Papers

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Article Tier 2

Interactive effects of microplastics and selected pharmaceuticals on red tilapia: Role of microplastic aging

Researchers compared how aged versus virgin polystyrene microplastics interact with the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole and the beta-blocker propranolol in red tilapia. They found that aged microplastics, which have rougher surfaces from UV weathering, adsorbed more pharmaceuticals and altered their bioavailability to the fish. The study demonstrates that environmental aging of microplastics changes their capacity to carry and release pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic systems.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced biotoxicity by co-exposure of aged polystyrene and ciprofloxacin: the adsorption and its influence factors

This study found that polystyrene microplastics aged by sunlight absorbed significantly more of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin than fresh microplastics, and the combination was more toxic to organisms than either pollutant alone. The aging process created more surface area and chemical binding sites on the plastic particles. This is important because it means weathered microplastics in the real world can concentrate antibiotics and deliver higher toxic doses to organisms, potentially contributing to both direct toxicity and antibiotic resistance.

2024 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption-desorption behaviors of ciprofloxacin onto aged polystyrene fragments in aquatic environments

Researchers investigated how UV and chemical aging of polystyrene microplastic fragments affects their adsorption and desorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in aquatic environments, finding that aging increased surface area and altered surface chemistry, thereby enhancing adsorption capacity. The study identified key physicochemical properties controlling antibiotic-microplastic interactions and their potential to affect antibiotic bioavailability in contaminated waters.

2023 Chemosphere 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of aging on adsorption behavior of polystyrene microplastics for pharmaceuticals: Adsorption mechanism and role of aging intermediates

Photo-Fenton-accelerated aging of polystyrene microplastics was found to shift the dominant adsorption mechanism for pharmaceuticals from hydrophobic/π-π interactions in pristine PS to electrostatic and hydrogen bonding in aged PS, while high concentrations of aging intermediates suppressed adsorption capacity. The study reveals how environmental weathering fundamentally changes how microplastics interact with pharmaceutical pollutants.

2019 Journal of Hazardous Materials 392 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Macrolide Antibiotics by Aged Microplastics of Different Sizes: Mechanisms and Effects

Researchers investigated how aging affects the ability of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb macrolide antibiotics in water, testing two particle sizes under simulated natural aging conditions. They found that aging increased surface roughness and oxygen-containing functional groups on the microplastics, significantly enhancing their ability to adsorb azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher loads of antibiotic contaminants than pristine particles.

2025 Nanomaterials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced adsorption of oxytetracycline to weathered microplastic polystyrene: Kinetics, isotherms and influencing factors

Researchers compared how weathered and new polystyrene foam particles absorb the antibiotic oxytetracycline from water. They found that beached foam that had been exposed to environmental conditions absorbed roughly twice as much of the drug as virgin material, due to increased surface area and chemical changes from weathering. The study suggests that aged microplastics in the environment are more effective at picking up and transporting pharmaceutical contaminants.

2018 Environmental Pollution 664 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of levofloxacin by ultraviolet aging microplastics

Researchers studied how ultraviolet aging changes the ability of common microplastics to adsorb the antibiotic levofloxacin. The study found that UV-aged polystyrene, polyamide, and polyethylene microplastics all showed significantly enhanced adsorption capacity compared to their unaged counterparts, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher pollutant loads.

2023 Chemosphere 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Diclofenac Sodium by Aged Degradable and Non-Degradable Microplastics: Environmental Effects, Adsorption Mechanisms

Researchers found that UV aging of both polystyrene and biodegradable PBAT microplastics increased their surface oxidation and hydrophilicity, enhancing their capacity to adsorb the pharmaceutical pollutant diclofenac sodium through surface interaction and pore-filling mechanisms.

2022 Toxics 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative assessment of interactions of hydrophilic organic contaminants with microplastics in natural water environment

Researchers quantified how microplastics interact with common antibiotic pollutants in natural water conditions, comparing virgin and environmentally aged polystyrene particles. They found that aged microplastics absorbed significantly more antibiotics than new ones due to increased surface area and chemical changes from weathering. The study suggests that as microplastics age in the environment, they become more effective at concentrating and transporting other harmful pollutants.

2022 Water Research 91 citations
Article Tier 2

UV-B radiation aging changed the environmental behavior of polystyrene micro-/nanoplastics-adsorption kinetics of BDE-47, plankton toxicities and joint toxicities with BDE-47

Researchers examined how UV-B radiation aging changes the behavior and toxicity of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics in marine environments. They found that 30 days of UV-B aging increased the surface roughness, hydrophobicity, and pollutant adsorption capacity of the particles, while also increasing their individual toxicity to marine plankton. The study suggests that environmentally aged microplastics may pose different and potentially greater ecological risks than pristine particles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption characteristics of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride on polystyrene microplastics in freshwater

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics adsorb the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in freshwater, comparing pristine and aged particles. They found that aging treatment, particularly Fenton oxidation over seven days, significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity of the microplastics for the antibiotic. The study suggests that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may become increasingly effective carriers of pharmaceutical contaminants in water systems.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effect of Aging on Adsorption of Tetracycline by Microplastics and the Mechanisms].

Researchers aged polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics under UV-254 irradiation and analyzed changes in color, surface morphology, and functional groups, finding that UV aging altered the physical and chemical properties of both MPs and significantly affected their adsorption capacity and mechanism for the antibiotic tetracycline.

2022 PubMed 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of sequential UV-aging of microplastics on the fate of antibiotic (tetracycline) in riverine, estuarine, and marine systems

Researchers studied how sequential UV aging of polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyethylene microplastics, which mimics natural weathering, affects their ability to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline under different water chemistry conditions. They found that aged microplastics adsorbed significantly more tetracycline than pristine particles, with the effect varying by water type and plastic polymer. The study suggests that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may become increasingly effective at carrying antibiotic contaminants.

2025 Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the characteristics and sorption behaviors of aged polystyrene microplastics through three type of accelerated oxidation processes

Researchers studied how three different UV-based oxidation processes age polystyrene microplastics and how that aging affects the particles' ability to absorb the chemical bisphenol A. They found that aging significantly increased the surface oxidation and water-attracting properties of the microplastics, altering their pollutant-sorbing behavior. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may interact with chemical contaminants differently than fresh ones.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of aging on the affinity between microplastics and organic contaminants

Researchers investigated how UV and UV+H2O2 aging affects the capacity of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb and release pesticides and other organic contaminants, finding that aging-induced surface changes significantly altered adsorption affinity and desorption behavior compared to unaged controls.

2025 SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University)
Article Tier 2

Aging mechanism of microplastics with UV irradiation and its effects on the adsorption of heavy metals

Researchers aged polystyrene microplastics using UV irradiation under three conditions (air, pure water, seawater) and found that aging changed surface chemistry and increased the microplastics' capacity to adsorb heavy metals, with seawater aging producing the most pronounced surface oxidation.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 852 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of levofloxacin hydrochloride on non‐degradable microplastics aging with H 2 O 2

This study explored how microplastics act as carriers for the antibiotic levofloxacin in water, finding that chemically aged plastics (simulating environmental weathering) adsorb significantly more of the drug than fresh plastics. All three plastics tested — PVC, polystyrene, and PET — showed increased drug-binding capacity after aging, primarily through pore-filling. This matters because microplastics in rivers and lakes don't just pose a physical hazard; they can pick up and concentrate pharmaceutical contaminants, potentially delivering them to aquatic organisms at higher doses.

2025 Water Environment Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging microplastics enhances the adsorption of pharmaceuticals in freshwater

Researchers found that aging microplastics through photo-oxidation significantly increases their ability to adsorb pharmaceutical compounds from freshwater compared to virgin particles. Among the drugs tested, fluoxetine showed the highest adsorption, binding to all aged microplastic types at rates up to 99%. The study highlights that environmentally weathered microplastics may act as more effective carriers of pharmaceutical pollutants in freshwater ecosystems than previously assumed.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of UV irradiated nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers compared the aggregation behavior of fresh versus UV-aged polystyrene nanoplastics under various aquatic conditions. They found that UV aging altered the surface chemistry of nanoplastics, making them more stable in water and less likely to aggregate, which means they could remain suspended and bioavailable for longer periods. The study suggests that weathered nanoplastics may behave very differently from fresh particles in the environment, complicating risk assessments.

2019 Water Research 214 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of ozonation on the morphological characteristics and adsorption behavior of polystyrene microplastics in aqueous environments

Researchers exposed polystyrene microplastics to ozone treatment and found that the aging process made the particles smaller, more negatively charged, and better at absorbing pollutants from water — meaning weathered microplastics in the environment may carry more harmful chemicals than fresh ones.

2025 Applied Water Science 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles

Researchers tested the sorption of organic compounds by aged polystyrene microplastic particles and found that weathering increased their sorption capacity, meaning environmental aging makes microplastics more effective at accumulating and transporting pollutants.

2018 Environmental Pollution 558 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of the hydrated functional zone on the adsorption of ciprofloxacin to microplastics under the influence of UV aging

Researchers investigated how UV aging of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics affects their adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, finding that UV-aged particles developed rougher surfaces with increased hydrophilicity due to the formation of a hydrated functional zone. Adsorption isotherm and kinetic modelling showed that this surface transformation significantly altered the binding capacity and mechanisms for ciprofloxacin, with pH also playing a key role in adsorption efficiency.

2024 Environmental Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Weathering on the Sorption Behavior and Toxicity of Polystyrene Microplastics in Multi-solute Systems

UV-irradiated and microbially degraded polystyrene microplastics showed altered sorption behavior for 4-methylbenzylidene camphor in multi-solute systems — with weathered MPs forming solute multilayers differently than pristine PS — highlighting how environmental aging changes the contaminant-carrying capacity of plastic particles.

2020 Water Research 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of polystyrene microplastics on tetracycline photoconversion under simulated sunlight: Vital role of aged polystyrene

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics affect the breakdown of the antibiotic tetracycline in sunlight. They found that aged microplastics actually slowed down the antibiotic's photodegradation by blocking UV light, while fresh microplastics had the opposite effect. The study reveals that weathered microplastics may help antibiotics persist longer in the environment, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations