Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Aged polyethylene microplastics modulate herbicide and antibiotic bioavailability and plant responses: A case study with glyphosate and tetracycline

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles commonly found in farm soil can stick to plant roots and change how plants absorb harmful chemicals like pesticides and antibiotics. The plastic pieces made plants more stressed and damaged, reducing important nutrients like chlorophyll by 30%. This matters because it could affect the safety and quality of the food we eat, since these plastic particles are becoming more common in agricultural areas where our crops are grown.

2026 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Emerging Organic Pollutants: A Study on Atrazine Adsorption and Phytotoxicity

Researchers studied how aged and pristine polyethylene microplastics adsorb the herbicide atrazine and whether this combination affects plant seed germination. Aged microplastics absorbed significantly more atrazine than new ones due to surface changes from UV exposure, and the atrazine-loaded aged particles inhibited lettuce germination by up to 34%. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in agricultural environments may amplify the harmful effects of pesticide contamination.

2025 Toxics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the sorption behavior of atrazine in new and aged microplastic and evaluation of its phytotoxic potential

Researchers studied the sorption of atrazine onto new and aged polyethylene microplastics in distilled and nutrient-enriched (eutrophic) water, then assessed the phytotoxic effects on Lactuca sativa germination. Aged MPs adsorbed more atrazine than new MPs, and the combination increased phytotoxicity over atrazine alone, showing that weathered microplastics amplify herbicide risks in aquatic environments.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Can aged microplastics be transport vectors for organic micropollutants? – Sorption and phytotoxicity tests

This study examined whether aged microplastics can act as transport carriers for organic micropollutants in the environment. Researchers found that aging processes like UV weathering altered the surface properties of microplastics, affecting their ability to sorb pollutants and influence phytotoxicity in plants.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of different microplastics polymers and albendazole and pyraclostrobin mix on arugula (Eruca vesicaria) physiology and growth

Researchers exposed arugula plants to conventional (LDPE) and biodegradable (PBAT) microplastics combined with a pesticide-antiparasitic mixture, and found that only the conventional plastic significantly amplified the chemicals' toxicity, reducing plant growth more than either pollutant alone. This shows that conventional microplastics can act as carriers that worsen the effects of agricultural chemicals in soil.

2025 Next Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and co-pollutant with ciprofloxacin affect interactions between free-floating macrophytes

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin co-pollutants altered competitive interactions between free-floating macrophytes, with combined exposure affecting plant growth and physiological responses differently than individual pollutant exposure.

2022 Environmental Pollution 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics on bioaccumulation of heavy metals in rape (Brassica napus L.)

Researchers found that microplastics influenced the bioaccumulation of copper and lead in rapeseed plants, with effects varying by microplastic concentration and heavy metal type, revealing how plastic pollution may alter contaminant uptake in crops.

2021 Chemosphere 165 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics and heavy metals on soil-plant microbial dynamics

This study examined how polyethylene microplastics interact with heavy metals in soil and found that microplastics significantly reduced plant growth while altering soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. The combination of microplastics and heavy metals disrupted nutrient cycling in the soil in ways that were different from either pollutant alone. These findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soil could affect crop nutrition and food production.

2023 Environmental Pollution 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastic addition on glyphosate decay and soil microbial activities in Chinese loess soil

Adding polyethylene microplastics to soil influenced the degradation of the herbicide glyphosate and altered microbial activity, with effects depending on the concentration of both microplastics and glyphosate. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could affect how long pesticides persist and how soil microbes function.

2018 Environmental Pollution 222 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-Exposure to Glyphosate and Polyethylene Microplastic Affects Their Toxicity to Chlorella vulgaris: Implications for Algal Health and Aquatic Risk

Researchers assessed the individual and combined toxicity of polyethylene microplastics and glyphosate to the microalga Chlorella vulgaris in acute and chronic exposures. The combination caused greater toxicity than either contaminant alone, particularly at chronic exposure durations, indicating synergistic effects relevant to agricultural runoff contamination.

2025 Molecules
Article Tier 2

The sorption behaviour of amine micropollutants on polyethylene microplastics – impact of aging and interactions with green seaweed

Researchers studied how long-term aging of polyethylene microplastics changes their ability to bind organic pollutants (amine micropollutants), and how interactions with green seaweed affect this process. Aged microplastics showed different sorption behavior than fresh ones, which has implications for how effectively they transport contaminants through aquatic food webs.

2020 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 28 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastic pollution in the modification of the physicochemical properties of arable soil and uptake of potential toxic elements by plants

Researchers conducted a series of studies analyzing how microplastic pollution modifies the physicochemical properties of arable soil and affects the uptake of potentially toxic heavy metals by plants, beginning with a comprehensive literature review of microplastic interactions with plant physiology, metals, pesticides, and pathogens.

2025 Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu
Article Tier 2

Sorption of selected pharmaceutical compounds on polyethylene microplastics: Roles of pH, aging, and competitive sorption

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics adsorb pharmaceutical compounds including an antibiotic, a beta-blocker, and an antidepressant, with sorption capacity influenced by pH, aging of the plastic, and competition between compounds — raising concern about microplastics as carriers of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments.

2022 Chemosphere 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microalgal biomass and microplastics on the sorption behaviour of pesticides in soil: a comparative study

Researchers examined how microalgal biomass interacts with microplastics to influence pesticide sorption behavior, finding that algal exudates coating MP surfaces altered their affinity for pesticides and affected the overall fate of pesticide-MP complexes in water.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Joint effects of microplastics and ciprofloxacin on their toxicity and fates in wheat: A hydroponic study

Researchers found that microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin jointly affected wheat growth in hydroponic conditions, with microplastics altering ciprofloxacin uptake and toxicity while the antibiotic influenced microplastic accumulation in plant tissues.

2022 Chemosphere 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior and mechanism of different types of (aged) microplastics for napropamide in soils

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics, both conventional and biodegradable, affect the soil absorption of the herbicide napropamide. They found that aged microplastics had significantly different adsorption properties than new ones, and that the presence of microplastics generally altered how the herbicide behaved in soil. The findings suggest that microplastic pollution may change how agricultural chemicals move through and persist in farmland.

2024 Chemosphere 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics impacts the toxicity of antibiotics on Pinellia ternata: An exploration of their effects on photosynthesis, oxidative stress homeostasis, secondary metabolism, the AsA-GSH cycle, and metabolomics

This study found that polyethylene microplastics changed how the medicinal plant Pinellia ternata responds to antibiotic contamination in soil. At low concentrations, microplastics slightly reduced the toxicity of the antibiotic, but at higher levels they worsened the damage to plant photosynthesis, antioxidant systems, and metabolic pathways. The findings show that microplastics can alter how other pollutants affect crop plants, making the real-world impacts of soil contamination harder to predict.

2025 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastics: Critical review of their impacts on plants, interactions with other contaminants (antibiotics, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and management strategies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics harm plants, both alone and in combination with other pollutants like antibiotics, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons. The combined exposure often worsens the damage, including inhibited growth, reduced seed germination, and genetic toxicity. The review also explores strategies to reduce this plant damage, which matters for food safety since contaminated crops are a route for microplastics to reach humans.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 83 citations
Article Tier 2

A new quantitative insight: Interaction of polyethylene microplastics with soil - microbiome - crop

Researchers developed a new method to track and measure how polyethylene microplastics move through soil and into crops, and for the first time demonstrated that micron-sized particles can accumulate in plant tissues, with the highest concentrations found in roots. Weathered microplastics significantly reduced soil nutrients and inhibited plant growth in maize, while fresh microplastics had different effects on soil chemistry. The findings suggest that aging microplastics in agricultural soil may pose a greater risk to crop productivity than previously understood.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and soil pollutants in soil-plant systems

This review synthesized literature on microplastic interactions with organic pollutants and heavy metals in the soil-plant system, covering sorption mechanisms, distribution characteristics, and transfer to crops. Microplastics were found to both adsorb and desorb contaminants depending on environmental conditions, acting as both concentrators and dispersal agents for soil pollutants.

2022 Environmental Pollution 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastics on the toxicity of chlorpyrifos and mercury on the marine microalgae Rhodomonas lens

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics influence the toxicity of chlorpyrifos and mercury to the marine microalga Rhodomonas lens, finding that microplastics can modify pollutant bioavailability and alter toxic effects depending on particle surface oxidation state.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Do Microplastics in Soil Influence the Bioavailability of Sulfamethoxazole to Plants?

Researchers investigated how three types of microplastics affect the availability and toxicity of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole in soil using sorghum plants. They found that low concentrations of the antibiotic actually stimulated plant growth, while higher concentrations inhibited it, and the presence of microplastics generally reduced the antibiotic's toxicity. The study highlights that microplastics in agricultural soils can alter how pharmaceutical contaminants behave, with polystyrene having the strongest effect on drug availability.

2025 Plants 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The toxicological effect on pak choi of co-exposure to degradable and non-degradable microplastics with oxytetracycline in the soil

This study tested how microplastics and the antibiotic oxytetracycline, both common contaminants in farmland soil, affect pak choi (a leafy vegetable). Both types of microplastics harmed root growth, photosynthesis, and plant metabolism, and surprisingly, biodegradable PLA microplastics caused more damage than conventional polyethylene ones. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soil could reduce crop quality and nutritional value, with so-called eco-friendly plastics potentially being worse for plants.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Coupling polyethylene microplastics with other pollutants: Exploring their combined effects on plant health and technologies for mitigating toxicity

This review summarizes how polyethylene microplastics interact with other common soil pollutants like heavy metals and antibiotics in agricultural fields. Microplastics can absorb these pollutants and carry them into plants, making the combined exposure more harmful than either pollutant alone. The findings raise concerns about the safety of crops grown in microplastic-contaminated soil.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations