Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental factors-mediated behavior of microplastics and nanoplastics in water: A review

This review examines how environmental conditions such as pH, salt levels, and organic matter influence how microplastics and nanoplastics behave in water. The study found that these factors significantly affect whether tiny plastic particles clump together or stay dispersed, which in turn determines how far they travel and how available they are for organisms to ingest.

2021 Chemosphere 151 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic understanding of the aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in marine environments: Comparing synthetic and natural water matrices

Researchers investigated aggregation kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine environments, finding that organic matter type and salt concentration strongly influenced particle stability, with nanoplastics in natural seawater aggregating differently than in synthetic matrices.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Structural Compactness Governs the Environmental Fate of Polystyrene Nanoplastics: Reaggregation Mechanisms in Laboratory-Scale Aquatic Systems.

Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles from polystyrene (smaller than the width of a human hair) behave in water under different conditions like saltiness and water movement. They found that these plastic particles can break apart and stick back together, staying suspended in water for long periods and traveling far distances through rivers and oceans. This matters because it means these microscopic plastics could spread widely through water systems and potentially end up in our drinking water and food chain.

2026 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Influence of environmental and biological macromolecules on aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in aquatic systems

Researchers studied how natural macromolecules like humic acid, alginate, and proteins influence the clumping behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water. They found that these macromolecules generally stabilized nanoplastics in sodium chloride solutions but caused them to aggregate in calcium chloride solutions, with effects varying by pH. The findings suggest that the environmental fate and transport of nanoplastics in natural waters depends heavily on the surrounding organic molecules and water chemistry.

2020 Water Research 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation of nanoplastic particles in the presence of inorganic colloids and natural organic matter

Nanoplastics were found to heteroaggregate extensively with inorganic colloids and natural organic matter in both freshwater and marine conditions, altering their size, surface charge, and settling behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that nanoplastic behavior in natural waters is dominated by interactions with other environmental constituents rather than the intrinsic properties of the plastic alone.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 227 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the stability of nanoplastics in aqueous environments: effect of ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, clay, and heavy metals

This study examined how environmental factors including ionic strength, temperature, dissolved organic matter, and clay affect the stability and aggregation of nanoplastics in water, finding that these conditions significantly influence particle behavior. Understanding nanoplastic stability is critical for predicting their fate, transport, and bioavailability in aquatic systems.

2019 Environmental Science Nano 237 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of size and surface charge on the sedimentation of nanoplastics in freshwater

Researchers investigated how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics affect their sedimentation behavior in freshwater, finding that both properties significantly influence aggregation dynamics and settling rates, with implications for predicting nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation dynamics of nanoplastics: insights through real world waste

Researchers studied the aggregation behavior of nanoplastics generated from real-world plastic waste rather than synthetic laboratory particles. The study found that PET and polystyrene nanoplastics sourced from discarded bottles and packaging exhibited distinct colloidal behaviors in aquatic conditions, providing more realistic insights into how nanoplastics behave in natural environments.

2026 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts
Article Tier 2

[Effect of Water Components on Aggregation and Sedimentation of Polystyrene Nanoplastics].

Researchers investigated how sodium ions (Na+) and natural organic matter (NOM) affect the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) in six water types including seawater, lake water, and domestic sewage. They found that Na+ concentrations below 80 mmol/L facilitated PS-NP sedimentation, while NOM effects varied by water type, with findings informing the environmental fate and distribution of nanoplastics.

2024 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in water

This paper examines the presence and behavior of nanoplastics, extremely small plastic particles, in water environments. Understanding how these particles move through and persist in water is important for assessing potential risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health.

2024 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular modeling to elucidate the dynamic interaction process and aggregation mechanism between natural organic matters and nanoplastics

Researchers used molecular modeling to understand how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter found in water environments. They found that the chemical properties of both the plastic surface and the organic molecules determined whether they clumped together or remained dispersed. The study provides new molecular-level insights into how nanoplastics behave and spread in natural water systems, which is important for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Eco-Environment & Health 20 citations
Article Tier 2

New Insights into the Formation of Aggregates of Bidisperse Nano- and Microplastics in Water Based on the Analysis of In Situ Microscopy and Molecular Simulation

Researchers combined microscopy and molecular simulations to study how nano- and microplastic particles of different sizes clump together in water. They found that mixing particle sizes delays the onset of rapid aggregation but does not change the overall growth pattern. The findings help explain how plastic particles behave in salty water like oceans and wastewater, which is important for designing effective removal strategies.

2024 Langmuir 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation and stability of sulfate-modified polystyrene nanoplastics in synthetic and natural waters

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics behave in different water conditions, examining aggregation and stability under varying pH, salt types, and natural organic matter concentrations. The study found that nanoplastics remain highly stable and suspended in freshwater and even wastewater, but aggregate rapidly and settle in seawater. Natural organic matter was identified as the most significant factor affecting nanoplastic aggregation in waters with high ionic strength.

2020 Environmental Pollution 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure Order to Photoaging and Humic Acids Significantly Modifies the Aggregation and Transformation of Nanoplastics in Aqueous Solutions

Researchers discovered that the order in which nanoplastics are exposed to sunlight and natural organic matter significantly changes how they clump together and behave in water. Nanoplastics aged by sunlight before encountering humic acids behaved differently than those exposed in the reverse order. This finding is important for predicting how nanoplastics actually move and persist in real-world water environments.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of microplastics in aquatic environment: Complex roles of electrolytes, pH, and natural organic matter

Researchers found that the aggregation behavior of polystyrene microplastics in water was strongly influenced by pH, ionic strength, and the presence of natural organic matter, with divalent cations like calcium and magnesium promoting aggregation. Understanding aggregation kinetics is critical for predicting how microplastics partition between suspended and settled states in natural water bodies.

2018 Environmental Pollution 249 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics: Role of surface functional groups and protein and electrolyte variation

Researchers studied how different surface coatings on polystyrene nanoplastics affect their tendency to clump together in water containing proteins and salts. They found that the type of surface functional group significantly changed how the particles aggregated, with proteins and electrolytes playing important roles in the process. The study helps explain how nanoplastics behave and transform as they move through natural water systems.

2023 Chemosphere 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of temperature and particle concentration on aggregation of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater

The aggregation behavior of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater was studied at different temperatures and particle concentrations, finding that salinity, particle concentration, and temperature all significantly influenced aggregation rates with implications for nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Natural Organic Matter Stabilizes Pristine Nanoplastics but Destabilizes Photochemical Weathered Nanoplastics in Monovalent Electrolyte Solutions

This study examined how sunlight weathering and natural organic matter coatings change the behavior of nanoplastics in water. Researchers found that organic matter stabilizes fresh nanoplastics but actually destabilizes sun-weathered ones, meaning aged nanoplastics in natural waters may clump together and settle differently than expected, affecting where they end up in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of natural organic matter and inorganic ions on the stabilization of polystyrene micro-particles

Researchers investigated how natural organic matter (NOM) and inorganic ions affect the stabilization and aggregation behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water, finding that NOM enhanced colloidal stability while high ionic strength promoted aggregation. The results indicate that water chemistry plays a dominant role in determining nanoplastic mobility and persistence in natural freshwater environments.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 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