Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Quantification of the combined toxic effect of polychlorinated biphenyls and nano-sized polystyrene on Daphnia magna

Researchers investigated how nano-sized polystyrene particles modify the acute toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to Daphnia magna, finding that low concentrations of nanoplastics reduced PCB toxicity by binding and sequestering the chemicals, while high nanoplastic concentrations became directly lethal, reversing the protective effect.

2018 Journal of Hazardous Materials 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Pyriproxyfen to Daphnia magna

Researchers evaluated the combined toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the insecticide pyriproxyfen on the water flea Daphnia magna under both acute and chronic exposure conditions. They found that nanoplastics initially reduced the acute toxicity of the pesticide within 24 hours but worsened chronic effects over longer periods. The study suggests that nanoplastics can alter how other environmental contaminants affect aquatic organisms, complicating risk assessments.

2024 Sustainability 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for high toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the European Daphnia longispina

Researchers exposed water fleas (Daphnia) to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that 50 nm particles were thousands of times more toxic per unit mass than 100 nm particles, with effects comparable to highly regulated toxic chemicals. The results highlight how particle size dramatically changes nanoplastic hazard and challenge the assumption that microplastics pose low ecological risk.

2023 Environmental Sciences Europe 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects of microplastics and heavy metals on the Daphnia magna

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics of two sizes adsorb heavy metals and how their combined presence affects the water flea Daphnia magna. They found that smaller microplastics had higher adsorption capacity for metals, and the combined toxicity shifted from antagonistic to additive effects as microplastic concentrations increased. The study reveals that smaller microplastics pose a greater toxicological risk when combined with heavy metals in aquatic environments.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 184 citations
Article Tier 2

Individual and combined toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and clothianidin toward Daphnia magna, Lemna minor, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Microcystis aeruginosa

Scientists tested polystyrene nanoplastics and a common insecticide (clothianidin) both alone and together on four different freshwater organisms. Surprisingly, the combined exposure was generally less toxic than predicted, showing antagonistic interactions where the two pollutants partially canceled out each other's effects. However, the nanoplastics alone still caused long-lasting harm to water flea reproduction that carried over to offspring born after exposure ended, suggesting nanoplastics can have multi-generational effects.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of nanoplastics and microplastics on toxicity, bioaccumulation, and environmental fate of phenanthrene in fresh water

Researchers studied how nanoplastics and microplastics interact with the toxic pollutant phenanthrene in freshwater, using tiny water fleas as test organisms. They found that nanoplastics increased the toxicity and bioaccumulation of phenanthrene, while larger microplastics actually reduced its harmful effects. The study suggests that the size of plastic particles plays a critical role in determining whether they make co-occurring pollutants more or less dangerous to aquatic life.

2016 Environmental Pollution 601 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effect of polystyrene nanoparticles and chlorpyrifos to Daphnia magna

This study examined the combined effects of polystyrene nanoparticles and chlorpyrifos pesticide on Daphnia magna, a standard aquatic toxicity test organism. The two contaminants together caused greater mortality and reproductive impairment than either alone, suggesting synergistic toxicity.

2024 Chemosphere 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics increase the toxicity of a pharmaceutical, at environmentally relevant concentrations – A mixture design with Daphnia magna

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics significantly increased the toxicity of the pharmaceutical diphenhydramine to Daphnia magna water fleas at environmentally relevant concentrations. The combination caused oxidative damage that was not observed when organisms were exposed to either substance alone, indicating a synergistic interaction. The study highlights that the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and pharmaceutical pollutants in water may create compounding risks for aquatic organisms.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent toxic interaction between polystyrene beads and mercury on the mercury accumulation and multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) of brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis

Researchers tested the interaction between polystyrene nano- and microplastics and mercury on the brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis, measuring mercury accumulation and multixenobiotic resistance responses. Particle size influenced the nature and severity of combined toxicity, with smaller plastic particles showing greater disruption of mercury accumulation and detoxification mechanisms.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioavailability of micro/nanoplastics and their associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to Daphnia Magna: Role of ingestion and egestion of plastics

Using a passive dosing system that kept dissolved pollutant concentrations constant, researchers showed that microplastics and nanoplastics dramatically increase the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to the water flea Daphnia magna: immobilization reached 71-80% when MPs/NPs and PAHs were combined, compared to 24% for PAHs alone. The PAHs adsorbed onto microplastic surfaces were bioavailable and contributed 37-50% of the total toxic effect, acting as a vector that delivers concentrated doses of carcinogenic compounds to organisms that ingest the particles. These findings reveal that the true hazard of microplastics in polluted water is substantially greater than either the particles or the chemical contaminants would cause on their own.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The synergistic effect of mono and co-exposure of microplastic suspensions on Daphnia magna’s survival, population density, reproduction rate & swimming behavior.

When water fleas (Daphnia magna) were exposed to mixtures of HDPE, LDPE, and polypropylene microplastics together, the combined toxicity was substantially greater than any single polymer alone, with the mixture LC50 dropping to 77 mg/L compared to 109–123 mg/L for individual plastics. This synergistic effect — reducing survival, reproduction, and normal swimming behavior — is an important finding because organisms in nature encounter mixtures of plastic types, not just one at a time.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastic Behavior and Toxicity on Crustacean Daphnia magna: Media Composition, Size, and Surface Charge Effects

Researchers examined how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics (20-100 nm) affected their behavior and toxicity to Daphnia magna in different water media, finding that smaller particles and certain media compositions significantly increased toxicity and aggregation patterns.

2021 Environments 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of polystyrene microplastic and benzophenone-4 on the bioaccumulation, feeding, growth, and reproduction of Daphnia magna

Researchers examined the combined toxic effects of polystyrene microplastics and the UV filter chemical benzophenone-4 on water fleas over 21 days. They found that exposure to both contaminants together caused greater harm to feeding, growth, and reproduction than either pollutant alone. The study demonstrates that microplastics and personal care product chemicals can interact to amplify their negative effects on freshwater organisms.

2024 Environmental Pollution 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics Decrease the Toxicity of a Complex PAH Mixture but Impair Mitochondrial Energy Production in Developing Zebrafish

Researchers studied the combined toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and a real-world mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on developing zebrafish. While the nanoplastics alone did not cause visible developmental defects, they impaired mitochondrial energy production and unexpectedly reduced the toxicity of the PAH mixture. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can interact with co-occurring pollutants in complex ways, sometimes moderating their effects while causing their own subtle cellular damage.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 291 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinctive toxic repercussions of polystyrene nano plastic towards aquatic non target species Nitrobacter vulgaris, Scenedesmus sp and Daphnia magna

Researchers tested polystyrene nanoplastics across a wide concentration range against three aquatic species and found dose-dependent toxicity in all three — inhibiting nitrifying bacteria growth, reducing algal protein and chlorophyll, and killing water fleas — revealing broad ecological hazard across trophic levels.

2024 Ecotoxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Screening of the Toxicity of Polystyrene Nano- and Microplastics Alone and in Combination with Benzo(a)pyrene in Brine Shrimp Larvae and Zebrafish Embryos

Researchers found that polystyrene nano- and microplastics alone showed minimal acute toxicity to brine shrimp and zebrafish embryos, but when combined with benzo(a)pyrene, the plastics altered the pollutant's bioavailability and toxic effects.

2022 Nanomaterials 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of emerging pollutants: Interactive impact of polystyrene nanoplastics and Metanil yellow on Artemia salina

Researchers exposed a common marine test animal, brine shrimp, to polystyrene nanoplastics combined with a synthetic yellow dye and found the mixture was far more toxic than either substance alone, killing over 93% of shrimp. The dye coated the nanoplastic surfaces, increased particle size, and amplified oxidative stress, showing that nanoplastics can make co-existing pollutants more dangerous.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
Article Tier 2

Ecological fitness impairments induced by chronic exposure to polyvinyl chloride nanospheres in Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed the freshwater organism Daphnia magna to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene nanoplastics over 21 days. They found that PVC nanoplastics caused greater impairments to growth, reproduction, and overall ecological fitness compared to polystyrene particles of similar size. The study suggests that the chemical composition of nanoplastics, not just their size, plays a significant role in determining their toxicity to aquatic organisms.

2024 Heliyon 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for high toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the European Daphnia longispina

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics caused high toxicity in three genetically distinct clones of the European water flea Daphnia longispina, highlighting the ecological hazard of nanoplastics and the importance of reporting exposure in particle count rather than mass metrics.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Combined toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and ammonium perfluorooctanoate to Daphnia magna: Mediation of intestinal blockage

Researchers evaluated the combined toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and a perfluorinated compound (ammonium perfluorooctanoate) to Daphnia magna using multiple toxicity assessment methods. They found that the interaction between microplastics and the fluorinated chemical produced antagonistic effects at some concentrations and synergistic effects at others, mediated partly by intestinal blockage from the plastic particles. The study reveals that microplastics can alter the bioavailability and toxicity of co-occurring fluorinated contaminants through physical mechanisms in the gut.

2022 Water Research 67 citations