Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Algae for plastic biodegradation

This review examines how algae interact with microplastics in marine environments, both as organisms harmed by plastic pollution and as potential agents for plastic biodegradation. Microplastics reduce algal photosynthesis and growth, while algal extracellular polymeric substances can trap and sink microplastic particles. Algae-driven biodegradation represents a promising avenue for reducing the persistence of microplastic contamination in the ocean.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Potential of Algae in the Mitigation of Plastic Pollution in Aquatic Environments

This review examined how algae can help mitigate plastic pollution in aquatic environments, finding that certain algal species can adsorb, degrade, or entrap microplastics, suggesting potential bioremediation applications though large-scale effectiveness remains to be demonstrated.

2022 Practice, progress, and proficiency in sustainability 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for Using Algae to Reduce Microplastics in the Environment

This review described how algae can reduce microplastic pollution through two mechanisms: physical adsorption and entrapment of particles into aggregates that sink, and enzymatic degradation of polymers. Additionally, algae can serve as feedstocks for producing bioplastics, offering a dual role in both plastic remediation and sustainable material production.

2025 Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
Article Tier 2

Exploring the potential of microalgae in removal of microplastics from the environment and scope of this entity as feedstock for biofuel production

This review explores the potential of microalgae to capture and remove microplastics from aquatic environments, examining the mechanisms by which algal cells adsorb or aggregate plastic particles and discussing the feasibility of algae-based remediation at scale.

2025
Article Tier 2

Interplay of plastic pollution with algae and plants: hidden danger or a blessing?

Researchers tested the ability of three microalgae species to remove microplastics from water through bioadhesion, finding that all three species could adsorb particles onto their surfaces. Removal efficiency depended on particle size, surface charge, and algae cell morphology.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Are algae a promising ecofriendly approach to micro/nanoplastic remediation?

This review examines the potential of algae as an eco-friendly approach to removing micro- and nanoplastics from wastewater treatment plant effluents, covering mechanisms including interception, entanglement, and heteroaggregation. Algae also offer the added benefit of nutrient recovery from wastewater and can be further processed into biochar or biofertilizer.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic interactions with freshwater microalgae: Hetero-aggregation and changes in plastic density appear strongly dependent on polymer type

Researchers studied interactions between microplastics and freshwater microalgae, finding that microplastics can physically attach to algal cells to form hetero-aggregates, altering both particle behavior and algal physiology.

2016 Environmental Pollution 704 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for Using Algae to Reduce Microplastics in the Environment

This review examined the potential of algae to reduce microplastic pollution both by adsorbing and intercepting plastic particles in water and by serving as a feedstock for biosynthesizing biodegradable bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based materials.

2025 MATEC Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Micro/nano-plastics and microalgae in aquatic environment: Influence factor, interaction, and molecular mechanisms.

This review examined the interactions between micro/nanoplastics and microalgae in aquatic environments, summarizing how plastic particle size, surface chemistry, and co-pollutants influence algal toxicity through oxidative stress, photosynthesis inhibition, and gene expression changes.

2024 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Heterogeneous aggregation between microplastics and microalgae: May provide new insights for microplastics removal

Researchers investigated heterogeneous aggregation between microplastics and various microalgal species, elucidating the formation process and influencing factors, which may provide new insights for developing microplastic removal strategies from aquatic environments.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 42 citations
Review Tier 2

A critical review of interactions between microplastics, microalgae and aquatic ecosystem function

This review of microplastic-microalgae interactions found that microplastics form distinct epiplastic algal communities that differ from surrounding water communities, and that the interactions are bidirectional — MP properties affect algal physiology while algal surface coatings alter MP behavior and fate.

2020 Water Research 412 citations
Article Tier 2

Microalgae–microplastics interactions at environmentally relevant concentrations: Implications toward ecology, bioeconomy, and UN SDGs

This study investigated how microalgae interact with microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations, examining growth inhibition, aggregation, and photosynthetic effects, with implications for aquatic ecosystem function and the feasibility of microalgae-based bioremediation.

2023 Water Research 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of different types of microplastics: Molecular mechanism and degradation efficiency

This review examines how bacteria, fungi, and algae can break down different types of microplastics through their enzymes, and compares the degradation efficiency of various microbial strains. Understanding these biological breakdown pathways is important because they could be developed into practical solutions for reducing the persistent microplastic pollution that threatens ecosystems and human health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 167 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Microplastics from Industrial Wastewater Using Microalgae

This review examines the use of microalgae as a sustainable biological approach for removing microplastics from wastewater, covering mechanisms of MP attachment to algal surfaces, factors affecting removal efficiency, and prospects for integrating algae cultivation with wastewater treatment.

2025
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Micro-/Nanoplastic (MNPs) Removal by Microalgae and Possible Integrated Routes of Energy Recovery

This review examined the interactions between micro- and nanoplastics and microalgae, covering how microalgae are affected by plastic particles and how they can in turn be used to remove plastics from aquatic environments. The authors identify microalgae-based systems as promising tools for combined plastic removal and biomass production.

2022 Microorganisms 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Research advances on impacts micro/nanoplastics and their carried pollutants on algae in aquatic ecosystems: A review

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics harm algae, which are the foundation of aquatic food chains, by slowing growth, reducing photosynthesis, and damaging cells. The effects are worse when microplastics carry other pollutants on their surfaces, creating a combined toxic effect. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, damage to these organisms can ripple upward through fish and shellfish to affect the safety of seafood consumed by humans.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the impact of phytoplankton secretions on the behavior of metal-containing engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environment

This review examines how tiny algae (phytoplankton) release natural substances that change the way metal nanoparticles behave in water, affecting whether they dissolve, clump together, or get absorbed by organisms. While focused on engineered nanoparticles rather than microplastics, the same biological processes apply to how plastic particles interact with living things in aquatic environments. Understanding these interactions is important for predicting how pollutants, including microplastics, move through water ecosystems and potentially into the food chain.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on aquatic flora: Recent status, mechanisms of their toxicity and bioremediation strategies

This review examines how microplastics affect aquatic plants, from microscopic algae to larger vegetation, by physically blocking sunlight and pores and disrupting photosynthesis, reproduction, and nutrient uptake. Prolonged exposure triggers excessive production of harmful reactive oxygen species in plant cells, which can lead to cell death. The authors also highlight bioremediation approaches, including certain plants and microorganisms that can adsorb or break down microplastics by 25 to 80 percent in laboratory settings.

2024 Chemosphere 8 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics – An emerging contaminants for algae. Critical review and perspectives

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics affect algae, which are the foundation of aquatic food chains. Microplastics can reduce algae growth, disrupt photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress, with smaller nanoplastics being more harmful. Since algae are at the base of the food web, damage to them can ripple through ecosystems and ultimately affect the seafood that humans consume.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial degradation of microplastics: Effectiveness, challenges, and sustainable solutions

This review summarizes current knowledge on microbial degradation of microplastics, examining the effectiveness of bacteria, fungi, and algae in breaking down various plastic polymers. Researchers found that while certain microorganisms show promising degradation capabilities, the process remains slow and faces challenges in real-world conditions. The study identifies key research gaps and potential strategies for developing more effective biological microplastic remediation approaches.

2025 Current Research in Microbial Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive effects of microplastics on algae-laden surface water treatment by coagulation-ultrafiltration combined process: Algae cultivation, coagulation performance and membrane fouling development

Researchers studied how microplastics affect the treatment of algae-contaminated drinking water using a combined filtration process. They found that microplastics initially stimulated algae growth by 58% but then suppressed the algae's release of organic compounds, and the plastics actually helped form larger clumps during water treatment. While microplastics complicated the treatment process in some ways, understanding these interactions is important for ensuring drinking water plants can effectively remove both algae and microplastics.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems and Their Impacts on Aquatic Organisms, with Emphasis on Microalgae

This review covers the distribution of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems and their impacts on aquatic organisms from bacteria to fish, with a focus on effects on microalgae as primary producers. The authors highlight that nanoplastics may be more biologically active than microplastics due to their size and surface reactivity, warranting greater research attention.

2018 Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Present and Future Prospect of Algae: A Potential Candidate for Sustainable Pollution Mitigation

This review examines the potential of algae as a sustainable tool for pollution mitigation across multiple environmental matrices, including their role in reducing plastic and microplastic contamination.

2021 The Open Biotechnology Journal 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Microorganism-mediated biodegradation for effective management and/or removal of micro-plastics from the environment: a comprehensive review

This review summarizes research on using microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and algae to break down microplastics in the environment. While some organisms can partially degrade certain plastic types through fragmentation and chemical breakdown, no single microbe can fully eliminate microplastics. The review highlights that biological degradation is a promising but still limited approach to addressing microplastic pollution, and more research is needed to develop effective microbial cleanup strategies.

2024 Archives of Microbiology 14 citations