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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Adsorption of heavy metals by biofilm-coated microplastics in aquatic environments: Mechanisms, isotherm and kinetic processes, and influencing factors
ClearResearch progress on the role of biofilm in heavy metals adsorption-desorption characteristics of microplastics: A review
This review examines how biofilm formation on microplastics in aquatic environments modifies their properties and changes how they adsorb and release heavy metals. Researchers found that biofilm-covered microplastics behave significantly differently than bare microplastics, which has important implications for understanding the combined environmental risks of microplastics and heavy metal contamination.
Biofilm enhances the copper (II) adsorption on microplastic surfaces in coastal seawater: Simultaneous evidence from visualization and quantification
Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces significantly enhanced copper adsorption in coastal seawater, with visual and quantitative evidence showing that biofilm-coated microplastics accumulate substantially more copper than uncoated particles, increasing their potential as vectors for metal contaminant transport.
Microplastics as a vehicle of heavy metals in aquatic environments: A review of adsorption factors, mechanisms, and biological effects
This review summarizes how microplastics in water can absorb and carry toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium, making them more dangerous to aquatic life than either pollutant alone. Environmental factors such as water acidity, salinity, and organic matter influence how much metal sticks to microplastic surfaces. Since contaminated seafood is a major source of human exposure, understanding these interactions is important for assessing health risks.
Biofilm on microplastics in aqueous environment: Physicochemical properties and environmental implications
This review examines how bacteria and other microorganisms form sticky films called biofilms on microplastic surfaces in water. These biofilms change how microplastics move through the environment and increase their ability to absorb pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics. Biofilm-coated microplastics may also carry harmful bacteria, making them a greater potential health risk than clean microplastic particles.
Uptake of Pb(II) onto microplastic-associated biofilms in freshwater: Adsorption and combined toxicity in comparison to natural solid substrates
This study examined how biofilms that form on microplastics in freshwater lakes affect the absorption of lead, a toxic heavy metal. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics absorbed significantly more lead than bare plastic particles, and the combination of lead and microplastic biofilms was more toxic to water fleas than either pollutant alone.
The role of microplastics biofilm in accumulation of trace metals in aquatic environments
This review examines how biofilms that form on microplastics in aquatic environments enhance the accumulation of trace metals from surrounding water. Researchers found that microorganisms colonizing plastic surfaces produce extracellular substances that facilitate metal sorption, effectively turning microplastics into concentrated carriers of metallic contaminants. The study highlights the dual pollution risk posed by microplastics serving as both physical pollutants and vehicles for toxic metal transport in waterways.
Interaction of microplastics with metal(oid)s in aquatic environments: What is done so far?
This review assembled the mechanisms by which microplastics sorb hazardous metals and metalloids in aquatic environments, examining how weathering, biofilm formation, and environmental conditions influence the transport and bioavailability of these contaminants.
Enhanced copper adsorption by polyamide and polylactic acid microplastics: The role of biofilm development and chemical aging
Researchers studied how chemical aging and biofilm growth on polyamide and polylactic acid microplastics changed their ability to absorb copper from water. Both processes significantly increased the surface area and chemical reactivity of the plastics, making them absorb substantially more copper than fresh microplastics. The study suggests that as microplastics age and develop biofilms in natural waterways, they become increasingly effective at concentrating heavy metals, potentially altering how these contaminants move through aquatic environments.
Colonization characteristics and surface effects of microplastic biofilms: Implications for environmental behavior of typical pollutants
This review examines how bacteria colonize microplastic surfaces in water, forming biofilms that change how the plastics behave in the environment. These biofilms alter the surface properties of microplastics and affect how they absorb and transport heavy metals and other pollutants. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is important because it can make the particles more dangerous by concentrating toxic substances that could eventually enter the food chain.
Adsorption of heavy metals by microplastics in aquatic environments: mechanism, multi-factor regulation and ecological risks
This review examined how microplastics adsorb heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and copper in water, creating compound pollution. Researchers found that polar plastics can absorb two to three times more metals than non-polar ones, and that aging from UV exposure increases metal absorption by 40 to 60 percent. The combined toxicity of microplastics with heavy metals can cause double the oxidative stress in aquatic organisms compared to either pollutant alone, highlighting risks that current safety standards may not adequately address.
Sequential interfacial contributions of microplastics to microbial adhesion and metal adsorption
Researchers uncovered the mechanistic sequence of interactions between microplastics, microorganisms, and metals in aquatic environments, finding that microbial adhesion to microplastic surfaces precedes and facilitates subsequent metal adsorption through temporal interfacial processes.
Exaggerated interaction of biofilm-developed microplastics and contaminants in aquatic environments
Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces exaggerates the adsorption and vector capacity for co-contaminants in aquatic environments, with biofilm-coated MPs showing substantially higher uptake of contaminants than pristine MPs.
Effects of biofilm on metal adsorption behavior and microbial community of microplastics
Researchers found that biofilm development on polystyrene microplastics enhanced their ability to adsorb copper and lead more than UV aging alone, with biofilm altering both the adsorption mechanisms and microbial community composition on the plastic surfaces.
Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics
Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.
Biofilm facilitates metal accumulation onto microplastics in estuarine waters
This study demonstrated that biofilm colonization on microplastics in estuarine waters significantly enhanced their sorption of metals such as copper and zinc, suggesting biofouling changes the contaminant-carrying capacity of plastic debris.
Interactions of microplastics with heavy metals in the aquatic environment: Mechanisms and mitigation
This review synthesized mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption onto microplastics in aquatic environments and evaluated strategies for removing both contaminants simultaneously. The authors found that temperature, salinity, and plastic surface aging govern metal binding, and identified hybrid adsorbent materials as the most promising approach for co-removal of metals and microplastics from water.
Evaluation of the Spreading Dynamics and Interactions of Lead-Carrier Microplastics Affected by Biofilm: A Mini-Review
This review examines how microplastics interact with lead, a toxic heavy metal, in aquatic environments and how biofilm formation on plastic surfaces changes these interactions. Researchers found that when microplastics enter water, they develop biofilms that significantly alter how lead attaches to and detaches from the plastic surface. The study highlights the need for more research into how these combined pollutants affect aquatic ecosystems and long-term environmental health.
The potential of microplastics as carriers of metals
Five types of microplastics were tested for their ability to adsorb heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in different water matrices, finding significant adsorption of lead, chromium, and zinc—especially on polyethylene and PVC—with surface area and porosity as key drivers. The study identifies microplastics as potential vectors for heavy metal transport and transfer through aquatic food chains.
Adsorption Behavior of Microplastics as a Carrier of Various Contaminants and Their Ecotoxicity in Aquatic Environment
This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments act as "Trojan horse" carriers, adsorbing other pollutants (heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) onto their surfaces through hydrophobic, electrostatic, and hydrogen-bond interactions. Co-exposure of microplastics plus adsorbed contaminants has been shown to amplify oxidative stress, reduce reproduction rates, and impair photosynthesis in aquatic organisms — suggesting the combined risk of microplastics plus hitchhiking chemicals is greater than either alone.
Biofilm colonization on non-degradable and degradable microplastics change the adsorption of Cu(II) and facilitate the dominance of pathogenic microbes
Researchers studied how biofilm growth on both degradable and non-degradable microplastics alters their ability to absorb copper from water. They found that aging and biofilm colonization significantly increased the adsorption capacity of both polyamide and polylactic acid microplastics for copper ions. The study also revealed that biofilm-covered microplastics harbored a higher proportion of potentially pathogenic microbes, raising concerns about microplastics as vectors for both heavy metals and harmful bacteria.