife and ultimately human health through seafood consumption. The authors call for stronger regulations and cleanup strategies under a One Health approach that connects ocean, animal, and human well-being.

Current challenges on the widespread adoption of new bio-based fertilizers: insights to move forward toward more circular food systems

This review examines the challenges of adopting bio-based fertilizers made from food and agricultural waste as replacements for synthetic mineral fertilizers. While bio-based fertilizers can improve soil health and reduce reliance on finite resources, barriers include inconsistent nutrient content, concerns about contaminants like microplastics and heavy metals in waste-derived products, and the need for farmer-friendly application methods. The study is relevant because sewage sludge used in some fertilizers is a known source of microplastic contamination in farmland.

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Researchers combined ocean plastic density maps with GPS tracking data for over 7,000 seabirds across 77 petrel species to identify where birds are most likely to encounter and accidentally eat plastic debris. High-risk zones were identified in the Mediterranean, northeast Pacific, and South Atlantic, with threatened species facing disproportionately greater exposure — often in international waters beyond any single country's control.

A global synthesis of ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalve molluscs

Researchers conducted a global synthesis of ecosystem services provided by freshwater bivalve mollusks, compiling over 900 records from 69 countries. These species contribute important benefits including water filtration, food provisioning, and serving as biological indicators of water quality. The study also documented cases where invasive bivalve species disrupt ecosystem services, highlighting the complex role these organisms play in freshwater environments worldwide.

Community composition and seasonal dynamics of microplastic biota in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Scientists studied the microbial communities living on microplastics in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea across all four seasons over two years. They found that microplastics host a distinct and relatively stable community of bacteria and other organisms that differs from the surrounding seawater. This "plastisphere" ecosystem could serve as a vehicle for transporting potentially harmful microorganisms across ocean environments.

Removal of Antibiotics by Biochars: A Critical Review

This review analyzes how biochars, which are carbon-rich materials made from organic waste, can remove antibiotics from water. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because both antibiotics and microplastics are emerging water contaminants, and microplastics can carry antibiotic residues that promote drug-resistant bacteria. Better water treatment methods that address multiple contaminants could help reduce human exposure to both pollutants.

Uncovering layer by layer the risk of nanoplastics to the environment and human health

This review examines how nanoplastics, plastic particles smaller than 100 nanometers, can cross biological barriers like the gut lining and accumulate in vital organs. Once inside the body, nanoplastics can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, genetic damage, hormone disruption, and immune problems. The authors stress the need for standardized detection methods and long-term studies to fully understand the health risks these tiny particles pose to humans.

Microplastic distribution in different tissues of small pelagic fish of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in three commercially important fish species from the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, finding plastic particles in the gut, gills, and muscle tissue. Horse mackerel had the highest contamination rates, with 92 percent of individuals containing microplastics in their digestive tract and 63 percent in their muscle. Since these fish are widely consumed by people, the presence of microplastics in edible muscle tissue is a direct concern for human dietary exposure.

Microplastics in wild fish from North East Atlantic Ocean and its potential for causing neurotoxic effects, lipid oxidative damage, and human health risks associated with ingestion exposure

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in three commercially important fish species from the North East Atlantic Ocean and found that 49% of the 150 fish analyzed contained microplastics. Fish with microplastics showed significantly higher levels of lipid damage in the brain, gills, and muscle, along with signs of neurotoxicity. Based on the microplastics found in edible fish muscle, the study estimates that human consumers may ingest hundreds of microplastic particles per year from fish consumption alone.

How to Treat Melanoma? The Current Status of Innovative Nanotechnological Strategies and the Role of Minimally Invasive Approaches like PTT and PDT

This review summarizes advances in nanotechnology-based treatments for melanoma, including photothermal and photodynamic therapies using engineered nanoparticles as drug carriers and light absorbents. While nanoparticle-based therapies show promise for improving treatment outcomes, the environmental fate of these engineered nanomaterials remains a concern, as nanoparticles can behave similarly to microplastics when released into ecosystems.

Nanoplastics activate a TLR4/p38-mediated pro-inflammatory response in human intestinal and mouse microglia cells

Researchers exposed human intestinal cells and mouse brain immune cells to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that the particles activated inflammatory pathways through a specific receptor called TLR4. The nanoplastics increased production of the inflammatory signal IL-1 beta in gut cells and triggered inflammation-promoting enzymes in brain immune cells. This study provides a mechanism by which nanoplastics swallowed in food or water could trigger inflammation in both the gut and the brain.

Water purification advances with metal–organic framework-based materials for micro/nanoplastic removal

Microplastics effects in Scrobicularia plana

Researchers exposed clams to polystyrene microplastics for 14 days and found that the particles accumulated in tissues and were not fully eliminated even after a week of depuration in clean water. The microplastics caused measurable oxidative damage, DNA damage, and neurotoxic effects in the clams. The study demonstrates that even short-term microplastic exposure can cause lasting biological harm in marine bivalves.

Microplastics cause neurotoxicity, oxidative damage and energy-related changes and interact with the bioaccumulation of mercury in the European seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758)

Researchers studied the toxic effects of microplastics and mercury, both alone and in combination, on European seabass, a fish commonly consumed by humans. They found that both substances caused brain damage, oxidative stress, and energy metabolism disruption, but the combination produced particularly severe effects. Evidence indicates that microplastics interact with mercury accumulation in fish tissues, suggesting these pollutants may amplify each other's harmful impacts.

Microplastic contamination of lettuces grown in urban vegetable gardens in Lisbon (Portugal)

Researchers found microplastics in all lettuce samples tested from urban vegetable gardens in Lisbon, with gardens near heavy traffic showing the highest levels. Lettuce from urban gardens contained about 70% more microplastics per year than lettuce bought in supermarkets, with concentrations up to 29 particles per gram. This means that growing your own vegetables in a city may actually increase your dietary microplastic intake compared to buying produce from stores.

Polymer-specific stress responses in planarians exposed to microplastics of similar size

Researchers exposed freshwater flatworms to three different types of microplastics of similar size through their diet and measured biochemical stress responses. They found that polyurethane particles triggered the most pronounced changes, including increased antioxidant enzyme activity and energy metabolism, while the other polymer types caused milder effects. The study demonstrates that the chemical composition of microplastics, not just their size, determines how organisms respond to them.

Exploring the Impact of Polystyrene Microplastic Beads on Male Gonads of the Marine Mussel, <scp> <i>Mytilus galloprovincialis</i> </scp>

Researchers exposed marine mussels to polystyrene microplastic beads and examined the effects on male reproductive tissue. They found that the microplastics disrupted the structure of sperm-producing cells in a dose-dependent manner, accompanied by signs of oxidative stress and metabolic disturbance. The study raises concerns about the potential impact of microplastic pollution on the reproductive health of commercially and ecologically important marine species.

Environmental impact of disposable face masks: degradation, wear, and cement mortar incorporation

Researchers examined how disposable polypropylene face masks break down in the environment, releasing microplastics and nanoplastics after just 117 days of outdoor exposure. The study also tested incorporating shredded mask material into cement mortar and found it did not significantly harm the material's structural properties, suggesting construction applications as one way to divert mask waste from the environment.