Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Heavy Metal Adsorption and Release on Polystyrene Particles at Various Salinities

This study examined how polystyrene microplastics adsorb and release heavy metals at varying salinity levels, finding that salinity significantly influences the sorption behavior and thus the potential for microplastics to act as heavy metal vectors in aquatic environments.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction behaviors of sulfamethoxazole and microplastics in marine condition: Focusing on the synergistic effects of salinity and temperature

This study found that microplastics in ocean water readily absorb the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, but the amount absorbed drops sharply as salinity increases — with seawater conditions reducing uptake by over 50% compared to fresh water. The findings reveal that in realistic marine conditions, the dynamics of antibiotic-microplastic interactions differ substantially from freshwater lab studies, which has implications for understanding how microplastics spread antibiotic contamination through marine food webs.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of organic pollutants and metals on micro/nanoplastics in the aquatic environment

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments adsorb organic pollutants and metals onto their surfaces, effectively acting as carriers for other contaminants. Researchers found that environmental factors like pH, salinity, and aging of the plastic significantly influence this sorption behavior. The findings raise concerns that microplastics may increase the bioavailability and toxicity of chemical pollutants in waterways.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 685 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of salinity and polystyrene microplastics exposure on the Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas: Oxidative stress and energy metabolism

Researchers studied how salinity levels affect the toxicity of polystyrene microplastics in Pacific oysters and found that low salinity reduced microplastic uptake but created complex interactions with oxidative stress and energy metabolism. Smaller microplastics generally caused more biological disruption than larger ones across all salinity conditions. This is important because coastal oyster habitats frequently experience salinity changes, and the findings suggest environmental conditions can alter how harmful microplastics are to shellfish.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of salinity on naphthalene adsorption and toxicity of polyethylene microparticles on Artemia salina

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics and the chemical pollutant naphthalene interact at different salinity levels and affect the survival and feeding of brine shrimp. They found that higher concentrations of both microplastics and naphthalene reduced shrimp survival rates, and that microplastics adsorbed more naphthalene at elevated salinity levels. The findings demonstrate that the co-occurrence of microplastics and chemical pollutants in aquatic environments can create compounding harmful effects on marine organisms.

2024 Chemosphere 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular level insight into the different interaction intensity between microplastics and aromatic hydrocarbon in pure water and seawater

Researchers found that microplastics have stronger affinity for aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater than in pure water, with molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory revealing that salinity-induced changes in surface characteristics and ionic interactions drive enhanced pollutant sorption.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic–Tebuconazole Interactions Under Ocean Acidification: Role of Material Type and Salinity

Researchers investigated the adsorption of the fungicide tebuconazole onto various microplastic materials under ocean acidification and varying salinity conditions, finding that adsorption capacity differed among degradable and conventional microplastic types and that both acidification and salinity significantly modulated pollutant-microplastic interactions in simulated marine environments.

2025 Environmental Engineering Science
Article Tier 2

Sorption of representative organic contaminants on microplastics: Effects of chemical physicochemical properties, particle size, and biofilm presence

This study examined how organic pollutants like flame retardants and industrial chemicals attach to microplastics in saltwater conditions. Smaller microplastic particles absorbed more contaminants per unit weight, and natural biofilms growing on the plastic surfaces changed how much pollution they could carry. The findings help explain how microplastics act as carriers of toxic chemicals through the environment and potentially into the food chain.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as a vehicle of heavy metals in aquatic environments: A review of adsorption factors, mechanisms, and biological effects

This review summarizes how microplastics in water can absorb and carry toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium, making them more dangerous to aquatic life than either pollutant alone. Environmental factors such as water acidity, salinity, and organic matter influence how much metal sticks to microplastic surfaces. Since contaminated seafood is a major source of human exposure, understanding these interactions is important for assessing health risks.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 385 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and heavy metal interactions (adsorption and desorption) at different salinities

Researchers examined adsorption and desorption of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn) onto polypropylene, polyethylene, and other microplastic types at varying concentrations and salinities, finding PP particles absorbed the most metal but also released it most slowly compared to other polymers.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of plastic particles with heavy metals and the resulting toxicological impacts: a review

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, identifying electrostatic attraction and pore-filling as the dominant adsorption mechanisms, and finding that factors including pH, salinity, biofilm formation, and particle size collectively determine whether combined exposure produces synergistic toxicity in animals or antagonistic effects in plants.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics with heavy metals in the aquatic environment: Mechanisms and mitigation

This review synthesized mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption onto microplastics in aquatic environments and evaluated strategies for removing both contaminants simultaneously. The authors found that temperature, salinity, and plastic surface aging govern metal binding, and identified hybrid adsorbent materials as the most promising approach for co-removal of metals and microplastics from water.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
Article Tier 2

Metal adsorption by microplastics in aquatic environments under controlled conditions: exposure time, pH and salinity

Scientists systematically varied pH, salinity, and exposure time during metal adsorption experiments on different microplastic types, finding that pH had the greatest influence on metal uptake, with higher pH favoring adsorption of copper, lead, and cadmium onto most tested polymers.

2020 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of cyanotoxins on polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate: Microplastics as vector of eight microcystin analogues

Eight microcystin analogues were tested for adsorption onto polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics, finding that these common plastics can bind cyanotoxins from freshwater environments. The study identifies microplastics as potential vectors for cyanobacterial toxins in lakes and reservoirs, with implications for drinking water safety.

2022 Environmental Pollution 53 citations
Review Tier 2

Interactions of Microplastics with Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Ecotoxicological Effects: A Review

This review examines how microplastics interact with persistent organic pollutants in the environment, including how factors like salinity, pH, and plastic type affect the sorption of toxic chemicals onto microplastic surfaces. The study suggests that when organisms ingest microplastics loaded with these pollutants, the chemicals can be released inside the body, posing combined ecotoxicological risks.

2021 Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption mechanism of trace heavy metals on microplastics and simulating their effect on microalgae in river

Researchers investigated how three common types of microplastics adsorb trace heavy metals under varying temperature and salinity conditions in freshwater. They found that microplastics adsorb metals primarily through electrostatic forces in a single-layer pattern, with warmer temperatures and lower salinity increasing adsorption capacity. The study also showed that heavy metals carried by microplastics can inhibit the growth of freshwater microalgae, demonstrating how plastics act as vectors for metal contamination in rivers.

2022 Environmental Research 177 citations
Article Tier 2

Elevated salinity amplifies polyethylene microplastic-induced soil nitrous oxide emissions

Elevated salinity was found to amplify the toxic effects of polyethylene microplastics on aquatic organisms, suggesting that marine and estuarine species face compounded stress from plastic exposure in saltwater environments. The interaction between salinity and microplastic toxicity has implications for risk assessments in coastal ecosystems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Weaken the Adaptability of Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. to Ocean Warming

Researchers found that microplastic exposure weakened the ability of the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus to adapt to warming ocean temperatures. When microplastics were combined with higher water temperatures, carbon fixation dropped by up to 15% compared to warming alone, and photosynthesis pigments declined further. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could compound the damaging effects of climate change on ocean phytoplankton, which play a critical role in global carbon cycling.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of perfluoroalkyl substances on polyamide microplastics: Effect of sorbent and influence of environmental factors

Researchers studied how perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of persistent industrial chemicals, bind to polyamide microplastics in water. They found that smaller microplastic particles absorbed dramatically more PFAS than larger ones, and that water chemistry conditions like pH and salinity influenced the process. The findings suggest microplastics can concentrate harmful chemicals and potentially increase human and wildlife exposure to PFAS in contaminated environments.

2022 Environmental Research 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene as a vector of heavy metals in hard clam Meretrix lusoria under various salinities

Researchers exposed hard clams (Meretrix lusoria) to polystyrene microplastics and heavy metals at three salinity levels, finding that clams at higher salinity (30 per mille) filtered significantly more water and accumulated more polystyrene particles and heavier metal loads, demonstrating that salinity amplifies microplastic vectoring of heavy metals into bivalves.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 5 citations