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20 resultsShowing papers similar to How microplastics crosses the buoyancy barrier
ClearHow microplastics crosses the buoyancy barrier
Researchers used Colloidal Probe-AFM to study nanoscale interactions between eco-corona-coated microplastic particles and surfaces under varying ionic conditions, finding that natural organic matter coatings substantially alter surface properties and aggregation behavior in ways that can allow buoyant plastics to sink.
How Microplastics Cross the Buoyancy Barrier
Researchers used Colloidal Probe-AFM to study nanoscale interactions between eco-corona-coated microplastic particles and model sand particles at varying ionic concentrations, finding that natural organic matter comprising the eco-corona can facilitate MP-sand adhesion, offering a mechanistic explanation for how buoyant microplastics cross the buoyancy barrier to sink.
How Microplastics cross the Buoyancy Barrier: A multi-scale Study
Researchers investigated how microplastics less dense than water overcome the buoyancy barrier to settle in sediments, using colloidal probe atomic force microscopy, microscale aggregation tests, sedimentation column experiments, and simulations to quantify eco-corona-mediated MP-sediment attraction across scales. They found that eco-corona coatings created attractive forces enabling heteroaggregation with suspended sediment, doubling MP settling frequency in bentonite suspensions and increasing sediment retention by 32%, with environmental shear forces too weak to disrupt the formed aggregates.
Nanoscale interaction mechanism between bubbles and microplastics under the influence of natural organic matter in simulated marine environment
Researchers used atomic force microscopy to measure the nanoscale interactions between air bubbles and different types of microplastics in simulated seawater. They found that hydrophobic plastics like polystyrene and PVC showed stronger bubble attachment than hydrophilic ones, and that humic acid in the water significantly weakened these interactions. The study suggests that natural organic matter in oceans may reduce the tendency of microplastics to be carried to the surface by bubbles, affecting how they circulate in marine environments.
Cation–π Interaction and Salinity Regulate the Bubble-Mediated Transport of Microplastics in the Presence of Aromatic Dissolved Organic Matter
Researchers combined single-molecule force spectroscopy and bulk transport experiments to show that aromatic dissolved organic matter forms an eco-corona on polystyrene microplastics via cation-π interactions, weakening bubble-mediated ejection and promoting aggregation in seawater, while polar PLA microplastics remain colloidally stable and more amenable to vertical atmospheric transport.
A comparative study of microplastics under the influence of soil-typical eco-coronas through laboratory and field incubation experiments
Researchers compared the formation and properties of soil-typical eco-coronas on microplastics through both laboratory incubation and real-world field experiments, examining how natural organic matter coatings of proteins, carbohydrates, and humic acids alter microplastic surface hydrophobicity and transport behaviour. The study found that eco-corona composition significantly influences how microplastics move through terrestrial environments and interact with soil organisms.
Effects of organic matter on interaction forces between polystyrene microplastics: An experimental study
Researchers examined how organic matter in seawater affects the aggregation and adhesion forces between polystyrene microplastics, finding that organic coatings alter surface interaction forces in ways that influence whether microplastics clump together and sink or remain dispersed in the water column.
The role of microplastics in microalgae cells aggregation: A study at the molecular scale using atomic force microscopy
Atomic force microscopy was used at the molecular scale to study how microplastics interact with microalgae cells and affect their aggregation, finding that plastic particles altered cell surface properties and promoted clumping. The results suggest that microplastics can disrupt the normal behavior of primary producers at the base of aquatic food chains.
A comparative study of microplastics under the influence of soil-typical eco-coronas through laboratory and field incubation experiments
Researchers compared microplastic behavior under laboratory and field incubation conditions when eco-coronas — natural surface coatings of organic matter, proteins, and humic acids — were present on particles, assessing how these coatings modify microplastic hydrophobicity, transport, and toxicity to soil organisms.
Repulsive interactions of eco-corona covered microplastic particles quantitatively follow modelling of polymer brushes
Researchers studied how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of natural organic molecules that coats microplastics in the environment — affects how plastic particles interact with each other and with surfaces. The eco-corona increased repulsion between particles, following patterns predicted by polymer brush physics models. Understanding the eco-corona is important for predicting how microplastics behave and accumulate in real-world environments.
Repulsive Interactions of Eco-corona-Covered Microplastic Particles Quantitatively Follow Modeling of Polymer Brushes
Researchers demonstrated that the eco-corona layer formed by natural organic matter on microplastic surfaces creates long-range repulsive interactions between particles, following the polymer brush model and fundamentally altering how microplastics behave in the environment.
Understanding the formation and influence of soil-typical eco-coronas on microplastics through laboratory and field incubation experiments
Researchers conducted laboratory and field incubation experiments to characterize eco-corona formation on microplastics in soil, finding that soil-derived organic matter including humic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates forms a coating that alters MP surface properties, transport behavior, and adsorption efficiency in terrestrial environments.
Environmental Safety and Security Investigationsof Neustonic Microplastic Aggregates NearWater-Air Interphase
This study investigated microplastic aggregates near the water-air interface in marine and freshwater environments, finding that the surface microlayer concentrates microplastics and that these neustonic aggregates pose particular risks to surface-dwelling organisms.
Nanoscale insight into the interaction mechanism underlying the transport of microplastics by bubbles in aqueous environment
Nanoscale experiments revealed that bubble capture of microplastics in water is governed by hydrophobic interactions and surface charge complementarity between bubbles and MP particles. Understanding these mechanisms is critical for modeling the role of bubbles in transporting MPs from water to air-water interfaces and across environmental compartments.
Surface functional group dependent enthalpic and entropic contributions to molecular adsorption on colloidal microplastics
This chemistry study measured how different organic molecules (charged and neutral) stick to the surface of various microplastic particles in water, finding that the plastic's surface chemistry strongly influences the strength and nature of these interactions. The work reveals that both electrostatic attraction and water structure at the plastic surface play a role in determining what contaminants microplastics can carry. This matters because microplastics act as "carriers" for other pollutants, and understanding the binding chemistry helps predict which toxins hitchhike with plastics into ecosystems and organisms.
The Composition of the Eco-corona Acquired by Micro- and Nanoscale Plastics Impacts on their Ecotoxicity and Interactions with Co-pollutants
This review examines how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of environmental biomolecules adsorbing onto plastic particle surfaces — alters the toxicity, transport, and interaction with co-pollutants of micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing that this biological coating fundamentally changes how plastics behave in living organisms.
Sinking of microbial-associated microplastics in natural waters
Researchers investigated how microbial biofilm colonization of microplastics affects their buoyancy and sinking behavior in natural waters, finding that biological ballasting from attached microorganisms can significantly increase particle density and promote vertical transport toward sediments. The results suggest that biofouling is a key mechanism driving the removal of microplastics from surface waters.
Microbial Life on the Surface of Microplastics in Natural Waters
Researchers reviewed how microorganisms colonize the surface of microplastic particles floating in natural waters, forming biofilms that can include potentially harmful bacteria. These biofilm-coated microplastics concentrate near the water-air interface and are more readily consumed by aquatic animals than bare plastic particles. The study highlights that understanding microbial life on microplastics is essential for assessing their environmental and public health impacts.
Biofilm (Eco-Corona) Formation from Microplastics in Freshwater
This review examines eco-corona and biofilm formation on microplastics in freshwater environments, explaining how microbial colonization of plastic surfaces changes their buoyancy, surface chemistry, and biological interactions, with implications for MP transport and ecotoxicity.
The interaction of micro/nano plastics and the environment: Effects of ecological corona on the toxicity to aquatic organisms.
This review examines how the ecological corona — the layer of organic matter, proteins, and microbes that form on micro- and nanoplastic surfaces in water — affects their toxicity to aquatic organisms. The ecological corona can either increase or decrease toxicity depending on its composition, making real-world plastic hazard assessment more complex than laboratory tests with clean particles suggest.