Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Influence of biofilms on the adsorption behavior of nine organic emerging contaminants on microplastics in field-laboratory exposure experiments

Researchers studied how natural biofilms that form on microplastics in lake water affect the adsorption of nine emerging organic contaminants. The study found that biofilm colonization on microplastic surfaces can significantly alter how these particles interact with pollutants, in some cases increasing and in others decreasing contaminant uptake compared to clean microplastics.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment

Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1318 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Biofouling on the Sorption of Organic Contaminants by Microplastics

Researchers studied how biofilm formation on microplastics affects their ability to absorb organic contaminants in aquatic environments. They found that as biofilms grew over 5 to 15 days on plastic surfaces, the sorption of hydrophilic compounds like methylene blue increased, while hydrophobic compound sorption was less affected. The study suggests that biofouling changes the surface chemistry of microplastics in ways that may alter how they transport different pollutants through water systems.

2024 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 14 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 353 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Biofilm Formation on Microplastic Behaviour in Aquatic Environments: An Comprehensive Review.

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that coat microplastics — change the behavior of plastic particles in aquatic environments, affecting how they move, sink, and interact with ecosystems. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is key to predicting where these particles end up and what risks they pose to water quality and aquatic life.

2025 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-specific biofilm growth determines the vertical transport of plastics in freshwater

Researchers studied biofilm growth on five different microplastic polymer types in freshwater over 63 days to understand how biological colonization affects sinking behavior. The study found that biofilm growth is polymer-specific and can significantly alter the density of microplastic particles, which in turn determines whether they sink or float, influencing their vertical transport through freshwater systems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation and its influences on the properties of microplastics as affected by exposure time and depth in the seawater

Researchers submerged polyethylene film at three depths in China's Yellow Sea for up to 135 days and tracked how microbial biofilms developed on the plastic over time. They found that biofilm growth increased with exposure time but decreased at greater depths, and the microbial coating changed the surface properties of the plastic, making it less water-repellent. The study demonstrates that biofilm formation on microplastics influences their environmental behavior and ultimate fate in the ocean.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 414 citations
Article Tier 2

Migration of natural organic matter and Pseudomonas fluorescens-associated polystyrene on natural substrates in aquatic environments

This study examined how a coating of natural organic matter or bacterial biofilm changes the way microplastic particles attach to and move through aquatic surfaces, finding that both coatings altered particle behavior in ways that depended on water salt concentration. Understanding how environmental coatings affect microplastic transport helps predict where particles will ultimately end up — and which organisms are most likely to be exposed.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Physicochemical behavior and ecological risk of biofilm-mediated microplastics in aquatic environments

This review explores how biofilm formation on microplastics in water environments changes their physical and chemical behavior, potentially increasing their ecological risks. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics more readily absorb pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes, and may disrupt gut microbiota in organisms that ingest them. The findings suggest that the biological aging of microplastics in nature makes them more dangerous than freshly produced particles.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of different modes of adsorption of natural organic matter on the environmental fate of nanoplastics

Natural organic matter in water can stabilize nanoplastics by coating their surfaces and preventing them from clumping together and settling out, with different types of organic matter working through different physical mechanisms. Understanding this stabilization effect is important for predicting how long nanoplastics remain suspended in aquatic environments.

2020 Chemosphere 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Rapid Physicochemical Changes in Microplastic Induced by Biofilm Formation

Researchers studied how biofilm formation rapidly changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics over a two-week period. The study found significant two-way interactions between microbial communities and plastic surfaces, with biofilm colonization altering surface properties of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, while the type of polymer influenced which microbial communities developed.

2020 Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 159 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm (Eco-Corona) Formation from Microplastics in Freshwater

This review examines eco-corona and biofilm formation on microplastics in freshwater environments, explaining how microbial colonization of plastic surfaces changes their buoyancy, surface chemistry, and biological interactions, with implications for MP transport and ecotoxicity.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and organic contaminants: Investigation of the sorption process on different polymer types

Researchers investigated sorption of organic contaminants onto microplastics collected from environmental samples, finding that real-world MPs had different sorption capacities than laboratory-prepared particles due to surface aging, biofouling, and co-sorption of natural organic matter.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

In situ biofilm development on microplastics and its impact on PFAS adsorption in aquatic environment

Researchers deployed microplastics in a river system to allow natural biofilm colonization, then assessed how the resulting plastisphere affected PFAS adsorption. Biofilm formation substantially altered PFAS uptake onto microplastics, in some cases increasing adsorption, suggesting that biologically colonized microplastics behave as more effective PFAS carriers than virgin particles in natural water environments.

2025 Water Research
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in the relationships between biofilms and microplastics in natural environments

This review summarizes how microorganisms form biofilms on the surface of microplastics in water, changing the particles' physical properties and helping to spread bacteria and genes across ecosystems. These biofilm-coated microplastics can carry harmful microbes into new environments, raising concerns about waterborne disease transmission and the effectiveness of current water treatment methods.

2024 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of organic matter on interaction forces between polystyrene microplastics: An experimental study

Researchers examined how organic matter in seawater affects the aggregation and adhesion forces between polystyrene microplastics, finding that organic coatings alter surface interaction forces in ways that influence whether microplastics clump together and sink or remain dispersed in the water column.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated effects of polymer type, size and shape on the sinking dynamics of biofouled microplastics

Researchers investigated how polymer type, size, and shape interact with biofouling to influence microplastic sinking dynamics, finding that biofilm growth altered buoyancy and settling rates in ways that depend on the physical characteristics of each particle.

2022 Water Research 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm Formation Influences the Wettability and Settling of Microplastics

This study found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces does not necessarily increase particle mass density enough to cause sinking, contradicting a common assumption. Instead, changes in particle wettability caused by biofilm were identified as a critical mechanism controlling microplastic vertical transport in the ocean.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of biofilms in the degradation of microplastics in aquatic environments

This review examined the role of microbial biofilms in degrading microplastics in aquatic environments, highlighting the potential for biofilm-mediated biodegradation as a natural mechanism for breaking down recalcitrant plastic pollutants.

2021 Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Perspective into bio-fouled microplastic behaviour, transportation and characterization in water bodies

This review examines how biofouling alters the physicochemical properties of microplastics — including density, surface charge, hydrophobicity, and roughness — and how the resulting 'plastisphere' biofilm community reshapes microplastic transport dynamics, vertical flux, and long-term fate in aquatic systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Plastics
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Chemosphere 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Monitoring of biofilm development and physico-chemical changes of floating microplastics at the air-water interface

Researchers monitored biofilm development on floating polyethylene microplastics and found that biofilm growth increased particle density, metal adsorption capacity (52% higher for lead), and surface cracking, but did not cause the particles to sink even after 12 weeks.

2023 Environmental Pollution 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments: A mini review

Researchers reviewed the mechanisms of interaction between microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments, examining factors related to the plastics themselves, the organic compounds, and environmental conditions. The study found that properties like crystallinity, surface area, and weathering state of microplastics all influence how they adsorb and transport organic pollutants, with implications for environmental and health risk assessments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 290 citations