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.

Polystyrene microplastic particles in the food chain: Characteristics and toxicity - A review

This review covers how polystyrene microplastics move through the food chain, from water and soil into animals and ultimately humans. Accumulation in organs leads to a range of harmful effects including weight loss, lung disease, brain toxicity, and oxidative stress. The paper highlights that these tiny plastic particles are particularly dangerous because they can cross biological barriers and carry other toxic chemicals with them.

Exploring the Potential of Amino-Functionalized Zeolite Series/H₃PO₄-Biochar for Environmental Microplastic Removal

Scientists developed a new material made from modified zeolite and coffee-waste biochar that can remove polystyrene microplastics from water. The material successfully cleaned both drinking water and wastewater samples, offering a potential low-cost tool for filtering microplastics out of water supplies. Reducing microplastics in drinking water is directly relevant to lowering human exposure.

Chemical Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Challenges, Advanced Methods, and Perspectives

This review covers the latest laboratory methods for detecting and measuring microplastics and nanoplastics in environmental samples like water, food, and air. Identifying these tiny particles is extremely challenging because they vary enormously in size, shape, and plastic type, and concentrations can differ by billions of times between samples. Better standardized detection methods are essential for accurately understanding how much microplastic humans are actually exposed to.

The growing threats and mitigation of environmental microplastics

This review summarizes the growing threat of microplastic pollution across soil, air, and water, and its harmful effects on marine life, land animals, and humans. Microplastics enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact, where they can suppress the immune system, cause inflammation, blood cell damage, and even death in organisms. The review highlights that as plastics age and break down, they become more toxic and more easily absorbed by living things.

Online <i>in situ</i> detection of atmospheric microplastics based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Researchers developed a laser-based detection system combined with machine learning that can identify and classify different types of microplastics in the air in real time. The system achieved high accuracy in distinguishing between common plastic types like polyethylene, polystyrene, and PVC. Better tools for monitoring airborne microplastics are important because people inhale these particles daily, and understanding what types are present in the air is the first step toward assessing respiratory health risks.

Enhancing the bioconversion rate and end products of black soldier fly (BSF) treatment – A comprehensive review

Researchers reviewed how black soldier fly larvae can efficiently convert organic waste — including food scraps and manure — into protein-rich feed, fertilizer, and biofuel, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional livestock farming. Their work highlights the larvae's potential to reduce plastic and food waste pollution while supporting global food security.

Migration of microplastics from plastic packaging into foods and its potential threats on human health

This review examined how microplastics migrate from plastic food packaging into the foods we eat. Researchers found that factors like temperature, food acidity, and contact time increase the release of plastic particles and chemical additives from packaging materials. The study raises concerns about long-term health effects from daily microplastic exposure through packaged foods, including potential accumulation of harmful monomers in the body.

Plastics can be used more sustainably in agriculture

Researchers reviewed how plastics used in farming — from mulch films to storage bins — are building up in soils worldwide, and mapped out practical strategies to curb the problem. They conclude that while plastics can't be fully replaced yet without harming food security, smarter use, better recycling, and biodegradable alternatives are essential steps forward.

Are We Speaking the Same Language? Recommendations for a Definition and Categorization Framework for Plastic Debris

This review examines the full lifecycle of microplastic pollution, from how plastics enter waterways to how they degrade and interact with ecosystems. Researchers found that microplastics serve as carriers for chemical pollutants and pathogens, and that their small size allows them to be ingested by a wide range of organisms across the food chain. The study emphasizes that understanding the fate and transport of microplastics is essential for developing effective pollution mitigation strategies.

Towards harmonized ecotoxicological effect assessment of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic systems

This review highlights the methodological problems in current microplastic and nanoplastic toxicity research on freshwater organisms, including the use of unrealistic plastic types, poor test designs, and environmentally irrelevant doses. The authors propose a harmonized framework for testing that better reflects real-world conditions, including more realistic particle types and exposure levels. Better standardized research is essential for accurately assessing the true environmental and health risks of micro and nanoplastic pollution.

The urgency of building soils for Middle Eastern and North African countries: Economic, environmental, and health solutions

This review examines soil degradation across the Middle East and North Africa and proposes using constructed soils made from waste materials as a restoration strategy. While focused on soil rehabilitation rather than microplastics specifically, the approach is relevant because waste materials used in soil construction may contain microplastics, and degraded soils are more vulnerable to microplastic contamination. The review highlights the interconnected challenges of waste management, soil health, and food security in arid regions.

Modeling marine microplastic emissions in Life Cycle Assessment: characterization factors for biodegradable polymers and their application in a textile case study

Researchers developed new methods for measuring the environmental impact of biodegradable plastic microplastic emissions using life cycle assessment. They found that microplastic degradation rates may be overestimated when based on data from larger plastic pieces, and that microplastic emissions could account for up to 30% of the total environmental impact in a textile case study. The work aims to improve the accuracy of environmental comparisons between conventional and biodegradable materials.

Exploring wood as a sustainable solution for water filtration: nanoparticle removal, size exclusion and molecular adsorption

Researchers tested wood as a natural material for filtering nanoparticles from water, particularly in resource-limited settings. They found that wood filters oriented to channel water radially or tangentially could remove significant amounts of nanoparticles through both size exclusion and molecular adsorption. The study suggests that wood-based filtration could be a low-cost, sustainable solution for communities that need simple water treatment systems.

Manure management and soil biodiversity: Towards more sustainable food systems in the EU

This review examines how animal manure management practices in the European Union affect soil biodiversity, considering both benefits and risks. The study found that while manure promotes soil organism growth and functional diversity, it can also introduce contaminants like heavy metals, antibiotics, and pathogens, and recommends policy updates to better account for soil biodiversity in manure management.

The Uptake Potential of Santa Barbara Amorphous Silica/Zeolite Composite for Environmental Microplastics in Wastewater

Researchers developed a silica-zeolite composite material designed to capture and remove microplastics from wastewater. They tested the material's ability to adsorb different types of environmental microplastics and found promising uptake capacity. The study offers a potential new tool for addressing microplastic contamination in water treatment systems.

Legacy additives in a circular economy of plastics: Current dilemma, policy analysis, and emerging countermeasures

This review analyzed the challenges posed by legacy chemical additives such as flame retardants and plasticizers in achieving a circular economy for plastics. Researchers found that recycling plastics containing these now-restricted or banned substances creates a dilemma, as hazardous additives can be reintroduced into new products, and the study discussed emerging countermeasures to address this problem.

Interactive effects between water temperature, microparticle compositions, and fiber types on the marine keystone species Americamysis bahia

Scientists studied how rising water temperatures interact with different types of microparticles and fibers to affect mysid shrimp, a key species in marine food webs. Researchers found that the combination of warmer water and microplastic exposure produced more severe effects than either stressor alone. The study suggests that climate change could amplify the harmful impact of microplastic pollution on important marine organisms.

Habitat recovery and restoration in aquatic ecosystems: current progress and future challenges

This review covers the current progress and future challenges in habitat recovery and restoration of aquatic ecosystems degraded by human pressures. The study highlights how contaminants including microplastics contribute to biodiversity decline and discusses strategies for reversing environmental degradation and restoring lost ecosystem functioning.

Biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of therapy responses in allergic diseases and asthma

This review examines biomarkers used for diagnosing and predicting treatment responses in allergic diseases and asthma, focusing on advances in personalized medicine. Researchers discuss how molecular and cellular markers can help classify disease subtypes and guide targeted therapies. The study highlights the shift toward precision medicine approaches that tailor treatments to individual patient profiles rather than using one-size-fits-all strategies.

Co-exposure of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) decreased the submicron plastic stress in soil–plant system

Researchers exposed lettuce plants to submicron plastic particles combined with DEHP (a common plasticizer found in agricultural films), finding that DEHP surprisingly reduced how much plastic the plants absorbed and lowered oxidative stress markers. This unexpected result suggests that when plastics and their chemical additives are present together in soil — as they typically are — they can counteract each other's harmful effects rather than amplifying them.

The interaction of microplastics with the ruminal ecosystem in vitro

Researchers evaluated the interactions between five types of microplastics and the rumen microbiome using an in vitro gas test system, testing different particle sizes and doses. They found that biodegradable plastics like polylactide and polyhydroxybutyrate were partially fermented by rumen microorganisms, while conventional plastics like polyethylene and polypropylene showed minimal interaction. The study suggests that the rumen microbiome may have some capacity to process biodegradable plastics but not conventional ones.

Converting infiltration swales to sustainable urban drainage systems can improve water management and biodiversity

Researchers investigated how converting traditional infiltration swales to designed sustainable urban drainage systems can improve both stormwater management and urban biodiversity. These engineered ecosystems use specially designed soil and plant communities to filter pollutants, including microplastics, while reducing flooding and urban heat effects. The study found that well-designed drainage systems can serve multiple functions, filtering contaminants while supporting diverse plant and animal communities.

Micro- and nanoplastics in soil ecosystems: Analytical methods, fate, and effects