Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The nexus of microplastics, food and antimicrobial resistance in the context of aquatic environment: Interdisciplinary linkages of pathways

This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces where bacteria can grow, share antibiotic resistance genes, and then enter the food chain through contaminated seafood. The combination of microplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance creates a compounding threat, as resistant bacteria riding on plastic particles can survive water treatment and reach humans. The authors call for interdisciplinary research connecting environmental science and public health to address this growing risk.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation on microplastics and interactions with antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in aquatic environment

This review explains how microplastics in waterways develop bacterial biofilms on their surfaces that can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and help spread antibiotic resistance genes to new environments. This is concerning for human health because these resistant microbes could eventually reach people through drinking water or seafood consumption.

2024 Eco-Environment & Health 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Enrichment of Antibiotic Resistance Genes on Plastic Waste in Aquatic Ecosystems, Aquatic Animals, and Fishery Products

This review examines how plastic waste in water creates surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive and share resistance genes with each other. Microplastics in rivers, oceans, and fish farms were consistently found to harbor more antibiotic resistance genes than natural materials like rocks or sand. Since fish and shellfish can accumulate these microplastic-associated resistant bacteria, there is a risk that drug-resistant infections could reach humans through the seafood supply chain.

2025 Antibiotics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview

Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and their role in the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria as a threat for the environment

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria by providing surfaces where bacteria can swap resistance genes with each other — a process called horizontal gene transfer. This dual threat of plastic pollution and antibiotic resistance is compounding into a significant global public health crisis.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes as rising threats: Their interaction represents an urgent environmental concern

This review examines how microplastics interact with antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, creating a combined pollution threat. Microplastics can absorb antibiotics onto their surface and serve as platforms where bacteria exchange resistance genes. This interaction could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance, making infections harder to treat and posing a growing public health risk.

2025 Current Research in Microbial Sciences 6 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on the effect of micro- and nano-plastics pollution on the emergence of antimicrobial resistance

This review highlights how microplastics serve as breeding grounds for antimicrobial resistance genes, examining the overlooked interaction between plastic pollution and antibiotic resistance that poses combined threats to environmental and human health.

2022 Chemosphere 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance in plastisphere

Researchers reviewed antibiotic resistance in the plastisphere — the microbial community colonizing plastic surfaces in aquatic environments — finding that plastic properties and aging influence the enrichment and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, and that aged microplastics pose elevated risks due to increased adsorption of resistant bacteria.

2024 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution increases gene exchange in aquatic ecosystems

Researchers found that microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces where bacteria form biofilms and exchange genes at higher rates than free-living bacteria. The study demonstrated increased transfer of antibiotic resistance genes among a wide range of bacterial species growing on microplastic particles. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance in waterways, posing a potential hazard to both ecosystems and human health.

2018 Environmental Pollution 582 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-associated pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in environment

This review examines how microplastics in the environment act as surfaces for disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic-resistant microbes to colonize and spread. Researchers found that microplastics can carry pathogens and facilitate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria in water systems. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution may be contributing to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.

2021 Chemosphere 175 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics are a hotspot for antibiotic resistance genes: Progress and perspective

This review examines growing evidence that microplastics serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. Researchers found that microplastics selectively accumulate antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes on their surfaces across wastewater, aquatic, and terrestrial environments. The dense bacterial communities and concentrated pollutants on microplastic surfaces create favorable conditions for the spread and evolution of antibiotic resistance, raising concerns about potential risks to human health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 244 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Issues on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Colonizing Plastic Waste in Aquatic Ecosystems

Researchers found antibiotic-resistant bacteria colonizing plastic waste submerged in an inland water body, including species related to human pathogens like Klebsiella. All isolated bacteria showed high resistance to multiple antibiotics, and they carried numerous antibiotic resistance genes. This is concerning because plastic waste in waterways can serve as a platform for drug-resistant bacteria to multiply and potentially spread to humans through contaminated water.

2024 Antibiotics 10 citations
Article Tier 2

New insight into the effect of microplastics on antibiotic resistance and bacterial community of biofilm

Researchers found that different types of microplastics promote distinct biofilm communities and enhance antibiotic resistance gene proliferation compared to natural substrates, suggesting microplastics serve as unique platforms for the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

2023 Chemosphere 30 citations
Article Tier 2

A review focusing on mechanisms and ecological risks of enrichment and propagation of antibiotic resistance genes and mobile genetic elements by microplastic biofilms

This review examines how microplastics in water serve as surfaces for bacterial biofilms that harbor antibiotic resistance genes. The biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces can spread resistance genes to other bacteria and potentially to organisms that ingest them, including fish and ultimately humans. The authors highlight that microplastic-associated antibiotic resistance is an underappreciated public health risk that needs more research.

2024 Environmental Research 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: Hidden drivers of antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems

This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces for biofilm formation, creating what researchers call the 'plastisphere,' which can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens. Evidence indicates that microplastics facilitate the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes through water systems, potentially affecting both aquatic organisms and human health. The findings underscore microplastics as an overlooked driver of antibiotic resistance in waterways.

2025 NanoImpact 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Conjugative antibiotic-resistant plasmids promote bacterial colonization of microplastics in water environments

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria carrying conjugative plasmids were shown to more effectively colonize microplastic surfaces in water environments, with plasmid transfer rates on plastic surfaces exceeding those in the surrounding water. The study identifies microplastics as hotspots for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes through horizontal gene transfer in aquatic systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine plastisphere selectively enriches microbial assemblages and antibiotic resistance genes during long-term cultivation periods

Researchers placed four types of common microplastics in a marine environment for over 100 days and found that bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance genes accumulated on the plastic surfaces over time. PVC microplastics were particularly effective at concentrating resistance genes, and a key gene-transfer element was found on all plastic types. These results show that microplastics floating in the ocean act as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could eventually reach humans through seafood or water.

2024 Environmental Pollution 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance: The Magnitude of the Problem and the Emerging Role of Hospital Wastewater

This review examines how microplastics in water can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and spread resistance genes, especially through hospital wastewater. Microplastics provide a surface where bacteria easily form colonies and share resistance genes, creating a potential threat to human health. The authors call for better wastewater management to reduce this emerging risk.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between antibiotics and microplastics: Recent advances and perspective

This review examines how microplastics in water can absorb antibiotic pollutants onto their surface, especially as the plastics age and develop bacterial biofilms. This interaction is concerning for human health because microplastics carrying antibiotics could promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria in waterways, making infections harder to treat.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 168 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential risks of microplastics combined with superbugs: Enrichment of antibiotic resistant bacteria on the surface of microplastics in mariculture system

Microplastics in a mariculture (sea farming) system were found to selectively enrich antibiotic-resistant bacteria on their surfaces compared to surrounding water, creating hotspots of antibiotic resistance in food production environments. This dual threat - microplastics acting as both pollutants and carriers of resistant pathogens - has significant implications for seafood safety.

2019 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 325 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Antibiotics in Aquatic Environment: Distribution, Adsorption, and Toxicity

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in waterways, finding that microplastics can absorb antibiotics from the water and change their availability and toxicity to aquatic organisms. Critically, microplastics also provide surfaces where antibiotic resistance genes can accumulate and spread among bacteria. This is concerning for human health because it means microplastics in water could be accelerating the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 415 citations
Article Tier 2

Are microplastic particles a hotspot for the spread and the persistence of antibiotic resistance in aquatic systems?

This review explores whether microplastic particles in water could serve as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers found that microplastics host a unique microbial biofilm called the "plastisphere" that differs from surrounding water communities and may promote the survival and spread of resistant organisms. The study suggests that microplastics could act as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes, posing a potential threat to both environmental and human health.

2021 Environmental Pollution 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents

Researchers studied antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in biofilms on microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The study found that microplastic biofilms accumulated antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Bacillus, and that these biofilms harbored higher concentrations of resistance genes compared to surrounding water, suggesting microplastics may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives

This review examines how microplastics in the environment serve as surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can grow and exchange resistance genes, potentially worsening the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. Researchers found that the unique surface properties of micro- and nanoplastics create favorable conditions for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among microorganisms. The study highlights that microplastic pollution and antibiotic resistance are interconnected environmental health challenges that may need to be addressed together.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 64 citations