Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Degradation and ecotoxicity of favipiravir and oseltamivir in the presence of microplastics during ozonation and catalytic ozonation of synthetic municipal wastewater effluents

Researchers tested whether ozone-based water treatment could effectively remove antiviral drugs from wastewater, both with and without microplastics present. They found that ozonation removed up to 84% of favipiravir and 64% of oseltamivir, but the presence of microplastics reduced degradation rates by 30-40%. The study suggests that microplastics in wastewater may interfere with advanced treatment processes, making it harder to fully eliminate pharmaceutical contaminants.

2025 Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of chlorination on the tetracycline sorption behavior of microplastics in aqueous solution

Researchers found that chlorination, a common disinfection step in wastewater treatment, alters the surface chemistry of microplastics and changes their capacity to adsorb tetracycline antibiotics, with chlorinated microplastics showing modified sorption behavior that affects their role as antibiotic carriers.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

The occurence of pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in wastewater treatment plant in the aspect of interaction with microplastics

Researchers analysed the occurrence of antibiotics, virucidal, and fungicidal pharmaceuticals in raw and treated sewage at a wastewater treatment plant in southern Poland, examining their removal efficiency and potential interactions with microplastics present in the effluent. The study found that pharmaceutical micropollutants persisted through treatment to varying degrees, raising concerns about combined contamination pathways when microplastics act as co-vectors for these compounds.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Pharmaceutical Interactions and Their Disruptive Impact on UV and Chemical Water Disinfection Efficacy

This paper explores how microplastics originating from pharmaceutical coatings may interfere with common water disinfection methods including UV irradiation and chemical treatment like chlorination. Researchers propose that these microplastics can disrupt disinfection through physical shielding of pathogens, adsorption of disinfectant chemicals, and catalytic transformation of treatment agents. The findings suggest that pharmaceutical-derived microplastics represent an underrecognized challenge for maintaining water treatment effectiveness.

2023 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Photochlorination-induced degradation of microplastics and interaction with Cr(VI) and amlodipine

Researchers found that photochlorination during wastewater disinfection significantly degrades polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene microplastics while altering their interactions with co-existing pollutants like chromium and pharmaceuticals, potentially affecting environmental fate.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Selected widely prescribed pharmaceuticals: toxicity of the drugs and the products of their photochemical degradation to aquatic organisms

Researchers reviewed the environmental fate of widely prescribed pharmaceuticals in surface waters, examining both the parent drugs and their photochemical degradation products. The study found that some breakdown products may be more toxic to aquatic organisms than the original drugs, highlighting how pharmaceutical pollution interacts with other contaminants including microplastics in water systems.

2024 Journal of Applied Biomedicine 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive effects of micro/nanoplastics and nanomaterials/pharmaceuticals: Their ecotoxicological consequences in the aquatic systems

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics interact with co-occurring nanomaterials and pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments, finding that plastics act as vectors that can either amplify or attenuate the bioavailability and toxicity of these contaminants depending on species, trophic level, and environmental conditions.

2021 Aquatic Toxicology 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Chlorination-improved adsorption capacity of microplastics for antibiotics: A combined experimental and molecular mechanism investigation

Researchers found that when microplastics go through chlorine disinfection in water treatment plants, they become better at absorbing antibiotics like tetracycline. Chlorination changes the surface of polystyrene microplastics, making them stickier for these drugs through stronger chemical bonding. This means treated wastewater may contain microplastics loaded with antibiotics, potentially increasing health risks when released into the environment.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Disinfection impacts: Effects of different disinfection treatments on common polymer types to guide the identification of polymers of concern in the water industry

Researchers tested how common water disinfection methods, including chlorination and chloramination, affect seven types of plastic particles at different doses and pH levels. They found that both treatments caused measurable physical and chemical changes to the polymers, with some plastics showing significant surface degradation and chemical alterations. The findings suggest that water treatment processes may unintentionally transform microplastics in ways that could affect their environmental behavior and potential health impacts.

2025 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic–Pharmaceuticals Interaction in Water Systems

This review examined the interactions between microplastics and pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments, exploring how microplastics act as vectors that concentrate, transport, and potentially enhance the bioavailability and toxicity of drug residues in water.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Modifications to sorption and sinking capability of microplastics after chlorination

Researchers found that chlorination disinfection at both low and high doses modified the surface chemistry of PE, PET, PS, and PVC microplastics, increasing surface area and reducing hydrophobicity while weakening their capacity to sorb contaminants like ciprofloxacin. The study concluded that chlorination generally reduces the role of microplastics as transport vectors for organic pollutants, though effects on buoyancy varied by polymer type.

2023 Water Science & Technology Water Supply 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on DBPs formation under the chlorination of natural organic matters

Researchers investigated how microplastics affect disinfection byproduct formation during chlorination of natural organic matter in water treatment, finding that the presence of microplastics can influence the generation of potentially harmful DBPs.

2022 Chemosphere 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the dynamic transformation properties of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter and its contribution to the formation of chlorination disinfection by-products

Researchers studied how dissolved organic matter released from microplastics transforms under UV light and how it contributes to the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts during water chlorination. They found that UV exposure changed the chemical composition of the microplastic-derived organic matter, affecting its reactivity during disinfection. The findings suggest that microplastics in water sources may indirectly increase the formation of potentially harmful chemicals during standard water treatment.

2024 RSC Advances 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Tertiary/quaternary treatment of urban wastewater by UV/H2O2 or ozonation: Microplastics may affect removal of E. coli and contaminants of emerging concern

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics interfere with UV/hydrogen peroxide and ozonation treatments used to disinfect urban wastewater. They found that increasing microplastic concentrations reduced the effectiveness of both treatment methods at killing E. coli bacteria and degrading pharmaceutical contaminants. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in wastewater could compromise advanced treatment processes designed to protect public health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on sodium hypochlorite disinfection and changes in its toxicity on zebrafish

Researchers studied the two-way interaction between polyethylene microplastics and sodium hypochlorite disinfection, finding that microplastics reduced disinfection efficiency by consuming the disinfectant. At the same time, the disinfection process altered the surface properties and toxicity of the microplastics themselves, increasing their harmful effects on zebrafish. The study highlights that microplastic contamination in water systems can both undermine treatment processes and create new toxicity risks.

2024 Chemosphere 3 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Micro(nano)plastics as a vector of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystem: Historical review and future trends

This systematic review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in water can absorb and carry pharmaceutical drugs, creating a combined pollution threat. When medications attach to tiny plastic particles in rivers and oceans, they may become more harmful to aquatic life and potentially to humans who consume contaminated seafood or water. The research traces how this emerging double-threat has grown since 2018 and identifies key knowledge gaps.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Chlorine disinfection enhances the degradation of biodegradable microplastics into nanoplastics and dissolved organic carbon in a simulated disinfection process

Lab experiments showed that the chlorine disinfectant used in wastewater treatment plants actively breaks down biodegradable microplastics (PLA and PBAT), generating nanoplastics and dissolved organic carbon in the process. This finding is concerning because it suggests that standard disinfection, while killing pathogens, may inadvertently create smaller and potentially more bioavailable plastic particles that then enter waterways.

2026 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics and their interaction with antibiotics in wastewater

Researchers characterized microplastics in wastewater and investigated their interactions with antibiotics, examining how microplastic surfaces adsorb antibiotic compounds and the implications for antibiotic transport and dissemination in wastewater treatment systems.

2025 e_Buah
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals in Water: Risks to Aquatic Life and Remediation Strategies

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs in waterways threaten aquatic life and potentially human health. The biggest concern is the rise of antibiotic resistance from drugs entering water through household and agricultural waste. While not specifically about microplastics, the topic is connected because microplastics can adsorb and transport pharmaceutical residues through water systems.

2023 Hydrobiology 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Secondary pollution of microplastic hetero-aggregates after chlorination: Released contaminants rarely re-adsorbed by the second-formed hetero-aggregates

Researchers found that microplastic hetero-aggregates in urban water act like 'time bombs': chlorination during water treatment destroys the aggregates and triggers the release of accumulated organic contaminants and microbial metabolites that are poorly re-adsorbed afterward.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aquatic Environments: A Concise Review of Environmental Impacts and Bioremediation Systems

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs are polluting waterways worldwide because conventional wastewater treatment cannot effectively remove them. The authors focus on bioremediation approaches, especially using fungi, as a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to break down these drug residues. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics can carry pharmaceutical compounds in water, and better water treatment would address both contaminants.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 315 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on water disinfection and formation of disinfection by-products

This review examines how the presence of microplastics in drinking water and wastewater interferes with chlorination and ozonation disinfection processes, potentially reducing their effectiveness and generating harmful disinfection by-products. Microplastics can leach dissolved organic carbon that reacts with disinfectants, and they serve as refuges for antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may survive standard treatment. The authors call for more realistic laboratory experiments and field studies to properly assess the real-world risks that microplastics pose inside water treatment plants.

2025 Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics increase impact of treated wastewater on freshwater microbial community

Microplastic particles added to treated wastewater effluent amplified the impact on freshwater microbial communities compared to effluent alone, disrupting both bacterial community composition and functional processes. The study suggests that microplastics in treated wastewater discharge may compound the ecological harm caused by residual effluent contaminants on receiving water microbiology.

2017 Environmental Pollution 263 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive toxicity effects of metronidazole, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and differently functionalized nanoplastics on marine algae Chlorella sp.

Researchers examined the combined toxicity of common pharmaceutical drugs and nanoplastics with different surface coatings on marine algae. They found that the interaction between drugs and nanoplastics produced effects ranging from additive to synergistic, depending on the specific combination, with amine-coated nanoplastics generally causing more harm. The study highlights that real-world mixtures of pharmaceutical and plastic pollutants in oceans may pose greater risks to marine life than either contaminant alone.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 3 citations