Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Biofilm on microplastics in aqueous environment: Physicochemical properties and environmental implications

This review examines how bacteria and other microorganisms form sticky films called biofilms on microplastic surfaces in water. These biofilms change how microplastics move through the environment and increase their ability to absorb pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics. Biofilm-coated microplastics may also carry harmful bacteria, making them a greater potential health risk than clean microplastic particles.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 353 citations
Article Tier 2

The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that form on microplastic surfaces — affect the fate and ecological effects of plastic pollution. Biofilm formation alters how microplastics are transported, ingested, and degraded in the environment, and the plastisphere can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may pose risks to human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 219 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm-Developed Microplastics As Vectors of Pollutants in Aquatic Environments

This review examines how biofilms that form on microplastics in aquatic environments change their ability to absorb and transport pollutants. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics can absorb more contaminants than clean microplastics and serve as vectors that transfer both pollutants and potentially harmful microorganisms through aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 349 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastics biofilm in accumulation of trace metals in aquatic environments

This review examines how biofilms that form on microplastics in aquatic environments enhance the accumulation of trace metals from surrounding water. Researchers found that microorganisms colonizing plastic surfaces produce extracellular substances that facilitate metal sorption, effectively turning microplastics into concentrated carriers of metallic contaminants. The study highlights the dual pollution risk posed by microplastics serving as both physical pollutants and vehicles for toxic metal transport in waterways.

2022 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 62 citations
Review Tier 2

Research progress on the role of biofilm in heavy metals adsorption-desorption characteristics of microplastics: A review

This review examines how biofilm formation on microplastics in aquatic environments modifies their properties and changes how they adsorb and release heavy metals. Researchers found that biofilm-covered microplastics behave significantly differently than bare microplastics, which has important implications for understanding the combined environmental risks of microplastics and heavy metal contamination.

2023 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Biofilm Formation on Microplastic Behaviour in Aquatic Environments: An Comprehensive Review.

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that coat microplastics — change the behavior of plastic particles in aquatic environments, affecting how they move, sink, and interact with ecosystems. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is key to predicting where these particles end up and what risks they pose to water quality and aquatic life.

2025 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in the relationships between biofilms and microplastics in natural environments

This review summarizes how microorganisms form biofilms on the surface of microplastics in water, changing the particles' physical properties and helping to spread bacteria and genes across ecosystems. These biofilm-coated microplastics can carry harmful microbes into new environments, raising concerns about waterborne disease transmission and the effectiveness of current water treatment methods.

2024 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Health and Safety Implications of the Interplay Between Microplastics and the Residing Biofilm

This review examines the two-way relationship between microplastics and biofilms, the communities of microorganisms that quickly colonize plastic surfaces in the environment. Biofilms on microplastics can harbor harmful bacteria, concentrate toxic chemicals, and help spread antibiotic resistance genes through water systems. Understanding this interplay is important for human health because these contaminated biofilm-coated microplastics can enter drinking water and food supplies.

2024 Environment & Health 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment

Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1318 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation on polyethylene microplastics and their role as transfer vector of emerging organic pollutants

This study examined how bacteria form biofilms on polyethylene microplastics and whether those biofilms help transport organic pollutants like common pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Researchers found that the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa readily colonized microplastics, and the presence of contaminants in the water altered biofilm characteristics. The findings suggest that microplastics in waterways may act as carriers that help spread pharmaceutical and chemical pollutants through aquatic environments.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics–biofilm in aquatic ecosystem: Formation, pollutants complexation, greenhouse gas emission and ecotoxicology

This review examines how microplastics in water develop biofilms (layers of bacteria and other microorganisms) that make them stickier and more capable of absorbing harmful pollutants. These microplastic-biofilm combinations can carry heavy metals, organic contaminants, and disease-causing microorganisms through aquatic environments, and even contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The findings are relevant to human health because contaminated microplastics with biofilms are more likely to carry toxic substances into the food chain.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms and Their Role in the Fate of Microplastics in Aquatic Environment

This review examines how microbial biofilms attached to microplastics in aquatic environments mediate the accumulation and transfer of chemical pollutants, exploring how the 'plastisphere' community influences the fate and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics and co-contaminants.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: Interactions with microbes and chemical contaminants

This review covers what is known about microplastic interactions with microbes and co-occurring chemical contaminants in the environment, examining how biofilms on microplastics alter pollutant transport and the ecological consequences for soil, water, and atmospheric systems.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 417 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of biofilms on the adsorption behavior of nine organic emerging contaminants on microplastics in field-laboratory exposure experiments

Researchers studied how natural biofilms that form on microplastics in lake water affect the adsorption of nine emerging organic contaminants. The study found that biofilm colonization on microplastic surfaces can significantly alter how these particles interact with pollutants, in some cases increasing and in others decreasing contaminant uptake compared to clean microplastics.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 Applied Sciences 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Colonization in Marine Environments: Overview of Current Knowledge and Emerging Research Topics

This review examines how microorganisms colonize submerged surfaces in aquatic environments, with a focus on the factors shaping biofilm communities on microplastics. The authors discuss how the chemical and physical properties of plastic surfaces influence microbial attachment and community development compared to natural substrates.

2020 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Exaggerated interaction of biofilm-developed microplastics and contaminants in aquatic environments

Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces exaggerates the adsorption and vector capacity for co-contaminants in aquatic environments, with biofilm-coated MPs showing substantially higher uptake of contaminants than pristine MPs.

2023 Chemosphere 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic surface biofilms: a review of structural assembly, influencing factors, and ecotoxicity

This review explores how microbial biofilms form on microplastic surfaces in natural environments, creating tiny ecosystems known as the plastisphere. Researchers found that these biofilms change the physical and chemical properties of microplastics and can significantly alter their toxicity to living organisms. The study emphasizes that most toxicity research still uses pristine microplastics, which may not accurately reflect the real-world risks posed by biofilm-coated particles.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Biofilms in the Degradation of Microplastics

This review examines the role of microbial biofilms in degrading microplastics, presenting insights into how microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces may contribute to the breakdown of microplastic particles in aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2025