Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Comparison of the effects of tire wear particles on the freshwater macrophyte under different exposure scenarios

Researchers compared the effects of tire wear particles on the freshwater macrophyte Lemna minor and other aquatic plants, examining how the complex composition of tire-derived microplastics affects plant growth and physiology. Tire wear particles showed toxicity to aquatic plants at environmentally relevant concentrations, with chemical leachates contributing to the observed effects.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Comparison of the effects of tire wear particles on the freshwater macrophyte under different exposure scenarios

Researchers compared effects of tire wear particles on the freshwater macrophyte Lemna minor and other aquatic plants, examining how tire-derived microplastics with their complex rubber and additive composition affect primary producers. Tire wear particles inhibited aquatic plant growth, with both the rubber particles themselves and leachate chemicals contributing to phytotoxic effects.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Dual acute effects of tire microplastics and their leachates on Spirodela polyrhiza and phyllosphere bacteria

Researchers studied the effects of tire microplastics and their chemical leachates on duckweed, a common aquatic plant, and its associated bacteria. They found that both the particles themselves and the chemicals they release into water harmed plant growth, altered physiological responses, and shifted the bacterial communities living on the plant surfaces. The study reveals that tire-derived pollution affects aquatic ecosystems through multiple pathways beyond just the physical presence of plastic particles.

2025 Water Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of polyethylene microbeads on the floating freshwater plant duckweed Lemna minor

Researchers exposed duckweed — a small floating freshwater plant — to polyethylene microbeads from cosmetics and found that the beads adhered to the plant surface and reduced growth at higher concentrations. The study highlights how primary microplastics from consumer products can affect freshwater plants even at relatively low doses.

2017 Environmental Pollution 431 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastic Contamination on the Aquatic Plant Lemna minuta (Least Duckweed)

Researchers tested the effects of microplastic contamination on the aquatic plant Lemna minuta, commonly known as least duckweed. The study found that exposure to microplastics affected plant growth and caused biochemical changes including altered chlorophyll levels over a 28-day period. The results suggest that microplastics can interfere with freshwater plant health, potentially disrupting aquatic ecosystems.

2023 Plants 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of tyre wear particles and tyre leachate on the freshwater angiosperm Lemna minor

Researchers tested the ecotoxicity of tyre wear particle leachate on the aquatic plant Lemna minor and measured TWP uptake into plant tissues, finding that leachate posed meaningful risks to aquatic plants while direct TWP incorporation into plant biomass was limited, suggesting leachate management is the priority concern.

2025 Environmental Chemistry
Article Tier 2

The Response of Duckweed Lemna minor to Microplastics and Its Potential Use as a Bioindicator of Microplastic Pollution

Researchers tested duckweed Lemna minor as a bioindicator for freshwater microplastic pollution by exposing it to polyethylene microbeads, tire wear particles, PET fibers, and natural particles. Polyethylene microbeads adhered to duckweed at 10 times the rate of other particles and reduced root length, suggesting duckweed could serve as a practical monitor for the dominant polyethylene microplastics in freshwater.

2022 Plants 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire wear particles in different water environments: occurrence, behavior, and biological effects—a review and perspectives

This review examines tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastics in water environments. Tire particles release toxic chemicals as they break down in water and can harm aquatic organisms, but most research has focused only on the chemical leachate rather than the particles themselves. Since tire wear contributes a large share of total microplastic pollution, understanding its full impact on water ecosystems and the food chain is important for human health.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of tire wear particle on growth, extracellular polymeric substance production and oxidation stress of algae Chlorella vulgaris: Performance and mechanism

This study examined how tire wear particles, a common form of microplastic from roads, affect freshwater algae. Surprisingly, the tire particles actually promoted algae growth at certain concentrations while also causing oxidative stress. The findings suggest that tire-derived microplastics could disrupt the balance of aquatic ecosystems by altering algae behavior, which sits at the base of the food chain.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effect of Microplastic (MP) Shape on Adsorption and Physiological Responses of Duckweed (Lemna minor)

Scientists tested how different shapes of tiny plastic particles (microplastics) affect duckweed plants in freshwater. They found that irregularly shaped plastic fragments damaged plant roots more than round beads or fibers, while other parts of the plants weren't significantly affected. This matters because duckweed and other water plants are part of the food chain that can eventually lead to humans, and understanding how microplastics harm aquatic life helps us predict potential risks to our water systems and food supply.

2026 Furman University Scholar Exchange (Furman University)
Article Tier 2

Weathering of a micro and nanosized tire particle mixture increases ingestion and growth inhibition in larval fish and juvenile mysid shrimp

Researchers investigated how environmental weathering changes the toxicity of tire particle mixtures to larval fish and juvenile mysid shrimp. The study found that weathered tire particles were more readily ingested and caused greater growth inhibition compared to pristine particles, suggesting that aging in the environment makes tire-derived microplastics more harmful to marine organisms.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Long-term interactions between microplastics and floating macrophyte Lemna minor: The potential for phytoremediation of microplastics in the aquatic environment

Researchers studied whether the floating aquatic plant Lemna minor could be used to remove microplastics from water through a 12-week experiment. The plant tolerated high concentrations of polyethylene microplastics without significant health effects after an initial adjustment period, and the particles adhered readily to the plant biomass. The findings suggest that duckweed-based systems could offer a nature-based approach for capturing microplastics from contaminated waterways.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 119 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics adhere to Lemna minor (L.), yet have no effects on plant growth or feeding by Gammarus duebeni (Lillj.)

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics readily adhered to all surfaces of the duckweed species Lemna minor but did not affect the plant's photosynthetic efficiency or growth over seven days. When microplastic-coated duckweed was fed to the freshwater amphipod Gammarus duebeni, the animals showed no changes in feeding behavior. The study suggests that aquatic plants may serve as vectors for microplastic transfer through freshwater food webs, even without being directly harmed.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 290 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological responses of Lemna minor to polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics

Researchers exposed duckweed plants to two types of microplastics — polystyrene (PS) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) — and found surprisingly opposite effects: PS microplastics actually promoted plant growth, while PMMA microplastics damaged chloroplasts and stunted growth, showing that plastic type matters greatly for environmental harm.

2025 Current Plant Biology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire abrasion particles negatively affect plant growth even at low concentrations and alter soil biogeochemical cycling

Researchers found that tire abrasion particles—a major source of microplastic pollution on land—negatively affected plant growth and disrupted soil nutrient cycling even at low concentrations. This is concerning because tire particles are shed in enormous quantities on roads and accumulate in roadside soils where plants grow.

2021 13 citations
Article Tier 2

The bioadhesion and effects of microplastics and natural particles on growth, cell viability, physiology, and elemental content of an aquatic macrophyte Elodea canadensis

Researchers tested how different types of microplastics, including polyethylene fragments, polyacrylonitrile fibers, and tire wear particles, affect the aquatic plant Elodea canadensis. They found that all microplastic types adhered to the plant's tissues and caused varying degrees of leaf damage, with polyethylene fragments being the most harmful. The study indicates that microplastic pollution in freshwater can directly impair aquatic plant health, potentially disrupting these important ecosystems.

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

Tire abrasion particles negatively affect plant growth even at low concentrations and alter soil biogeochemical cycling

Tire wear particles at environmentally relevant concentrations reduced plant growth, lowered seed germination rates, and altered soil nitrogen and carbon cycling biogeochemical processes even at the lowest doses tested, suggesting that tire-derived microplastics pose a real risk to terrestrial plant productivity and ecosystem function.

2021 Soil Ecology Letters 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Do Polystyrene Nanoplastics Have Similar Effects on Duckweed (Lemna minor L.) at Environmentally Relevant and Observed-Effect Concentrations?

Researchers compared the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on duckweed (Lemna minor) at environmentally relevant concentrations versus the higher observed-effect concentrations typically used in studies. The study found that both positively and negatively charged nanoplastics produced different biological responses depending on concentration levels. The findings highlight the importance of testing at environmentally realistic concentrations to accurately assess nanoplastic risks to aquatic plants.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental aging and biodegradation of tire wear microplastics in the aquatic environment

Researchers investigated the environmental aging and biodegradation of tire wear microplastics in freshwater over 12 weeks, finding that biofilm formation and chemical changes occurred but complete biodegradation was limited under the studied conditions.

2023 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 38 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of microplastics on the growth and photosynthesis of Lemna minor

Researchers exposed duckweed (Lemna minor) to polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microplastics at concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 mg/L and measured effects on growth, photosynthetic yield, pigment content, and RuBisCO protein expression. PMMA-MPs were found to be more harmful than PS-MPs, causing greater reductions in chlorophyll content and stronger suppression of RuBisCO, though neither treatment significantly altered maximum quantum yield of PSII.

2024 Repository of the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb
Article Tier 2

An extensive characterization of various environmentally relevant microplastics – Material properties, leaching and ecotoxicity testing

Researchers conducted a comprehensive study of six different types of environmentally realistic microplastics, testing their physical properties and effects on duckweed plants. The study found that while microplastics did not affect plant growth rates or chlorophyll levels, particles with rough surfaces and sharp edges significantly reduced root length. Microplastics made of Bakelite released particularly high levels of chemical leachates, suggesting that the specific properties of each plastic type matter greatly for assessing environmental risk.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 138 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent ecotoxicological impacts of tire wear particles on zebrafish physiology and gut microbiota: Implications for aquatic ecosystem health

Researchers found that tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution, affect zebrafish health differently depending on particle size. Smaller particles caused more severe gut microbiome disruption, oxidative stress, and immune responses, suggesting that tire-derived microplastics in waterways may pose a greater health risk to aquatic life than previously recognized.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects of tire wear particles on mummichogs and fathead minnows

Tire wear particles — a major and often overlooked component of microplastic pollution in coastal sediments — were found to be toxic to mummichog and fathead minnow fish in laboratory studies. This highlights tire rubber as a significant source of microplastic pollution with real effects on aquatic life.

2019 TigerPrints (Clemson University) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A study on the aquatic degradation of tire wear particles: Impact of environmental factors and material formulations

This study assessed how tire wear particles degrade in freshwater environments under varying environmental conditions including UV radiation and water chemistry. The degradation process alters particle properties in ways that may increase toxicity to aquatic organisms.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)