We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Towards a comprehensive microplastic fate assessment: Integrating size analyses and abiotic degradation into regulatory testing
ClearTowards a comprehensive microplastic fate assessment: Integrating size analyses and abiotic degradation into regulatory testing
Researchers developed an enhanced regulatory testing framework for microplastic fate assessment that integrates particle size analysis and abiotic degradation pathways alongside biodegradability testing, addressing the limitations of current EU restriction methods that focus only on CO2 evolution during mineralization.
Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics
Researchers developed an adapted protocol for measuring UV-driven fragmentation of microplastics into nano-sized fragments and dissolved organics, providing a standardized method to better understand microplastic degradation rates in the environment.
Diversifying endpoints in biodegradation testing of microplastics
Researchers tested the biodegradability of a polyurea microcapsule (a tiny plastic shell used in products like fertilizers) using a standard EU regulatory test, but discovered a hidden water-soluble byproduct was skewing the results. They highlight that accurate biodegradability testing of microplastics requires thorough particle characterization and purification beforehand, and call for updated regulatory test methods.
Developing environmentally relevant test materials for microplastic research through UV-induced photoaging
Researchers used UV irradiation to create photoaged microplastics from multiple polymer types as environmentally relevant test materials for ecotoxicology research, characterizing how aging changes surface chemistry, particle size distribution, and potential biological effects.
Abiotic weathering of plastic: Experimental contributions towards understanding the formation of microplastics and other plastic related particulate pollutants
Scientists studied how the five most common types of plastic break down under realistic environmental conditions involving UV light, temperature changes, and humidity. They found that weathering follows complex, uneven pathways and that the microplastics produced can have very different physical properties depending on the additives in the original plastic. This matters because it means microplastics in the environment are more varied and unpredictable than lab studies using uniform particles suggest, complicating efforts to assess their health risks.
Ecotoxicity testing of microplastics: Considering the heterogeneity of physicochemical properties
Researchers reviewed how the diverse physical and chemical properties of microplastics, including particle size, shape, crystallinity, surface chemistry, and polymer composition, may influence their ecotoxicity. They argue that standard testing with uniform microbeads fails to capture the heterogeneity of environmental microplastics and may lead to inaccurate risk assessments. The study calls for a more structured approach to testing different microplastic properties to identify the key drivers of toxicity.
Microplastic aging processes: Environmental relevance and analytical implications
Researchers reviewed how microplastics change physically and chemically over time in the environment — a process called 'aging' — and found that standard lab methods for detecting microplastics were mostly developed using fresh, unaged plastics, making it harder to accurately measure real-world contamination. Improved analytical methods that account for aged microplastics are needed for reliable environmental assessment.
Accelerated Weathering of Microplastics: A Systematic Approach to Model Microplastic Production
Researchers developed a systematic laboratory method for producing environmentally realistic microplastics through accelerated UV weathering of common polymer types. The approach generates particles with surface degradation patterns that closely mimic those found in nature, unlike commercially available test beads. The study provides a reproducible protocol that could improve the relevance of microplastic toxicity and environmental fate studies.
Analytical methodologies used for screening micro(nano)plastics in (eco)toxicity tests
Researchers reviewed how scientists analyze microplastics and nanoplastics in toxicity experiments, finding widespread inconsistency in how the particles are characterized before testing — including their size, shape, and chemical makeup. Better standardization of these measurements is essential for comparing results across studies and accurately assessing how microplastics harm living organisms.
Developing environmentally relevant test materials for microplastic research through UV-induced photoaging
Researchers developed standardized UV-driven photoaging protocols to produce environmentally relevant test microplastics with reproducible and chemically homogeneous properties. Different photoaging protocols generated MPs with distinct surface characteristics, enabling more realistic fate, toxicity, and risk assessment studies.
Characterizing microplastic size and morphology of photodegraded polymers placed in simulated moving water conditions
Laboratory experiments simulated how UV light and moving water break down plastic debris into microplastics, documenting changes in particle size, shape, and surface morphology over time. The findings help clarify how environmental weathering processes generate the diverse microplastic fragments found in aquatic ecosystems.
Implications of a New Test Facility for Fragmentation Investigations on Virgin (Micro)plastics
Researchers designed a new test facility for studying plastic fragmentation under UV radiation and mechanical stress, demonstrating that controlled laboratory conditions can replicate environmental weathering processes and generate reproducible microplastic fragmentation data.
Linking UV aging of polymers and microplastics formation: An assessment employing various characterization techniques
Researchers examined the link between UV aging of plastic polymers and the generation of microplastics in marine environments, using environmental assessment tools to model the process. The study clarifies how photodegradation rates and polymer type influence the rate and quantity of microplastic formation.
The fate of microplastics in the environment: Systematic studies to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics induced by photolysis and hydrolysis
Researchers conducted systematic studies on the photolytic and hydrolytic degradation of microplastics using three photolysis protocols and multiple polymer types to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics, providing mechanistic data needed for environmental fate and risk assessment.
The fate of microplastics in the environment: Systematic studies to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics induced by photolysis and hydrolysis
Researchers conducted systematic studies on the photolytic and hydrolytic degradation of microplastics using three photolysis protocols and multiple polymer types to determine release rates of secondary micro- and nanoplastics and water-soluble organics, providing mechanistic data needed for environmental fate and risk assessment.
Preparing and characterizing environmentally aged microplastics
When microplastics enter the environment, they are not static — UV radiation, water, temperature, and biological activity all cause them to age, changing their surface structure, chemical composition, and behavior. This paper presents a standardized laboratory protocol for systematically recreating and measuring microplastic aging across different environments (soil, water, air, and inside organisms), along with a composite aging index to quantify how degraded a particle has become. Having a consistent, reproducible method for studying aging is a critical step toward understanding how microplastics change as they move through ecosystems and how that affects their health and environmental risks.
Environmental degradation and fragmentation of microplastics: dependence on polymer type, humidity, UV dose and temperature
Researchers systematically tested how UV light, temperature, and humidity cause five common plastic types to break apart into secondary microplastics and nanoplastics. They found that the type of plastic — not the aging conditions — was the main factor determining how quickly it fragmented and what byproducts it released, data that can improve models predicting how plastics break down in the environment.
UV-degradation is a key driver of the fate and impacts of marine plastics. How can laboratory experiments be designed to effectively inform risk assessment?
Researchers reviewed laboratory studies on how UV light breaks down marine plastics, finding that sunlight-driven degradation is the primary force fragmenting plastics into micro- and nanoplastics and releasing toxic chemicals into seawater, while calling for better-standardized experiments to make lab findings more applicable to real ocean conditions.
Abiotic Long-Term Simulation of Microplastic Weathering Pathways under Different Aqueous Conditions
Laboratory weathering experiments simulated long-term microplastic degradation under UV, thermal, and mechanical stress to characterize how environmental exposure alters plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and additive release. The results provide insight into the formation pathways of secondary microplastics under realistic environmental conditions.
Laboratory simulated aging methods, mechanisms and characteristic changes of microplastics: A review
This review examines the different laboratory methods scientists use to artificially age microplastics to study how they change over time in the environment. UV light, heat, chemical oxidation, and biological processes all alter the surface, size, and chemical properties of microplastics in different ways. Understanding how aging changes microplastics is important because weathered particles in the real world may be more toxic and carry more pollutants than the fresh plastics typically used in lab studies.
Linking UV aging of polymers and microplastics formation: An assessment employing various characterization techniques
This study used environmental assessment tools to model how UV aging of plastic polymers drives microplastic formation in marine environments. The analysis identified polymer-specific degradation rates and environmental conditions that accelerate the conversion of plastic debris into microplastics.
Microplastics Degradation and Characterization
This review examines the degradation processes and characterization methods for microplastics and nanoplastics across environmental compartments, synthesizing a decade of multidisciplinary research on plastic debris fragmentation, distribution, and interaction with biota. It covers analytical approaches for quantifying particles in the 1-5 mm and sub-micrometer size ranges and highlights ongoing challenges in assessing ecological and health risks.
Experimental parameterization of microplastic fragmentation and degradation to develop a mechanistic model of micro- and nanoplastic fragmentation in the environment
Researchers subjected seven plastic types (LDPE, PP, HIPS, PU, PET, PLA, and PA) to controlled UV irradiation and hydrolysis under varying temperature, humidity, salinity, and pH conditions, using multiple analytical methods including the NanoRelease/ISO22293 protocol, ATR-FTIR, TOC, GPC, and particle counting to quantify fragmentation rates from micro- to nanoscale. Preliminary results showed HIPS and LDPE fragmented most under UV stress, generating the largest counts of particles in the 1-2 µm size class, providing parameterization data for mechanistic models of environmental microplastic fragmentation.
New approach to produce accelerated aged microplastics standard
Researchers developed a new approach to produce accelerated aged microplastic standard materials by subjecting polymer particles to simulated weathering conditions, generating reference materials that more accurately reflect the degraded chemical and physical properties of microplastics found in real environmental samples.