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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Environmental Implications of Physicochemical Differences Between Environmental Nanoplastics and Their Commercial Forms
ClearNanoplastics in aquatic environments: The hidden impact of aging on fate and toxicity
This review highlights that most toxicity studies on nanoplastics use brand-new pristine particles, but real-world nanoplastics are aged by sunlight and chemical exposure, which fundamentally changes their surface properties and toxicity. Aged nanoplastics may be more harmful than pristine ones because they interact differently with biological systems, meaning current safety assessments likely underestimate the true risks.
From Pristine to Laboratory-weathered Micro- and Nanoplastics: Interaction with Environmental Contaminants and Biological Effects
This review contrasts pristine and laboratory-weathered micro- and nanoplastics in terms of surface chemistry, adsorption of co-contaminants, and biological effects, arguing that weathered particles better represent real-world exposures and often exhibit different or greater toxicity.
Towards nanoplastic reference materials representative of partially degraded/naturally aged samples in complex food and environmental matrices
Researchers developed nanoplastic reference materials that better represent partially degraded and naturally aged particles found in real environmental and food matrices, addressing the gap left by commercially available monodispersed, spherical, surfactant-coated particles that do not reflect the polydispersed morphologies of environmental nanoplastics.
Recent advances on microplastic aging: Identification, mechanism, influence factors, and additives release
This review found that environmental aging transforms microplastic surface properties through abrasion, chemical oxidation, UV irradiation, and biodegradation, altering their environmental behavior and ecological risk. Aging also triggers the release of toxic plastic additives, but significant gaps remain between laboratory aging simulations and real-world conditions.
Towards nanoplastic reference materials representative of partially degraded/naturally aged samples in complex food and environmental matrices
Researchers developed nanoplastic reference materials that better represent partially degraded and naturally aged particles found in real environmental and food matrices, addressing the inadequacy of commercially available monodispersed spherical particles that do not reflect the polydispersed, irregular morphology of environmental nanoplastics.
In vitro modeling for the aging of nanoplastics: physicochemical characteristics and effect on the biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus
Researchers found that nanoplastics change as they age under environmental conditions, altering surface properties and increasing bacterial attachment. Aged nanoplastics promoted Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation more than fresh particles, with potential implications for human health.
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.
The wheel of time: The environmental dance of aged micro- and nanoplastics and their biological resonance
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and biological activity. Aged plastics behave differently than fresh ones: they accumulate faster in ecosystems, are more easily taken up by organisms, and can release trapped chemicals as they break down. The findings suggest that the real-world health and environmental risks of microplastics may be greater than lab studies using new, unweathered plastics indicate.
Weathering pathways differentially affect colloidal stability of nanoplastics
This study showed that different environmental weathering pathways — UV exposure, mechanical abrasion, and chemical aging — differentially affect nanoplastic aggregation behavior, with implications for how their colloidal stability and environmental transport should be assessed in risk evaluations.
Effect of the Surface Hydrophobicity–Morphology–Functionality of Nanoplastics on Their Homoaggregation in Seawater
Researchers found that nanoplastic surface hydrophobicity, morphology, and functional chemistry strongly govern homoaggregation behavior in aquatic environments, with more hydrophobic and functionalized particles forming larger, faster-settling aggregates that alter their environmental fate and bioavailability.
Combined effects of photoaging and natural organic matter on the colloidal stability of nanoplastics in aquatic environments
Researchers found that photoaging of polystyrene nanoplastics alters how natural organic matter interacts with their surfaces — reducing humic acid adsorption while increasing protein adsorption — with downstream effects on the nanoplastics' stability and transport in aquatic environments.
A reliable procedure to obtain environmentally relevant nanoplastic proxies
Researchers developed a reliable procedure for producing nanoplastic proxies with properties more representative of environmentally aged nanoplastics, addressing the urgent need for better reference materials in nanoplastic fate, transport, and toxicology research.
Distinguishing the nanoplastic–cell membrane interface by polymer type and aging properties: translocation, transformation and perturbation
Molecular simulations revealed that nanoplastic behavior at cell membranes differs significantly by polymer type and aging state, with distinct patterns of membrane translocation, transformation, and disruption. Aged nanoplastics showed altered interaction dynamics compared to pristine particles, suggesting weathering changes ecotoxicological risk.
[Research Progress on Plastic Aging Processes and Their Environmental Hazards].
This review examines the full dynamic aging process of plastics—from large pieces through microplastics and nanoplastics—including the mechanisms by which additives and soluble compounds are released during degradation. It concludes that while aging mechanisms are similar across plastic sizes, smaller particles carry greater potential for harm due to higher surface area and bioavailability.
Elaborating more realistic model microplastics by simulating polypropylene's environmental ageing
This study developed more realistic model microplastics by simulating the environmental aging of polypropylene, producing laboratory particles with surface chemistry, roughness, and density closer to field-collected environmental microplastics.
Physicochemical and biological changes on naturally aged microplastic surfaces in real environments over 10 months
Researchers studied physicochemical and biological changes in five types of microplastics after more than 10 months of natural aging in seawater, air, and soil, finding that surface roughness was highest in seawater and that all plastics developed oxidation products regardless of environment. Natural aging in real environments produced different changes than laboratory-simulated aging, with seawater being the most aggressive aging environment.
Role of Structural Morphology of Commodity Polymers in Microplastics and Nanoplastics Formation: Fragmentation, Effects and Associated Toxicity in the Aquatic Environment
This review examines how the structural morphology and chemical composition of commodity polymers influence the formation and environmental behaviour of microplastics and nanoplastics, arguing that chemical degradation pathways have been largely overlooked in favour of purely physical abrasion explanations for plastic fragmentation.
Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics
Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.
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.
Characterization, occurrence, environmental behaviors, and risks of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment: Current status and future perspectives
This review characterized the occurrence, environmental behavior, and toxicity of nanoplastics in aquatic systems, noting that their small size gives them unique properties — including higher surface reactivity and greater bioavailability — that make them potentially more hazardous than larger microplastics, while also harder to detect.
The importance of both physical aging and chemical weathering for the environmental fate of plastic
Researchers investigated the interplay between physical aging and chemical weathering in plastics and their combined effects on microplastic generation, finding that physical aging processes — distinct from photo-oxidation — play an underappreciated role in determining the environmental fate of plastic materials.
Aging Characteristics and Ecological Effects of Primary Microplastics in Cosmetic Products Under Different Aging Processes
Researchers examined how sunlight, seawater, and soil aging affect four cosmetic-grade primary microplastics, finding that sunlight and seawater exposure caused surface cracking, reduced particle sizes, and increased surface areas, with Topaz microplastics showing the most pronounced changes.
Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Origin, separation and characterization: Review
This review covers the origins, separation methods, and characterization of nanoplastics in aquatic environments. Nanoplastics (1–100 nm) are particularly concerning because their tiny size gives them a large surface area for adsorbing pollutants and allows them to penetrate biological barriers more easily than larger microplastics.
Environmental behaviors of microplastics in aquatic systems: A systematic review on degradation, adsorption, toxicity and biofilm under aging conditions
Aging processes like UV irradiation and physical abrasion alter microplastic surface properties, increasing their capacity to adsorb environmental pollutants while also enhancing leaching of toxic additives like phthalates, collectively amplifying the environmental toxicity of weathered microplastics.