Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Interactions between microplastics and organic pollutants: Effects on toxicity, bioaccumulation, degradation, and transport

This review examines how microplastics interact with organic pollutants like pesticides and industrial chemicals in the environment. Researchers found that microplastics can absorb these pollutants and alter their toxicity, bioaccumulation, and transport, making the combined effects of microplastics and chemical contaminants potentially more harmful than either would be alone.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 399 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of Microplastics with Pesticides in Soils and Their Ecotoxicological Implications

This review examines how microplastics interact with pesticides in soil environments, finding that microplastics can sorb and transport pesticides, potentially altering their bioavailability and toxicity to soil organisms and ecosystems.

2023 Agronomy 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction behavior, mechanisms and hazardous changes of microplastics on single and binary component pesticide in the environment and food: Diethofencarb and pyrimethanil

Researchers studied how four types of microplastics absorb two common pesticides and found that the plastics acted as carriers that increased the pesticides' bioavailability during simulated human digestion. The adsorption was faster when both pesticides were present together, and more water-repellent pesticides bound more readily to the plastics. This is concerning because it means microplastics in food could deliver higher doses of pesticide residues into the body than the pesticides would on their own.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological interactions of microplastics/nanoplastics and environmental contaminants: Current knowledge and future perspectives

This review examines how the combined presence of micro- and nanoplastics with other environmental contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals affects toxicity. Researchers found that plastic particles can alter the bioavailability and toxic effects of co-occurring pollutants, sometimes increasing harm to organisms, which complicates environmental risk assessment.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 501 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of toxic chemicals with microplastics: A critical review

This critical review examined how toxic chemicals interact with microplastics in the environment, synthesizing evidence on adsorption, desorption, and the conditions under which microplastics either increase or decrease the bioavailability of co-occurring pollutants.

2018 Water Research 875 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and environmental pollutants: Key interaction and toxicology in aquatic and soil environments

This review tracks how microplastics move through soil, water, and air ecosystems, acting as carriers for other pollutants like pesticides and heavy metals. When microplastics absorb these toxins, the combined effect on organisms can be worse than either pollutant alone. The paper highlights the need for better understanding of how these pollutant combinations affect ecosystems and ultimately human health through contaminated food and water.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 520 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Chemical Contaminants with Microplastics

This review examines how chemical contaminants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals adsorb onto microplastic surfaces and are transported through the environment. Microplastics act as vectors that concentrate and move toxic chemicals, potentially amplifying human exposure through food and water.

2023
Article Tier 2

Combined Molecular Toxicity Mechanism of Microplastics Mixtures

This review examines how microplastics interact with other environmental pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, altering how toxic those substances behave. The study explores the molecular mechanisms behind these combined toxicity effects, which matter because in real-world environments, organisms are rarely exposed to microplastics in isolation.

2025 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Environmental Pollutants with Microplastics: A Critical Review of Sorption Factors, Bioaccumulation and Ecotoxicological Effects

This critical review examines how microplastics interact with and enhance the toxicity of co-occurring environmental pollutants including heavy metals, persistent organic compounds, and pharmaceuticals, synthesizing evidence on sorption mechanisms and combined ecotoxicological effects.

2020 Toxics 313 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of interactions of microplastics and typical pollutants from toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics perspective

This review systematically examined interactions between microplastics and typical environmental pollutants from toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic perspectives. Researchers found that microplastics can alter the bioaccumulation, distribution, and toxicity of co-occurring pollutants through adsorption and transport mechanisms. The study suggests that these interactions create significant uncertainty in environmental risk assessments and highlights the need for standardized quantitative approaches.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Bioavailability, Persistence and Toxicity of Plant Pesticides: An Agricultural Perspective

This review examines how microplastics in soil interact with pesticides, generally reducing pesticide effectiveness by absorbing the chemicals onto their surfaces. While this lowers the immediate toxicity of pesticides, it also makes them last longer in the environment and may reduce pest control in agriculture, potentially affecting food production and the long-term safety of the food supply.

2025 Agriculture 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behaviour and interaction of organic micropollutants with nano and microplastics – A review

This review analyzed the adsorption behavior of organic micropollutants — including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals — onto nano- and microplastics, finding that adsorption is governed by pollutant hydrophobicity, particle surface area, and aging state, and that microplastics can act as vectors delivering co-contaminants to aquatic organisms.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 216 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics with organic, inorganic and bio-pollutants and the ecotoxicological effects on terrestrial and aquatic organisms

This review systematically examines how microplastics interact with organic pollutants, heavy metals, and biological contaminants in the environment. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb and transport these pollutants, creating complex combinations that may be more toxic to organisms than either pollutant alone. The study highlights the risks these interactions pose to both ecosystem health and human well-being.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 126 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastics and emerging contaminants: Mechanisms of interactions, bioaccumulation and combined toxicity to aquatic organisms

This review summarizes how microplastics interact with other emerging contaminants in water, finding that microplastics can absorb pollutants at concentrations up to a million times higher than surrounding water and carry them into living organisms. The combined toxicity of microplastics plus these hitchhiking chemicals is often greater than either alone, and these pollutants can reach humans through the food chain.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 11 citations
Article Tier 2

A tale of two emerging contaminants: Interfacial interactions, co-transport behaviors and ecotoxicological implications between per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and micro(nano)plastics.

This review examined how PFAS and micro/nanoplastics co-occur in the environment, form interfacial adsorption complexes, and interact synergistically within organisms. The authors found that the two contaminant classes amplify each other's toxicity in co-exposure scenarios and that their shared transport pathways complicate standard risk assessment.

2026 Advances in colloid and interface science
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and main pollutants and environmental behavior in soils

This review examined how microplastics interact with major soil pollutants including heavy metals, pesticides, and organic contaminants, analyzing their combined environmental behavior, transport mechanisms, and ecological hazards in agricultural and terrestrial soils.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 103 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review on the interaction of polymer particles and co-existing contaminants: Adsorption mechanism, exposure factors, effects on plankton species

This review critically examines how microplastics and nanoplastics interact with co-existing contaminants including organic pollutants, toxic metals, and nanoparticles. Researchers found that the combined toxicity depends on multiple factors including plastic size, polymer type, weathering, and the nature of the co-contaminant. The study reveals that mixture effects on plankton species vary widely, with some combinations producing synergistic harm and others showing antagonistic interactions.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Co-existence of Microplastics and Perfluorochemicals: A Review of Their Interactions

This review examines how microplastics and perfluorochemicals, two widespread pollutant classes, interact when they coexist in the environment. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb perfluorochemicals onto their surfaces, potentially altering how both pollutants move through ecosystems and affect organisms. The study highlights that the combined presence of these contaminants may pose greater environmental risks than either one alone.

2023 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 15 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Combined exposure to microplastics and pesticides with endocrine-disrupting potential: evidence of interaction, reproductive biomarkers, and tissue bioaccumulation in humans and animal models

This review study examines how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) and certain pesticides might work together to disrupt hormones and affect fertility in humans and animals. The research suggests these common pollutants may be more harmful when combined than when encountered separately, potentially impacting reproductive health. Understanding these interactions is important because people are exposed to both microplastics and pesticides daily through food, water, and the environment.

2026 OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Article Tier 2

A review on the combined toxicological effects of microplastics and their attached pollutants

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as carriers for other environmental pollutants — including heavy metals and persistent organic chemicals — and how these combinations produce toxic effects in organisms that are more severe than either contaminant alone. The findings highlight a complex, layered toxicity problem that affects microbes, invertebrates, and vertebrates across marine and terrestrial environments.

2025 Emerging contaminants 20 citations