Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Adsorption of typical natural organic matter on microplastics in aqueous solution: Kinetics, isotherm, influence factors and mechanism

Researchers investigated humic acid adsorption onto PVC and PS microplastics, finding that pH, ion species, particle size, and surfactants significantly influenced adsorption capacity through mechanisms including halogen bonding, hydrogen bonding, and pi-pi interactions.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 131 citations
Article Tier 2

New insights into the distribution and interaction mechanism of microplastics with humic acid in river sediments

Researchers found that microplastics and humic acids interact significantly in river sediments, with humic acid coating altering microplastic surface properties and affecting their distribution at different sediment depths, influencing the environmental fate and pollutant-carrying capacity of microplastics.

2022 Chemosphere 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

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

The effects of environmental conditions on the enrichment of antibiotics on microplastics in simulated natural water column

Researchers investigated how environmental ageing conditions affect the ability of microplastics to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline, finding that pH, ionic strength, and temperature had little effect, but humic acid significantly reduced adsorption capacity. The reduction was attributed to humic acid covering plastic surfaces, altering hydrophobicity, and competing for adsorption sites via electrostatic repulsion.

2018 Environmental Research 121 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of humic substances’ hydrophobicity in heterogeneous adsorption onto microplastics: Insights from two-dimensional correlation hydrophilic interaction chromatography

Researchers investigated how the hydrophobic properties of humic substances influence their adsorption onto pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics. Using chromatography techniques, they found that more hydrophobic humic molecules preferentially adsorb onto microplastics, with this trend being stronger for aged plastics and under acidic conditions. The study highlights the critical role of hydrophobicity in determining how natural organic matter interacts with microplastics in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental Technology & Innovation 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between polypropylene microplastics (PP-MPs) and humic acid influenced by aging of MPs

Researchers examined how aging affects polypropylene microplastic interactions with humic acid, finding that aged microplastics with increased surface oxygen groups showed stronger adsorption of humic acid compared to pristine particles, altering their environmental behavior.

2022 Water Research 145 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Polylactic Acid (PLA) Act as an Important Vector for Triclosan?

This study tested whether polylactic acid acts as a carrier for the antimicrobial compound triclosan, comparing PLA with polystyrene, PVC, and polyethylene of different particle sizes. PLA showed lower triclosan adsorption than non-biodegradable polymers, but its carrier capacity increased under acidic conditions, with implications for how biodegradable microplastics transport chemical contaminants.

2022 Sustainability 15 citations
Article Tier 2

The Hydrolytic Behavior of Poly(Lactic Acid)/Polystyrene‐ Grafted‐Hectorite Nanocomposite Films and Its Regulatory Mechanism on Microplastics

Researchers tested how polylactic acid (PLA) films and PLA/hectorite nanocomposite films degrade in aqueous solutions of different pH levels. The nanocomposite films degraded more slowly and released fewer microplastic fragments than pure PLA, suggesting that clay mineral incorporation could reduce secondary microplastic generation from biodegradable plastics.

2025 Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on the adherence of coexisting background organic contaminants to natural organic matter in water

Researchers examined how microplastics affect the binding of organic contaminants (PCBs and hydroxy PCBs) to humic acid in water, finding that microplastics caused contaminants to migrate from humic acid to plastic surfaces. This redistribution effect could alter the bioavailability and environmental risk of co-occurring organic pollutants.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption/desorption behavior of degradable polylactic acid microplastics on bisphenol A under different aging conditions

Researchers studied how different types of UV-simulated aging affect the ability of polylactic acid microplastics to adsorb and release bisphenol A. The study found that aging conditions changed the surface properties of the biodegradable plastic, altering its interaction with this common environmental contaminant. The findings suggest that even biodegradable microplastics can act as carriers of harmful chemicals depending on their degradation state.

2024 New Journal of Chemistry 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into the Characteristics, Adsorption, and Desorption Behaviors of Polylactic Acid Aged with or without Salinities

Researchers studied how salinity affects the aging process and pollutant adsorption behavior of polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics — a biodegradable plastic increasingly used as a conventional plastic substitute. Seawater aged PLA differently than freshwater, and aged particles adsorbed more contaminants than fresh ones. The study shows that even biodegradable plastics can become environmental pollutants through aging and contaminant accumulation.

2022 Journal of Environmental Engineering 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic acid enhances adsorption of antibiotic ciprofloxacin on polylactic acid microplastics, leading to reproductive and mitochondrial toxicity in Daphnia magna: Quantitative analysis

Researchers found that humic acid, a common natural organic compound in freshwater, significantly enhanced the adsorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin onto polylactic acid microplastics. This combination caused greater reproductive harm and mitochondrial DNA damage in water fleas (Daphnia magna) than exposure to the microplastics or antibiotic alone. The study highlights that even biodegradable microplastics can amplify the ecological toxicity of environmental pollutants when natural organic matter is present.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Organic Matter and Speciation on the Dynamics of Trace Metal Adsorption on Microplastics in Marine Conditions

Researchers evaluated how dissolved organic matter in the form of humic acid influences the adsorption dynamics of essential and toxic trace metals — including cobalt, copper, nickel, zinc, cadmium, and lead — onto polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics under simulated marine conditions. The study found that humic acid altered metal speciation and reduced adsorption onto microplastic surfaces, demonstrating that natural organic matter substantially modifies the role of microplastics as trace metal vectors in the ocean.

2024 Toxics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The regulation of the environmental behavior of NPs by humic acid: A review

This review examines how humic acid, a naturally occurring substance in soil and water, interacts with nanoplastics in the environment. Researchers found that humic acid significantly influences how nanoplastics behave, move, and exert toxic effects, suggesting that traditional toxicity assessments based on pure nanoplastics alone may not reflect real-world exposure conditions.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Microbial Degradation of Polylactic Acid Bioplastic

This review covers how microorganisms degrade polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic under different environmental conditions. Understanding PLA biodegradation is important for assessing whether PLA products actually break down as intended in real-world environments rather than persisting as microplastics.

2021 Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into interactions of polystyrene microplastics with different types and compositions of dissolved organic matter

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics interact with different types of dissolved organic matter, finding that fulvic acid and humic acid adsorb onto microplastics through distinct mechanisms, which influences microplastic transport and transformation in the environment.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Promotion of the biodegradation of phenanthrene adsorbed on microplastics by the functional bacterial consortium QY1 in the presence of humic acid: Bioavailability and toxicity evaluation

Researchers found that humic acid significantly promoted the biodegradation of phenanthrene adsorbed on microplastics by a bacterial consortium, improving contaminant bioavailability and reducing toxicity in aquatic environments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into interactions between microplastics and fulvic acid: Mechanisms affected by microplastics type

This study explored how different types of microplastics bind to fulvic acid, a key component of dissolved organic matter in environmental waters, finding that the polymer type significantly affected binding strength and mechanism. The results help explain how microplastics interact with natural organic matter in aquatic environments.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Humic acid can mitigate or magnify nanoplastic toxicity to freshwater microalgae: what are the factors driving these contrasting effects?

Researchers explored how humic acid, a natural organic substance found in water, interacts with nanoplastics to either reduce or amplify their toxicity to freshwater microalgae. The study found that humic acid can mitigate nanoplastic toxicity by reducing surface hydrophobicity and improving particle dispersion, but this protective effect diminishes at low humic acid concentrations.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on polystyrene microplastics in aquatic environments: Kinetic, isotherm and site energy distribution analysis

Polystyrene microplastics adsorbed both humic and fulvic acids from water via hydrophobic and pi-pi interactions, with humic acid showing stronger binding due to higher molecular energy sites. The results indicate that dissolved organic matter in natural waters will coat microplastic surfaces and alter their environmental behavior.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 214 citations