Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

The threat of microplastics and microbial degradation potential; a current perspective

This review covers the growing threat of microplastics in marine environments, where they enter the food chain and can transfer to humans along with pathogenic organisms, causing various toxic effects. The paper also explores how bacteria and fungi found in ocean environments could be harnessed to biodegrade different types of plastics as a future strategy for reducing microplastic pollution.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Microbes in Microplastic Removal and Its Effect on Human Health

This review examines the role of microbes in microplastic removal from environmental matrices and food systems, covering both degradation pathways and the health implications of microplastic-microbiome interactions for humans and other organisms.

2025
Article Tier 2

Mechanisms of interaction between microplastics and microorganisms in the environment

This review summarized the sources, environmental distribution, and hazards of microplastics, focusing on how MPs influence both individual microorganisms and microbial communities in the environment. Microbial degradation pathways and methods were analyzed, and future research directions proposed to better understand the environmental behavior of microplastics and their interactions with microorganisms.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Environment and Effects on Biota

This review summarizes how microplastics form from plastic breakdown in nature or are manufactured at small sizes, spread across ecosystems, and harm organisms from microbes to larger animals. It emphasizes that poor plastic waste management is driving a growing global pollution crisis with broad ecological consequences.

2020 Turkish Journal of Water Science and Management 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Biological Degradation of Plastics and Microplastics: A Recent Perspective on Associated Mechanisms and Influencing Factors

This review looks at how bacteria and their enzymes can break down different types of plastics and microplastics through biological processes. Understanding these natural degradation pathways is important because they could be harnessed to reduce the amount of persistent microplastic pollution that accumulates in the environment and eventually enters the human food chain.

2023 Microorganisms 320 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Biofilms in the Degradation of Microplastics

This review examines the role of microbial biofilms in degrading microplastics, presenting insights into how microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces may contribute to the breakdown of microplastic particles in aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Unlocking secrets of microbial ecotoxicology: recent achievements and future challenges

This review explores how microorganisms interact with environmental pollutants, including microplastics, covering how bacteria can break down pollutants but are also harmed by them. The authors highlight that microplastics create new surfaces in the environment where bacteria form communities, potentially spreading harmful species or antibiotic resistance. Understanding these microbial interactions is critical for developing nature-based solutions to reduce pollution and protect human health.

2023 FEMS Microbiology Ecology 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Pollution and its Remediation

This publication reviews the growing problem of microplastic pollution in the environment and explores biological and technological strategies for remediation, including microbial degradation and engineered solutions. It highlights the urgent need for practical cleanup approaches as microplastics continue to accumulate across ecosystems worldwide.

2024 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Marine Environment: Sources, Fates, Impacts and Microbial Degradation

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in marine environments, covering their sources, distribution, and impacts on ocean life. Researchers found that microplastics are ingested by marine organisms at all levels of the food chain, potentially affecting both wildlife health and human food safety. The study also explores the promising role of marine bacteria that can break down certain plastics as a potential solution to this pollution crisis.

2021 Toxics 221 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of microplastic wastes and their sustainable management: A review

This review summarizes how microplastics damage ecosystems when organisms ingest them and absorb the toxic chemicals they carry, and examines microbial remediation as an emerging solution. Bacteria and fungi that can break down plastics offer a more environmentally friendly approach to reducing microplastic pollution, which is important because up to 14 million tons of plastic waste enters the oceans each year and enters the human food chain.

2024 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Harnessing Microorganisms for Microplastic Degradation: A Sustainable Approach to Mitigating Environmental Pollution

This review surveys microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and other taxa—capable of degrading microplastics, examining the enzymes, metabolic pathways, and environmental conditions involved, and assessing the practical potential of harnessing these organisms for bioremediation of plastic pollution.

2025 NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research
Article Tier 2

Microbial strategies for effective microplastics biodegradation: Insights and innovations in environmental remediation

This review explores how bacteria and their enzymes can break down microplastics through oxidative degradation, offering a biological approach to cleaning up plastic pollution. The paper highlights innovative pretreatment methods that make plastics more accessible to microbial breakdown and positions microbial strategies as a promising frontline solution for removing microplastics from ecosystems before they can enter the food chain and affect human health.

2024 Environmental Research 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro-by-Micro Interactions: How Microorganisms Influence the Fate of Marine Microplastics

This review examines how microorganisms interact with microplastics in water environments, affecting the transport, breakdown, and toxicity of plastic particles. Microbes colonize plastic surfaces rapidly, altering particle density, chemical composition, and how likely organisms are to ingest them, which has major implications for ecosystem exposure.

2019 Preprints.org 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological perspectives on the effects of microplastics on the aquatic environment

This review examines how microplastics interact with microorganisms in aquatic environments, highlighting risks to microbial communities and the potential for microplastics to disrupt ecosystem functions. Microplastics may alter microbial diversity and promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2019 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Degradation of Plastics

This review examines microbial degradation of plastics in the environment, discussing how environmental breakdown of plastics generates microplastic particles that accumulate in plants and animals and cause metabolic disruptions, while exploring the potential of microorganisms to break down plastic polymers.

2023 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Review on impacts of micro- and nano-plastic on aquatic ecosystems and mitigation strategies

This review examines the environmental fate, ecological impacts, and remediation strategies for microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems. Researchers highlight that microbial remediation shows particular promise for breaking down these pollutants, while many nations are adopting regulations to limit plastic contamination of waterways. The study suggests that integrating approaches from nanoscience, microbial ecology, and remediation technologies is needed to address this growing environmental challenge.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Critical review on unveiling the toxic and recalcitrant effects of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and their degradation by microbes

This review provides a comprehensive look at how microplastics accumulate in aquatic ecosystems and their toxic effects on marine organisms throughout the food chain. Researchers also examine the potential of bacteria, fungi, and algae to break down microplastics through biodegradation, including advances in genetic engineering to enhance this process. The study underscores both the severity of microplastic pollution and the emerging biological strategies that could help address it.

2024 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Impacts and Microbial-Mediated Degradation Processes of Microplastics

This review explores both the harmful effects of microplastics on living organisms and the potential of microorganisms to break them down. Researchers summarize how microplastics accumulate through food chains from aquatic environments to humans, posing risks to food safety. The study highlights microbial degradation as a promising sustainable alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods for addressing plastic pollution.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Toxic and Radioactive Waste 4 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Bacteria as Ecological Tools: Pioneering Microplastic Biodegradation

This systematic review examines how bacteria can be used to biologically break down microplastic particles. The researchers identified several bacterial species capable of degrading different types of plastics, offering a potential natural solution to microplastic pollution. Finding biological methods to break down microplastics could reduce the amount of these particles that accumulate in our environment and food chain.

2024 Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in ecological system: Their prevalence, health effects, and remediation

This review provides an overview of microplastic prevalence across different ecosystems and their potential effects on environmental and human health. The researchers discuss how microplastics enter water, soil, and food chains, and examine the various biological effects documented in organisms. They also review current remediation strategies being developed to address microplastic contamination.

2024 Environmental Nanotechnology Monitoring & Management 8 citations