Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Mixtures of Micro and Nanoplastics and Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Environment: What We Know about Their Toxicological Effects

This review examines what is known about the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastic mixtures combined with other emerging contaminants in the environment. Researchers found that most studies fail to calculate proper interaction parameters, making it difficult to determine whether combined exposures produce additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects on organisms.

2024 Toxics 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological interactions of microplastics/nanoplastics and environmental contaminants: Current knowledge and future perspectives

This review examines how the combined presence of micro- and nanoplastics with other environmental contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals affects toxicity. Researchers found that plastic particles can alter the bioavailability and toxic effects of co-occurring pollutants, sometimes increasing harm to organisms, which complicates environmental risk assessment.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 501 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential Health Risks of Micro-Nanoplastics and Persistent Organic Pollutants: A Review of Exposure Pathways and Toxic Effects

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics can enhance the bioavailability of persistent organic pollutants through a Trojan horse effect, leading to combined inflammatory, cellular, and metabolic toxic effects that threaten human health beyond what either contaminant causes alone.

2025 Journal of medicine and health science.
Article Tier 2

Concomitant presence of nanosized plastics and metal(loid)s: is there cause for alarm? State-of-the-art and recommendations for future studies

This review assessed the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and metal(loid)s in the environment, finding that nanoplastics can adsorb and transport heavy metals, potentially amplifying toxicity through combined exposure and calling for integrated risk assessment approaches.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Maternal exposure to phthalates and nanoplastics, isolated or combined: Impacts on placental structure, development, and antioxidant defense as a trigger for maternal-fetal adversities

Researchers exposed pregnant rats to a mixture of phthalates and nanoplastics, both separately and in combination, to study effects on the placenta and fetal development. They found that combined exposure caused more severe damage to placental structure and antioxidant defenses than either contaminant alone. The study suggests that simultaneous exposure to these common plastic-derived pollutants during pregnancy may compound risks to maternal and fetal health.

2025 Reproductive Toxicology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to Nanoplastics and Co-Contaminants in Foods and Environment: Threats to Human Health

This review summarizes how nanoplastics combine with other environmental contaminants, including persistent organic pollutants, antibiotics, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and what that means for food safety. Researchers found that nanoplastics can enhance the bioavailability and toxicity of co-contaminants due to their small size and high surface activity. The study underscores that assessing nanoplastic risks requires considering their role as carriers of other harmful substances.

2025 Foods 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Cytotoxicity of nanomixture: Combined action of silver and plastic nanoparticles on immortalized human lymphocytes.

Human lymphocyte cells exposed to a mixture of silver nanoparticles and polystyrene nanoplastics showed greater cytotoxicity than cells exposed to either material alone, indicating synergistic toxicity. The findings are relevant to human health because both types of nanoparticles are increasingly present in the environment and in consumer products.

2022 Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS)
Article Tier 2

Synergistic human health risks of microplastics and co-contaminants: A quantitative risk assessment in water

This study calculated the combined health risks of ingesting microplastics along with the toxic chemicals they carry, including heavy metals and plastic additives, and found that the combined hazard is far greater than from microplastics alone. Children face especially high risk, and the interaction between microplastics and co-contaminants creates synergistic effects that standard risk assessments may significantly underestimate.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Particulate matter and nanoplastics: synergistic impact on Artemia salina

Combining nanoplastics with particulate matter (airborne or aquatic fine particles) produces worse outcomes for the brine shrimp Artemia salina than either pollutant alone, reducing survival and vitality. This synergistic toxicity is important because in real environments, nanoplastics rarely exist in isolation — they co-occur with other pollutants, making risk assessments based on single-contaminant studies likely to underestimate harm.

2024 Environmental Science Atmospheres 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity evaluation of micro- and nanoplastic particles, with co-exposure to metal ions on human intestinal models

This study exposed human intestinal cell models to both micro- and nanoplastic particles combined with metal ions to test combined toxicity effects. The results showed that co-exposure can amplify harmful effects on intestinal cells compared to either contaminant alone. This is relevant to human health because people are simultaneously exposed to microplastics and heavy metals through food, meaning the gut may face synergistic stressors that single-contaminant studies would miss.

2023 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Coexposure to microplastic and Bisphenol A exhacerbates damage to human kidney proximal tubular cells

This study exposed human kidney cells to polyethylene microplastics and bisphenol A (BPA, a common plastic chemical) together and found the combination was significantly more damaging than either substance alone. The co-exposure reduced cell survival and increased both oxidative stress and inflammation in the kidney cells. Since both microplastics and BPA are commonly found in the human body, their combined effect on kidney health is a real concern.

2024 Heliyon 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of gold nanoparticles complicated by the co-existence multiscale plastics.

This study examined how co-exposure to gold nanoparticles and plastic particles of different sizes modifies the toxicity of gold nanoparticles, finding complex interactions that altered toxic outcomes compared to gold nanoparticles alone. The results highlight that real-world toxicological risk assessment must account for co-contaminant interactions rather than testing pollutants in isolation.

2024 Frontiers in microbiology
Article Tier 2

Detrimental effects of individual versus combined exposure to tetrabromobisphenol A and polystyrene nanoplastics in fish cell lines

Researchers tested how combined exposure to the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A and polystyrene nanoparticles affects freshwater fish cells. They found that co-exposure to even low concentrations of both pollutants caused subtle changes in cell viability and generated oxidative DNA damage. The study suggests that the interaction between nanoplastics and chemical pollutants in aquatic environments may pose compounding risks to fish health.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and Arsenic Co-Exposures Exacerbate Oncogenic Biomarkers Under an in Vitro Long-Term Exposure Scenario

This lab study examined whether nanoplastics combined with arsenic — a naturally occurring toxic element — had greater cancer-promoting effects than either contaminant alone. The combination worsened multiple cancer-related biomarkers in human cells over long-term exposure. The findings raise concerns about the health consequences of nanoplastic exposure in environments where multiple pollutants are present simultaneously.

2021
Article Tier 2

In vitro toxicity study of micro- and nanoplastics, with co-contamination of metals, on human intestinal models

This French-language study used human intestinal cell models to evaluate the in vitro toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics co-contaminated with heavy metals, finding that combined exposure was more toxic than plastic particles alone and that nanoplastics were more harmful than microplastics.

2025 theses.fr (ABES)
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological Effects of Nanoplastics on Aquatic Organisms

This review synthesizes knowledge on the ecotoxicological effects of nanoplastics in aquatic organisms, covering how nanoplastics interact synergistically with traditional and emerging co-pollutants, the mechanisms underlying long-term low-dose toxicity, and the research gaps that must be addressed for accurate risk assessment.

2025 Advances in Engineering Technology Research
Article Tier 2

Immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity of bisphenol A and microplastics alone or in combination to a bivalve species, Tegillarca granosa

Researchers investigated the immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity of bisphenol A and microplastics, both alone and in combination, on the blood clam Tegillarca granosa. The study found that co-exposure to both pollutants produced significant impacts on immune and neural biomarkers, suggesting that the combined presence of microplastics and chemical contaminants may pose greater risks to marine invertebrates.

2020 Environmental Pollution 185 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Nanoplastics on Human Health: A Comprehensive Study

This comprehensive review examines the diverse health effects of nanoplastics, drawing on toxicology, environmental science, and epidemiology to document how these particles interact with human biological systems. The authors conclude that nanoplastics represent a growing public health concern requiring further investigation.

2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (IJISRT) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects on ciliates under nano-/micro-plastics coexist with silver nanoparticles

Researchers tested the combined effects of different-sized plastic particles with silver nanoparticles on marine microorganisms and found that the mixture was more toxic than either pollutant alone. Smaller nanoplastics combined with silver nanoparticles caused the most severe damage, disrupting energy and fat metabolism and causing DNA and protein damage. This study shows how microplastics can amplify the toxicity of other environmental pollutants in marine food chains.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Biotoxicity of silver nanoparticles complicated by the co-existence of micro-/nano-plastics

Researchers gave mice a 90-day oral exposure to silver nanoparticles combined with either micro- or nano-sized polystyrene plastics and found that the plastic particles worsened the toxicity of the silver. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics may be particularly concerning because their smaller size allows them to cross the blood-brain barrier and cause neuronal damage.

2024 Food and Chemical Toxicology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

A tale of two emerging contaminants: Interfacial interactions, co-transport behaviors and ecotoxicological implications between per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and micro(nano)plastics.

This review examined how PFAS and micro/nanoplastics co-occur in the environment, form interfacial adsorption complexes, and interact synergistically within organisms. The authors found that the two contaminant classes amplify each other's toxicity in co-exposure scenarios and that their shared transport pathways complicate standard risk assessment.

2026 Advances in colloid and interface science
Article Tier 2

The combined effects of nanoplastics and dibutyl phthalate on Streptomyces coelicolor M145

Researchers examined the combined toxicity of nanoplastics and the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate on Streptomyces coelicolor, finding that their co-exposure produces different effects than either contaminant alone, highlighting concerns about combined plastic-related pollution.

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

Synergistic pulmonary toxicity of resorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) and microplastics: Integrated proteomics and metabolomics approach reveals oxidative stress-inflammatory crosstalk

Researchers exposed mice to the flame retardant resorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) alone and in combination with polystyrene nanoplastics through inhalation. Using proteomics and metabolomics analysis, they found that co-exposure produced significantly worse lung damage than the flame retardant alone, through amplified oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling. The study reveals that nanoplastics can intensify the pulmonary toxicity of co-occurring environmental chemicals through synergistic mechanisms.

2026 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Insights into the synergistic toxicity mechanisms caused by nano- and microplastics with triclosan using a dose-dependent functional genomics approach in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Researchers used yeast functional genomics to investigate the combined toxicity of polystyrene nano- and microplastics with the antimicrobial compound triclosan. They found that the combined exposure produced synergistic toxic effects that were more harmful than either contaminant alone, disrupting cellular processes related to membrane integrity and protein function. The study provides molecular-level evidence that microplastics may amplify the toxicity of co-occurring chemical pollutants.

2024 Chemosphere 3 citations