Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of the antibiotic levofloxacin on microplastics in the presence of different heavy metals in an aqueous solution

Researchers studied how the antibiotic levofloxacin sticks to PVC microplastics in water and how the presence of heavy metals affects this process. They found that certain metals like copper, zinc, and chromium increased the amount of antibiotic absorbed by the plastic, while cadmium and lead reduced it. The findings reveal that microplastics can act as carriers for both antibiotics and metals in polluted water, potentially creating complex contamination scenarios.

2020 Chemosphere 305 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of heavy metals on the adsorption of ciprofloxacin on polyethylene microplastics: Mechanism and toxicity evaluation

Researchers studied how heavy metals in water affect the ability of polyethylene microplastics to absorb the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. They found that heavy metals competed with the antibiotic for binding sites on the microplastic surface, changing how much of each pollutant the plastic could carry. This is important because it shows microplastics in real-world environments may transport different combinations of pollutants, potentially delivering both antibiotics and heavy metals into the food chain.

2023 Chemosphere 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of cadmium on the sorption of tylosin by polystyrene microplastics

Researchers found that cadmium ions significantly influence the sorption of the antibiotic tylosin onto polystyrene microplastics, with competitive and cooperative interactions depending on concentration ratios, highlighting that co-contamination with heavy metals alters microplastic-mediated antibiotic transport in aquatic environments.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of aged polybutylece terephthalate microplastics coexisting with Cd(II)-tetracycline

Researchers studied how aged polybutylene terephthalate microplastics interact with cadmium and the antibiotic tetracycline in water, finding that weathered microplastics adsorb these pollutants more readily than pristine ones. The study suggests that aging changes the surface properties of microplastics, increasing their capacity to carry heavy metals and antibiotics and potentially amplifying their environmental toxicity.

2022 Chemosphere 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption characteristics of cadmium onto microplastics from aqueous solutions

Laboratory adsorption experiments characterized how cadmium is taken up by microplastics of different polymer types from aqueous solutions, finding adsorption capacity varied significantly with polymer chemistry, particle size, and solution conditions. The results help predict how microplastics in contaminated waterways accumulate and transport cadmium, a highly toxic heavy metal.

2019 Chemosphere 331 citations
Article Tier 2

Heavy metal-mediated adsorption of antibiotic tetracycline and ciprofloxacin on two microplastics: Insights into the role of complexation

This study investigated how heavy metals copper and cadmium affect the adsorption of antibiotics tetracycline and ciprofloxacin onto polyamide and polyvinyl chloride microplastics. Heavy metals enhanced antibiotic adsorption through surface complexation, with copper promoting stronger binding than cadmium due to its greater complexation ability.

2022 Environmental Research 67 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Aging on the Cd Adsorption by Microplastics and the Relevant Mechanisms].

This study examined how aging affects the ability of microplastics — including polyethylene and polystyrene — to adsorb the heavy metal cadmium. Weathered microplastics showed different adsorption behavior than virgin particles, which has implications for how microplastics transport toxic metals through aquatic environments.

2022 PubMed 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Reframing microplastics as a ligand for metals reveals that water quality characteristics govern the association of cadmium to polyethylene

Researchers reframed microplastics as a chemical ligand for metals and studied how water quality characteristics govern cadmium binding to polyethylene particles. They found that factors like pH, dissolved organic carbon, and water hardness significantly influenced how much cadmium adhered to the plastic surface. The study suggests that the environmental risk of microplastics as metal carriers depends heavily on local water chemistry conditions.

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

Adsorption mechanism of cadmium on microplastics and their desorption behavior in sediment and gut environments: The roles of water pH, lead ions, natural organic matter and phenanthrene

Researchers compared how cadmium adsorbs onto five different microplastic types and then desorbs in simulated sediment and gut environments, finding that pH, competing ions, natural organic matter, and co-pollutants like phenanthrene all significantly alter how much cadmium is released.

2020 Water Research 353 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyamide microplastics outperform polylactic acid in reducing cadmium health risks in arsenic-cadmium co-contaminated water: Insights from experimental and theoretical analysis

Researchers compared how polyamide and polylactic acid microplastics interact with arsenic and cadmium in contaminated water and assessed resulting health risks. The study found that while PLA microplastics absorbed more cadmium, they also released it more readily during digestion due to surface degradation by gut enzymes, making polyamide microplastics paradoxically less hazardous as cadmium carriers despite being a conventional plastic.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 385 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption properties of cadmium on microplastics: The common practice experiment and A two-dimensional correlation spectroscopic study

Laboratory experiments examined how cadmium adsorbs onto microplastics of different polymer types and aging states, finding that surface chemistry and weathering significantly affect how much heavy metal the plastics can carry. This matters because microplastics contaminated with heavy metals represent a dual pollution risk when ingested by aquatic organisms.

2019 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 253 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Microplastics on the Adsorption and Desorption Properties of Cadmium in Soil

Polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics were found to reduce soil's capacity to adsorb cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, raising concerns that microplastic contamination in farmland soils could increase the mobility and risk of heavy metal pollutants.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Cadmium, Copper and Lead on Polypropylene and Polyethylene Microplastics

This laboratory study measured how cadmium, copper, and lead adsorb onto polypropylene and polyethylene microplastic particles in seawater, finding that microplastics concentrate these toxic metals at levels well above surrounding water concentrations. The results reinforce concerns that microplastics act as carriers of heavy metal contamination in marine ecosystems.

2018 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of heavy metals by biofilm-coated microplastics in aquatic environments: Mechanisms, isotherm and kinetic processes, and influencing factors

This review synthesizes research on how biofilms—microbial coatings that naturally form on microplastics in water—alter the particles' ability to absorb heavy metals like lead, copper, and cadmium, finding that biofilmed microplastics generally adsorb more metal than bare plastic and that electrostatic forces and surface complexation are the dominant mechanisms. This matters because microplastics coated in both biofilm and toxic metals may deliver a double dose of contamination to organisms that ingest them. The review identifies key gaps, including how competitive metal mixtures and shifting biofilm composition over time affect this combined pollution risk.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of tetracycline on polyvinyl chloride microplastics in aqueous environments

This study found that PVC microplastics in water can absorb up to 93% of the antibiotic tetracycline under certain conditions. This means microplastics may act as carriers for antibiotics and other pollutants, potentially delivering harmful chemicals into drinking water and the food chain. The findings highlight how microplastics can make other environmental contaminants more dangerous to human health.

2023 Scientific Reports 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged microplastics in antibiotics-heavy metals coexisting system

Researchers investigated how antibiotics affect the adsorption of copper and chromium onto aged polystyrene and PVC microplastics, finding that antibiotic co-contamination alters heavy metal binding behavior on weathered plastics in aqueous environments.

2021 Chemosphere 169 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in soils with contrasting texture, organic carbon and mineralogy: changes in cadmium adsorption forms and their mobility in soil columns

This study investigated how high-density polyethylene microplastics alter the behavior of cadmium — a toxic heavy metal — in soils with different textures, organic carbon contents, and mineral compositions. Using soil column experiments, researchers found that microplastics changed how cadmium binds to soil particles and how easily it leaches downward, with effects varying depending on the soil type and microplastic particle size. Since cadmium is a known carcinogen and agricultural soils commonly contain both microplastics and heavy metals, understanding their interactions is critical for food safety.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of heavy metals onto microplastics derived from conventional and biodegradable commercial plastic products

Researchers tested how well different types of microplastics, including both conventional and biodegradable plastics, absorb heavy metals like lead, nickel, copper, zinc, and cadmium from water. They found that all microplastic types could pick up significant amounts of heavy metals, with biodegradable plastics sometimes absorbing even more than conventional ones. This is concerning because microplastics carrying heavy metals could deliver a double dose of contamination to organisms that ingest them.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Adsorption Behavior of Cadmiumby the MPs and Its Environmental Factors

This study investigated how microplastics adsorb the toxic heavy metal cadmium under different environmental conditions including pH, temperature, and salinity. Microplastics were found to act as carriers for cadmium, potentially transporting this harmful metal into aquatic ecosystems and the food chain.

2023 Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 1 citations