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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Can microplastics and disinfectant resistance genes pose conceivable threats to water disinfection process?
ClearMicroplastic biofilms in water treatment systems: Fate and risks of pathogenic bacteria, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes
This review examines how microplastics in drinking water and wastewater treatment plants develop biofilms that harbor dangerous bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. The biofilm-coated microplastics can protect pathogens from disinfection processes, allowing them to survive treatment and potentially reach tap water. This raises concerns about microplastics serving as vehicles for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our water supply.
Reassessing systemic blind spots in modern water disinfection paradigms
This meta-analysis found that micro- and nanoplastics in water disinfection systems hinder bacterial inactivation at higher concentrations, significantly increase horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance genes, and promote formation of disinfection byproducts. Larger microplastic particles and polyethylene terephthalate showed the strongest effects on byproduct formation, revealing a blind spot in current water treatment approaches.
Antibiotic resistance fate in the full-scale drinking water and municipal wastewater treatment processes: A review
This review examines how antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes move through drinking water and wastewater treatment processes, finding that conventional treatment does not fully eliminate resistance. Microplastics in water systems act as surfaces that harbor and potentially transfer antibiotic resistance genes, making microplastic removal from water treatment an important co-benefit for antibiotic resistance management.
Microplastic-affected pathogens in drinking water supply systems: Survival mechanisms, ecological impacts and control challenges
This review synthesized evidence on how microplastics in drinking water supply systems affect pathogen behavior, focusing on opportunistic pathogens. Microplastics were found to enhance pathogen survival, promote antibiotic resistance gene transfer, and facilitate biofilm formation, with implications for the safety of treated drinking water.
Effects of microplastics on water disinfection and formation of disinfection by-products
This review examines how the presence of microplastics in drinking water and wastewater interferes with chlorination and ozonation disinfection processes, potentially reducing their effectiveness and generating harmful disinfection by-products. Microplastics can leach dissolved organic carbon that reacts with disinfectants, and they serve as refuges for antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may survive standard treatment. The authors call for more realistic laboratory experiments and field studies to properly assess the real-world risks that microplastics pose inside water treatment plants.
Microplastic pollution interaction with disinfectant resistance genes: research progress, environmental impacts, and potential threats
This review examines how microplastics serve as carriers for bacteria that develop resistance to disinfectants, a concern that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as disinfectant use surged. Researchers found that microorganisms on microplastic surfaces can exchange genetic material more readily, accelerating the spread of disinfectant resistance genes. The study warns that the interaction between microplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance represents an underappreciated environmental and public health concern.
Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview
Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.
The resistance change and stress response mechanisms of chlorine-resistant bacteria under microplastic stress in drinking water distribution system
Researchers found that microplastics in drinking water pipes can make chlorine-resistant bacteria even more dangerous by boosting their resistance to both antibiotics and disinfectants. Bacteria attached to microplastic surfaces changed their outer coatings and activated stress responses that increased their survival against water treatment chemicals. This is concerning because it means microplastics in water distribution systems could help create superbugs that standard water treatment cannot eliminate.
Mitigation of microplastic-associated emerging pollutants by chlorination using field-collected microplastic: Antimicrobial-resistant genes and pathogens
This study investigated whether chlorination — the most common water disinfection method — can kill the antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes that colonize microplastics in the environment. Chlorine treatment reduced antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics by up to 99.7%, but the thick biofilms on plastic surfaces shielded interior bacteria, limiting full disinfection. A concerning side effect was that chlorine caused microplastics to fragment into even smaller particles under 100 micrometers, potentially increasing their biological uptake and spreading disinfection-resistant genetic material further.
Microplastic-associated pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in environment
This review examines how microplastics in the environment act as surfaces for disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic-resistant microbes to colonize and spread. Researchers found that microplastics can carry pathogens and facilitate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria in water systems. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution may be contributing to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics and benzylalkyldimethylethyl compounds on system performance, microbial community and resistance genes in sulfur autotrophic denitrification system
Researchers found that PVC microplastics and a common disinfectant chemical in wastewater treatment systems promoted the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, with the disinfectant having an even stronger effect than the microplastics. The microplastic surfaces harbored disease-causing bacteria that carried these resistance genes. This is concerning because wastewater treatment plants could be releasing both microplastics and antibiotic-resistant pathogens into waterways, potentially threatening human health.
Biofilm formation on microplastics and interactions with antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in aquatic environment
This review explains how microplastics in waterways develop bacterial biofilms on their surfaces that can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and help spread antibiotic resistance genes to new environments. This is concerning for human health because these resistant microbes could eventually reach people through drinking water or seafood consumption.
Research progress on the origin, fate, impacts and harm of microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants
This review explores how microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes interact in wastewater treatment plants, where they can survive treatment and enter the environment together. The concern for human health is that these contaminants can travel through the food chain, potentially increasing illness from antibiotic-resistant infections.
Comprehensive assessment of chlorination disinfection on microplastic-associated biofilms
Researchers tested how well chlorine disinfection works against biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces in water. They found that while chlorination effectively killed bacteria on the microplastics, some resistant species survived and the process altered the microbial community structure. The findings suggest that microplastics in water systems may harbor bacteria that are harder to eliminate through standard disinfection methods.
The nexus of microplastics, food and antimicrobial resistance in the context of aquatic environment: Interdisciplinary linkages of pathways
This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces where bacteria can grow, share antibiotic resistance genes, and then enter the food chain through contaminated seafood. The combination of microplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance creates a compounding threat, as resistant bacteria riding on plastic particles can survive water treatment and reach humans. The authors call for interdisciplinary research connecting environmental science and public health to address this growing risk.
Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes as rising threats: Their interaction represents an urgent environmental concern
This review examines how microplastics interact with antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, creating a combined pollution threat. Microplastics can absorb antibiotics onto their surface and serve as platforms where bacteria exchange resistance genes. This interaction could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance, making infections harder to treat and posing a growing public health risk.
Microplastics enhanced the resistant genes spread under disinfectant replacement exposure in partial nitrification-anammox systems
Researchers investigated how alternating disinfectant exposure affects the spread of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastic biofilms in wastewater treatment systems. They found that switching between different disinfectants increased the risk of resistance gene transmission, with PET and polyethylene microplastics serving as vectors for both resistant bacteria and nitrogen-removing microorganisms. The study raises concerns that microplastics in wastewater systems may accelerate the spread of antimicrobial resistance under common disinfection practices.
Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics Combined With Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment: Recent Developments and Prospects
This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in water environments, finding that microplastics can absorb antibiotics onto their surfaces and carry them over long distances. When aquatic organisms encounter these antibiotic-laden microplastics, the combined toxicity can be worse than either pollutant alone. Microplastics also promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, which is a growing public health concern.
The potential risks posed by micro-nanoplastics to the safety of disinfected drinking water
This review examines the risks that micro- and nanoplastics pose to the safety of disinfected drinking water. Researchers found that common disinfection processes like ozone, chlorine, and UV treatment can actually make plastics more harmful by promoting leaching of organic compounds and generating disinfection byproducts. The study suggests that enhanced treatment technologies such as advanced coagulation, membrane filtration, and improved detection methods are needed to effectively remove these contaminants and prevent secondary hazards.
Environmental Health and Safety Implications of the Interplay Between Microplastics and the Residing Biofilm
This review examines the two-way relationship between microplastics and biofilms, the communities of microorganisms that quickly colonize plastic surfaces in the environment. Biofilms on microplastics can harbor harmful bacteria, concentrate toxic chemicals, and help spread antibiotic resistance genes through water systems. Understanding this interplay is important for human health because these contaminated biofilm-coated microplastics can enter drinking water and food supplies.
Interaction between microplastic biofilm formation and antibiotics: Effect of microplastic biofilm and its driving mechanisms on antibiotic resistance gene
This review explores how microplastics in water environments develop biofilms that interact with antibiotics in concerning ways. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics can enhance the adsorption of antibiotics and serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes. The study highlights the risk that microplastic biofilms could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance through aquatic ecosystems.
Recent advances in the relationships between biofilms and microplastics in natural environments
This review summarizes how microorganisms form biofilms on the surface of microplastics in water, changing the particles' physical properties and helping to spread bacteria and genes across ecosystems. These biofilm-coated microplastics can carry harmful microbes into new environments, raising concerns about waterborne disease transmission and the effectiveness of current water treatment methods.
Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance: The Magnitude of the Problem and the Emerging Role of Hospital Wastewater
This review examines how microplastics in water can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and spread resistance genes, especially through hospital wastewater. Microplastics provide a surface where bacteria easily form colonies and share resistance genes, creating a potential threat to human health. The authors call for better wastewater management to reduce this emerging risk.
Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters
Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.