Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Toxicogenomic analysis of the carcinogenic potential of plastic additives

Researchers performed a toxicogenomic analysis of 2,712 plastic additives across chemical databases, finding that over 150 have known carcinogenicity while roughly 90% lack any cancer-related safety data, and that both carcinogenic and unstudied additives share biological pathways involving DNA damage and immune disruption.

2023 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicoproteomic assessment of microplastics and plastic additives in aquatic organisms: A review

This review examines how proteomics — the large-scale study of proteins — is being applied to understand the toxic effects of microplastics and plastic additives on aquatic organisms, and how this data can feed into adverse outcome pathway frameworks for ecological risk assessment.

2020 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D Genomics and Proteomics 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of AOP relevant to microplastics based on toxicity mechanisms of chemical additives using ToxCast™ and deep learning models combined approach

Researchers used ToxCast high-throughput screening data and deep learning models to build adverse outcome pathway (AOP) models for common plastic additive chemicals, identifying molecular initiating events and potential health endpoints relevant to human and environmental microplastic toxicity.

2020 Environment International 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the prognostic implications of PET microplastic degradation products in colorectal cancer: insights from an integrated computational analysis on glucocorticoid pathway–mediated mechanisms

Combining network toxicology, machine learning, and molecular docking, this study found that PET plastic degradation products ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid may influence colorectal cancer prognosis through 43 shared genes linked to TNF/IL-17 signaling and glucocorticoid-mediated metabolic pathways.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Adverse outcome pathway networks of microplastic ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms: A critical review

Researchers used automated text-mining combined with multi-level ecotoxicological review to construct adverse outcome pathway networks for microplastic toxicity in aquatic organisms. They mapped how microplastics cause harm from initial tissue contact through molecular disturbances to higher-level biological effects in gills, gut, liver, gonads, and brain. The study found strong evidence for early-stage toxic mechanisms but identified critical knowledge gaps in understanding downstream biological consequences.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic additives and microplastics as emerging contaminants: Mechanisms and analytical assessment

Researchers reviewed how chemical additives mixed into plastics during manufacturing — including stabilizers, flame retardants, and plasticizers — can leach out throughout a plastic's lifecycle and pose risks to ecosystems and human health, with microplastics acting as carriers that concentrate and transport these hazardous chemicals.

2022 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 194 citations
Article Tier 2

A computational framework for multi-scale data fusion in assessing the associations between micro- and nanoplastics and human hepatotoxicity

Researchers developed a computational toxicology framework integrating multi-source data and network analysis to map associations between micro- and nanoplastics and hepatotoxicity, identifying key molecular pathways through which MNPs may damage the liver, offering a scalable alternative to traditional in vivo testing.

2025 Environment International
Article Tier 2

Integrative network toxicology and molecular docking preliminarily explore the potential role of polystyrene microplastics in childhood obesity

Researchers used computational methods including network toxicology, machine learning, and molecular docking to explore how polystyrene microplastics might contribute to childhood obesity. They identified 40 overlapping genes between obesity-related and microplastic-affected pathways, concentrated in lipid metabolism and insulin signaling. The study suggests that polystyrene microplastics may act as environmental triggers capable of disrupting metabolic balance by interacting with key regulatory genes.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity effect factors for plastic additives on the aquatic environment: a new approach for life cycle impact assessment

Researchers calculated toxicity effect factors for 75 plastic additives — chemicals mixed into plastics to improve flexibility, durability, and color — gathering 461 data points across 75 aquatic species to assess how much these chemicals harm marine and freshwater life. The resulting factors can be used in life cycle assessments to quantify the environmental damage caused by plastic additives leaching into water, helping guide greener plastic design and policy.

2023 Environmental Pollution 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the prognostic implications of PET microplastic degradation products in colorectal cancer: insights from an integrated computational analysis on glucocorticoid pathway–mediated mechanisms

Researchers used network toxicology, machine learning, and molecular docking to investigate how PET degradation products—ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid—affect colorectal cancer prognosis through the glucocorticoid signaling pathway. The analysis identified 43 shared target genes, suggesting that PET breakdown products may worsen colorectal cancer outcomes by dysregulating glucocorticoid-mediated anti-inflammatory and cell survival signals.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Health Research
Article Tier 2

Assessing the toxicological effects of exposure to environmental pollutants PET-MPs on vascular diseases: insights from network toxicology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and experimental validation

Researchers used network toxicology, molecular docking, and cell experiments to investigate how PET microplastics may contribute to vascular diseases. They identified four core molecular targets and found that PET microplastics induced mitochondrial oxidative stress, increased reactive oxygen species, and promoted vascular smooth muscle cell death. The study provides initial molecular-level evidence that microplastic exposure may be a contributing factor in vascular damage and remodeling.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Abnormality of mussel in the early developmental stages induced by graphene and triphenyl phosphate: In silico toxicogenomic data-mining, in vivo, and toxicity pathway-oriented approach

Combining computational toxicogenomics with in vivo mussel embryo experiments, researchers found that graphene nanoparticles and the flame retardant triphenyl phosphate (TPP) — both associated with micro/nanoplastics in coastal waters — cause developmental abnormalities in mussel larvae through distinct but overlapping biological pathways. The study provides a mechanistic framework for understanding why plastic-associated chemicals are particularly damaging to marine invertebrates at early life stages.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic study of plastic monomers in gestational diabetes mellitus: A network toxicology and molecular docking approach

Using network toxicology and molecular docking, researchers investigated how plastic monomers interact with molecular targets involved in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The analysis identified shared gene targets and signaling pathways linking plastic monomer exposure to insulin resistance and inflammatory mechanisms relevant to GDM development.

2025 PLoS ONE
Article Tier 2

Adverse outcome pathways and in vitro toxicology strategies for microplastics hazard testing

Researchers proposed using the adverse outcome pathway framework to systematically assess microplastic hazards to human health, identifying mechanistic parallels with other well-characterized stressors that can guide prioritization of in vitro testing strategies for particles of different sizes, shapes, and chemistries.

2021 Current Opinion in Toxicology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrative network toxicology and molecular docking preliminarily explore the potential role of polystyrene microplastics in childhood obesity

Researchers used an integrative computational approach combining cross-species transcriptomics, network toxicology, and molecular docking to investigate potential links between polystyrene microplastic exposure and childhood obesity. They identified shared gene targets involved in lipid metabolism and insulin signaling pathways, with molecular docking confirming stable binding between microplastic compounds and key metabolic proteins. The findings provide a preliminary molecular hypothesis suggesting microplastics could disrupt metabolic processes relevant to obesity.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Examining the Relevance of the Microplastic-Associated Additive Fraction in Environmental Compartments

Researchers developed a theoretical framework for sampling and analytical procedures to characterize the speciation of plastic-associated chemical additives across environmental compartments, addressing a gap in routine monitoring programs that have not accounted for additives still bound to plastic particles. The study examines additive bioavailability and plastic-associated transport as key risk factors in environmental contamination assessment.

2022 ACS ES&T Water 18 citations
Article Tier 2

The toxicological impact of PET-MPs exposure on atherosclerosis: insights from network toxicology, molecular docking, and machine learning

Researchers used network toxicology, molecular docking, and machine learning to identify how PET microplastics may promote atherosclerosis, narrowing 28 candidate targets to seven key genes and predicting interactions with atherosclerosis-relevant pathways including inflammation and lipid metabolism.

2025 Scientific Reports
Article Tier 2

Evaluating nano- and microplastic particles as vectors of exposure for plastic additive chemicals using a food web model: Implications for risk to human health

This review evaluated nano- and microplastic particles as vectors for chemical exposure, examining how plastic additives and sorbed environmental contaminants leach from particles under environmentally relevant conditions. The analysis found that while leaching occurs, risks to human health at realistic environmental concentrations require further quantification.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-Omics Approach on the Ecotoxicological Assessment of Microplastics

This review examines the application of multi-omics approaches — including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics — to the ecotoxicological assessment of microplastics in living organisms. The authors synthesize how these integrated molecular tools are advancing understanding of the mechanistic pathways by which microplastics disrupt biological systems, offering a more comprehensive picture than single-endpoint toxicity studies.

2022 Proceedings of the International Conference on Environmental Science and Applications, ICESA ...
Article Tier 2

Evaluating the toxicological effects of PET-MPs exposure on atherosclerosis through integrated network toxicology analysis and experimental validation

Researchers used network toxicology analysis and laboratory experiments to investigate how polyethylene terephthalate microplastics may contribute to atherosclerosis. They identified several molecular targets and biological pathways through which these microplastics could promote plaque formation in blood vessels. The study provides preliminary evidence that a commonly encountered type of microplastic may interact with cardiovascular disease mechanisms, though further research is needed to confirm these findings.

2026 Naunyn-Schmiedeberg s Archives of Pharmacology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

An effect factor approach for quantifying the impact of plastic additives on aquatic biota in life cycle assessment

Researchers developed a preliminary effect factor approach to quantify the environmental impact of plastic additives on aquatic organisms within life cycle assessment frameworks, addressing a critical gap in how marine plastic chemical impacts are characterized.

2022 The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating microplastic particles as vectors of exposure for plastic additive chemicals using a food web model

Researchers used a bioaccumulation model to estimate how much chemical exposure humans and wildlife receive specifically from ingesting microplastic particles — versus other environmental routes — and found that microplastics only become a meaningful source of chemical additives when ingestion rates are high and the plastic contains substantial concentrations of hydrophobic chemicals. The work helps clarify when microplastics are a significant chemical vector, finding that health risks from this pathway are likely negligible at currently estimated ingestion rates.

2024 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.

This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.

2024 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Intersection of microplastic toxicity targets and differentially expressed genes in allergic rhinitis.

Network analysis identified a set of genes that are both targeted by common microplastics (PE, PP, PVC, PS) and differentially expressed in allergic rhinitis, providing a molecular framework for investigating how microplastic exposure may contribute to nasal allergy pathogenesis.

2025 Figshare