Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Further research on the impacts of humic acid in the aggregation of nanoplastics: The roles of molecular weight and surface functionalization

Researchers studied how humic acid — a natural compound found in soil and water — coats nanoplastic particles and changes how they clump together, finding that larger humic acid molecules create thicker coatings that keep nanoplastics suspended and dispersed rather than settling. This matters because dispersed nanoplastics travel farther through water systems and are more likely to be ingested by organisms.

2025 Results in Engineering 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic acid can mitigate or magnify nanoplastic toxicity to freshwater microalgae: what are the factors driving these contrasting effects?

Researchers explored how humic acid, a natural organic substance found in water, interacts with nanoplastics to either reduce or amplify their toxicity to freshwater microalgae. The study found that humic acid can mitigate nanoplastic toxicity by reducing surface hydrophobicity and improving particle dispersion, but this protective effect diminishes at low humic acid concentrations.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

Joint effect of nanoplastics and humic acid on the uptake of PAHs for Daphnia magna: A model study

This study examined how humic acid (a form of dissolved organic matter) modifies the bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aquatic organisms exposed to nanoplastics, finding that humic acid significantly altered the joint effects of the two complex matrices. The results indicate that natural organic matter plays an important role in regulating nanoplastic-associated chemical uptake.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Humic Substances in the (Bio)Degradation of Synthetic Polymers under Environmental Conditions

This review examines the role of humic substances -- major components of soil organic matter -- in the degradation of synthetic polymers under environmental conditions. The authors discuss how humic substances mediate chemical and biological breakdown of plastics, influencing the formation and persistence of microplastics in soils and aquatic systems.

2024 Microorganisms 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic acid alleviates the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastic particles toDaphnia magna

Daphnia magna were exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics with and without humic acid, finding that humic acid significantly reduced nanoplastic toxicity by altering particle aggregation and distribution within the organism. The study demonstrates that natural organic matter in water can modulate nanoplastic bioavailability, with implications for risk assessment under realistic environmental conditions.

2019 Environmental Science Nano 114 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation, disaggregation, and migration of nanoplastics with nanosized activated carbon in aquatic environments: Effects of particle property, water chemistry, and hydrodynamic condition

Researchers studied how nanosized activated carbon interacts with positively and negatively charged nanoplastics under various water chemistry and hydrodynamic conditions. They found that aggregation behavior depended strongly on particle charge, pH, and the presence of natural organic matter like humic acid. The study suggests that interactions with engineered nanomaterials in aquatic environments can significantly influence how far nanoplastics travel, with implications for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Water Research 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Alleviating binary toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and atrazine to Chlorella vulgaris through humic acid interaction: Long-term toxicity using environmentally relevant concentrations

Researchers found that when nanoplastics and the herbicide atrazine were combined in water, they had a synergistic toxic effect on algae that was worse than either pollutant alone. However, adding humic acid, a natural substance found in soil and water, significantly reduced this combined toxicity by coating the nanoplastics and changing their surface properties. This suggests that natural organic matter in the environment may offer some protection against the harmful effects of nanoplastic-chemical mixtures.

2024 Chemosphere 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of environmental and biological macromolecules on aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in aquatic systems

Researchers studied how natural macromolecules like humic acid, alginate, and proteins influence the clumping behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water. They found that these macromolecules generally stabilized nanoplastics in sodium chloride solutions but caused them to aggregate in calcium chloride solutions, with effects varying by pH. The findings suggest that the environmental fate and transport of nanoplastics in natural waters depends heavily on the surrounding organic molecules and water chemistry.

2020 Water Research 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic acid alleviates the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in combination with their copper nanoparticle co-pollutants in Artemia salina

Researchers examined how humic acid, a natural organic substance found in soil and water, affects the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics combined with copper nanoparticles in brine shrimp. They found that humic acid reduced the harmful effects of these co-pollutants, likely by coating the particles and limiting their biological interactions. The study suggests that natural organic matter in the environment may help buffer some of the toxic effects of nanoplastic pollution.

2024 Environmental Science Nano 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between microplastics and humic acid and its effect on their properties as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to study how microplastics interact with humic acid, a natural organic compound found in soil and water. They found that microplastics disrupted the hydrogen bonding and calcium coordination within humic acid, altering its structure and properties. The study suggests that when microplastics and humic acid combine in the environment, both materials behave differently than they would alone, which could affect pollutant transport in natural systems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Humic Substances in the (Bio)degradation of Synthetic Polymers under Environmental Conditions

This review examines how humic substances influence the biodegradation of synthetic polymers across environmental compartments including freshwater, marine, and soil ecosystems, exploring the interactions between polymer chemistry, microbial communities, and naturally occurring organic matter. The study highlights the complex relationships governing polymer breakdown rates and the role of humic substances in either facilitating or hindering microbial degradation processes.

2024 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic compounds in marine ecosystems - Ecological importance in transitional Mediterranean zones

This review examines humic substances — naturally occurring organic compounds in marine water — and their ecological roles in Mediterranean transitional zones. Humic substances can interact with microplastics in seawater, coating their surfaces and affecting how plastic particles behave, aggregate, and are taken up by marine organisms.

2023 E3S Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Interfacial interactions of humic acids with polystyrene nano-plastics in aqueous/ionic environments: a molecular dynamics exploration

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how humic acid molecules interact with carboxylated polystyrene nanoplastics in water, finding that humic substances form an eco-corona on the nanoplastic surface that alters its environmental behavior and potential toxicity.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation kinetics of oppositely charged nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Effects of particle ratio, solution chemistry, and interaction sequence

Researchers investigated how oppositely charged nanoplastics clump together (heteroaggregation) in water under varying pH, salt, and natural organic matter conditions, finding that electrostatic attraction drives aggregation but humic acid retards it more than sodium alginate, while the sequence and timing of chemical interactions also significantly alters the final aggregation behavior.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of particle size and humic acid corona on the aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers examined how humic acid coating and nanoplastic particle size interact to govern aggregation behavior, finding that while humic acid generally inhibits clumping in freshwater, calcium ions cause the coating on larger particles (100–200 nm) to promote aggregation through bridging — a size-dependent mechanism not seen in the smallest 40 nm particles tested.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of fragmental PET nanoplastics in aqueous environment: Complex roles of electrolytes, pH and humic acid

Researchers investigated the aggregation kinetics of fragmental PET nanoplastics under varying electrolyte concentrations, pH, and humic acid conditions, finding that aggregation increased with higher electrolyte concentrations and lower pH. Divalent cations caused stronger aggregation than monovalent cations at equal concentrations, and humic acid significantly inhibited aggregation, highlighting how natural water chemistry governs nanoplastic fate.

2020 Environmental Pollution 119 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction, Adhesion and Aggregation of Microplastic/Nanoplastic Particles: Effects of Plastic Polymer Type

This review examines how polymer type, particle size, shape, pH, ionic strength, and salt composition influence the interaction, adhesion, and aggregation behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic and soil environments. The paper synthesizes findings on homoaggregation and heteroaggregation with natural and engineered nanoparticles, highlighting how aggregation affects particle transport and environmental fate.

2023 Asian Journal of Water Environment and Pollution 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring Humic Acid as an Efficient and Selective Adsorbent for Lead Removal in Multi-Metal Coexistence Systems: A Review

This review examines how humic acid, a natural substance found in soil and water, can selectively remove lead from water contaminated with multiple heavy metals. The research explores how to enhance humic acid's ability to capture lead ions specifically, including through chemical activation and pH control. While focused on heavy metals, the work is relevant to microplastics research because microplastics can concentrate and transport lead and other heavy metals, and better lead removal from water could reduce this combined pollution threat.

2024 Separations 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Stabilization of Fragmental Polystyrene Nanoplastic by Natural Organic Matter: Insight into Mechanisms

This study investigated how natural organic matter stabilizes fragmental polystyrene nanoplastics in aqueous environments, finding that humic and fulvic acid coatings reduce aggregation and enhance colloidal stability, affecting nanoplastic transport and bioavailability.

2021 ACS ES&T Water 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure Order to Photoaging and Humic Acids Significantly Modifies the Aggregation and Transformation of Nanoplastics in Aqueous Solutions

Researchers discovered that the order in which nanoplastics are exposed to sunlight and natural organic matter significantly changes how they clump together and behave in water. Nanoplastics aged by sunlight before encountering humic acids behaved differently than those exposed in the reverse order. This finding is important for predicting how nanoplastics actually move and persist in real-world water environments.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of photoaging and natural organic matter on the colloidal stability of nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers found that photoaging of polystyrene nanoplastics alters how natural organic matter interacts with their surfaces — reducing humic acid adsorption while increasing protein adsorption — with downstream effects on the nanoplastics' stability and transport in aquatic environments.

2022 Water Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs) and humic acid influenced by aging of MPs

Researchers examined how aging affects polypropylene microplastic interactions with humic acid, finding that aged microplastics with increased surface oxygen groups showed stronger adsorption of humic acid compared to pristine particles, altering their environmental behavior.

2022 Water Research 145 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of humic acid with pristine poly (lactic acid) microplastics in aqueous solution

Researchers studied the adsorption of humic acid onto polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics in water, finding that humic acid forms a coating on PLA surfaces through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, altering the environmental behavior of this biodegradable plastic.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco-Corona Dictates Mobility of Nanoplastics in Saturated Porous Media: The Critical Role of Preferential Binding of Macromolecules

The eco-corona that forms on nanoplastic surfaces through interaction with humic substances and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was found to critically determine nanoplastic mobility through saturated porous media. Humic-coated nanoplastics showed greater mobility than EPS-coated ones, suggesting natural organic matter composition governs nanoplastic transport in groundwater systems.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 58 citations