Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Progress in Research on the Bioavailability and Toxicity of Nanoplastics to Freshwater Plankton

This review critically examines recent research on the bioavailability and toxicity of nanoplastics to freshwater plankton. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics can be ingested by plankton and may cause adverse effects on feeding, reproduction, and growth, though the study notes that most research has used concentrations far exceeding those currently found in natural environments.

2023 Microplastics 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro-Nano Plastics in Aquatic Environments: Associated Health Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments are biologically transferred up the food chain, covering the factors that influence particle bioavailability, accumulation in organisms, and trophic transfer — with implications for both aquatic ecosystem health and human dietary exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

Biological Effects and Implications of Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Aquatic Environment

This review summarizes what is known about the biological effects and implications of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic organisms, covering a wide range of species from phytoplankton to fish. It highlights that while laboratory studies show harm at high concentrations, the effects at environmentally relevant levels are still poorly understood.

2019 Technical University of Denmark, DTU Orbit (Technical University of Denmark, DTU)
Article Tier 2

Invisible Invaders: Ecotoxicological Impacts of Nano‐ and Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems

This review synthesises ecotoxicological research on nano- and microplastics (NMPs) in aquatic environments, covering how particle size, surface chemistry, and chemical additives increase bioavailability and cellular uptake. It documents effects across trophic levels from phytoplankton to fish and highlights trophic transfer as an escalating concern.

2025 Advanced Sustainable Systems
Article Tier 2

Important ecological processes are affected by the accumulation and trophic transfer of nanoplastics in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain

Researchers found that nanoplastics bioaccumulate and transfer trophically in a freshwater periphyton-grazer food chain, affecting fundamental ecological processes and highlighting significant gaps in our understanding of nanoplastic risks in freshwater ecosystems.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 28 citations
Article Tier 2

The characteristics of plastic nanoparticles and their effect on zooplankton

This thesis reviewed the characteristics of plastic nanoparticles and their potential effects on zooplankton, which are a foundational component of aquatic food webs. Because nanoplastics are smaller than microplastics, they are more easily taken up by tiny organisms and may have more pervasive ecological effects.

2019
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics Prevalence, Food Web Interactions, and Toxicity Assessment in Aquatic Organisms: A Review

This review examines the prevalence of micro- and nanoplastics across aquatic environments and their documented toxic effects on organisms ranging from plankton to fish, including DNA damage, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity. Researchers found clear evidence that these particles transfer through aquatic food webs and can ultimately reach humans through seafood consumption. The study calls for more research into how microplastics carrying multiple contaminants cause combined toxic effects in marine organisms.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 164 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic ecosystems: Current research trends and perspectives

This review covers 83 studies on the distribution and toxic effects of micro- and nanoplastics in both marine and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Researchers found that these tiny particles affected the growth, development, behavior, reproduction, and survival of a wide range of aquatic organisms. The paper identifies key research gaps and suggests future directions for understanding the full ecological impact of plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2017 Marine Pollution Bulletin 630 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progress of nanoplastics in freshwater

This review summarized the environmental fate, extraction methods, characterization techniques, and biological effects of nanoplastics in freshwater systems, noting that NPs' small size, high surface area, and cell-penetrating ability make them potentially more harmful than microplastics despite being less studied.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 99 citations
Article Tier 2

The threat of micro/nanoplastic to aquatic plants: current knowledge, gaps, and future perspectives

This review summarizes what is known about how micro- and nanoplastics affect aquatic plants, including how plants absorb these particles through roots and leaves and transport them internally. Exposure can alter plant growth, photosynthesis, and interactions with other organisms, though effects vary widely depending on plastic type and concentration. The authors highlight major research gaps and call for more studies on real-world conditions rather than controlled lab settings.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in freshwater ecosystem: bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and biomagnification

This review synthesizes evidence on microplastic bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in freshwater ecosystems, finding that while ingestion by freshwater organisms is well-documented, biomagnification through food chains remains poorly understood and requires further investigation.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 91 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution in the aquatic ecosystem: an emerging threat need to be tackled

This review summarizes the growing threat of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, with a focus on how microplastics and nanoplastics enter food webs starting at the lowest levels. The authors highlight the persistence of these particles and call for coordinated action to reduce plastic inputs to water bodies.

2021 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the Source, Behaviour, and Fate of Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments

This review synthesizes current understanding of the sources, behavior, and fate of nanoplastics in aquatic environments, identifying a significant knowledge gap regarding the processes nanoplastics undergo after entering the hydrosphere, including their potential to traverse the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in vital organs. The authors highlight the ubiquity of plastic nanoparticles entering water systems and the urgency of understanding their environmental transformation and ultimate fate.

2022
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems: Analytical challenges, ecological impacts, and mitigation strategies

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of micro- and nanoplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering detection methods, toxic effects across the food chain, and emerging cleanup strategies. Researchers highlight the limitations of current analytical techniques and the challenges of accurately measuring these tiny particles in water and living organisms. The study identifies key research priorities needed to better understand and mitigate the growing threat of plastic particle pollution in waterways.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 2 citations
Review Tier 2

Bioavailability and effects of microplastics on marine zooplankton: A review

This review synthesized laboratory and field evidence on microplastic bioavailability and effects on marine zooplankton, finding that multiple taxa readily ingest microplastics with negative impacts on feeding, reproduction, and energy balance, and that zooplankton represent a critical route for transferring microplastics into marine food webs. The authors identify particle size, concentration, and feeding behavior as the main determinants of microplastic bioavailability to zooplankton.

2018 Environmental Pollution 900 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of nanoplastics on microalgae and their trophic transfer along the food chain: recent advances and perspectives

This review summarized evidence on how nanoplastics affect microalgae — including growth inhibition, oxidative stress, and altered photosynthesis — and examined trophic transfer of nanoplastics up the food chain, finding that toxicity depended on NP concentration, size, and surface charge.

2021 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 41 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

Microplastics in aquatic environments: Occurrence, accumulation, and biological effects

This review compiled evidence on microplastic occurrence, accumulation, and biological effects in global aquatic environments, covering uptake by organisms across trophic levels and the role of microplastics as vectors for persistent organic pollutants. The authors highlight concentration-dependent toxicity and the need for ecologically relevant exposure scenarios in laboratory studies.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 810 citations
Review Tier 2

Nanoplastics in the Aquatic Environment. Critical Review

This critical review synthesized the emerging science on nanoplastics in aquatic environments, covering detection challenges, sources, behavior, and toxicological evidence, and identifying major gaps in knowledge about nanoplastic-specific risks.

2015 608 citations
Article Tier 2

From Origins to Impacts: A Comprehensive Review of Microplastics in Freshwater Environments

This comprehensive review covers microplastics in freshwater ecosystems from sources and transport to biological uptake and food web effects, synthesizing current evidence on ecological risks and identifying research priorities.

2024 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of microplastics to freshwater biota: Considering exposure and hazard across trophic levels

This review examines the toxic effects of microplastics on freshwater organisms across multiple levels of the food web, from biofilms and plankton to fish and amphibians. Researchers found evidence of harm in several species, though effects varied widely depending on particle size, type, and concentration. The study highlights that freshwater microplastic toxicity is still poorly understood compared to marine environments and calls for more standardized research.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 150 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: Impact, Toxicity, Detection, and Remediation Strategies

This review synthesizes current knowledge on nanoplastics in freshwater and marine environments, covering their transformation through photodegradation and biodegradation, ecotoxicological impacts including oxidative stress and reproductive effects in aquatic organisms, and available remediation strategies.

2025 Environmental Quality Management
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic algae: Facts, challenges, and future opportunities

This review provides a comprehensive assessment of how micro- and nanoplastics harm aquatic algae, which form the base of ocean and freshwater food chains. The toxic effects include reduced growth, oxidative stress, and disrupted photosynthesis, with nanoplastics generally causing more damage than larger particles. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, their decline from plastic pollution could reduce the quality and safety of fish and shellfish consumed by people.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 45 citations
Article Tier 2

The transfer and resulting negative effects of nano- and micro-plastics through the aquatic trophic web—A discreet threat to human health

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics move through aquatic food webs — from small organisms like plankton up through fish to humans — noting that while hundreds of species are known to ingest plastic particles, it remains difficult to distinguish particles eaten directly from those consumed indirectly through prey. The review highlights a critical gap in understanding how much plastic actually transfers between trophic levels and what that means for human health risks from seafood consumption.

2022 Water Biology and Security 26 citations