Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Environmental Fate, Behavior, and Risk Management Approaches of Nanoplastics in the Environment

Researchers reviewed the environmental fate, behavior, and risk management of nanoplastics, which are plastic particles smaller than one micrometer. The study suggests that nanoplastics may pose greater environmental and health risks than larger microplastics due to their nanoscale properties, though significant knowledge gaps remain about their transport, transformation, and long-term ecological effects.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental fate, toxicity and risk management strategies of nanoplastics in the environment: Current status and future perspectives

This review provides a comprehensive look at nanoplastics -- tiny plastic particles smaller than one micrometer -- covering their environmental fate, toxic effects on organisms, and potential risks to ecosystems. Researchers found that nanoplastics can carry other pollutants like heavy metals and even serve as habitats for bacteria and viruses. The study calls for more research across all environmental compartments, including soil, air, and groundwater, to fully understand the scope of nanoplastic contamination.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 594 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics impact on marine biota: A review

Researchers reviewed the emerging toxicological literature on nanoplastics in marine ecosystems, distinguishing primary nanoplastics (manufactured at nanoscale) from secondary nanoplastics (fragmented from larger debris), and summarizing how nanoscale size changes particle reactivity and bioavailability in ways that differ substantially from their macro- and microscale counterparts.

2021 Environmental Pollution 213 citations
Article Tier 2

The Environmental Impacts of Nanoplastics in Marine Ecosystems

This review examined how nanoplastics—generated by degradation of larger plastics—penetrate biological barriers, accumulate in tissues, contribute to biomagnification, and disrupt marine food chains, highlighting their distinct ecotoxicological mechanisms compared to larger microplastics.

2025
Article Tier 2

An overview of the effects of nanoplastics on marine organisms

This review summarizes current knowledge about how nanoplastics affect marine organisms, from plankton to fish. Researchers highlight that these extremely small plastic particles are difficult to detect and measure, meaning their true environmental presence is likely underestimated. The study warns that the effects of nanoplastics on marine life could indirectly impact human health through the seafood supply chain.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nano-plastics in marine environment: Source, distribution and threats — A review

This review examines the sources, distribution, and threats of micro- and nanoplastics in the marine environment. Researchers found that microplastics are nearly ubiquitous in ocean ecosystems, causing harm to marine animals ranging from malnutrition to chemical poisoning. The study also highlights that nanoplastics can penetrate biological barriers, including the gastrointestinal and blood-brain barriers, and accumulate in vital organs.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 754 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano-plastics and their analytical characterisation and fate in the marine environment: From source to sea

Researchers reviewed the sources, environmental fate, organism interactions, and analytical detection methods for nano-sized plastic polymers in the marine environment, concluding that nanoplastics pose the greatest ecological risk among plastic size fractions and that standardized analytical protocols for nanoplastic characterization are urgently needed.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 142 citations
Review Tier 2

Nano-Scale Plastic Pollution in the Marine Species: A Review

This review summarizes research on nano-scale plastic pollution in marine species, covering how nanoplastics are produced from larger plastics, how they enter organisms, and the toxic effects they cause in marine life. Because of their tiny size, nanoplastics can penetrate cells and tissues that larger microplastics cannot reach.

2018 Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The toxicity of nanoplastics to marine organisms

This collection assesses the current knowledge on the toxicity of nanoplastics to marine organisms, examining both physical and chemical effects of these tiny plastic fragments that are smaller than microplastics. The monograph identifies the most pressing research gaps for understanding how nanoplastics affect marine ecosystems.

2014 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Nanoplastics on Marine Life: A Review

This review summarizes current knowledge about the effects of nanoplastics on marine organisms, including impacts on feeding, reproduction, growth, and cellular-level toxicity. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics can be more harmful than larger microplastics due to their ability to cross biological barriers and accumulate in tissues, though more research is needed on real-world exposure levels.

2023 Nature Environment and Pollution Technology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Micro and Nano Plastics on Ocean Environment

This review examines the impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on ocean environments, covering their sources, fragmentation from larger plastic debris, effects on marine species across the food chain from plankton to fish, and implications for ocean ecosystem health.

2024
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Origin, separation and characterization: Review

This review covers the origins, separation methods, and characterization of nanoplastics in aquatic environments. Nanoplastics (1–100 nm) are particularly concerning because their tiny size gives them a large surface area for adsorbing pollutants and allows them to penetrate biological barriers more easily than larger microplastics.

2023 Tehnika
Article Tier 2

Challenges in the search for nanoplastics in the environment—A critical review from the polymer science perspective

Researchers reviewed the scientific challenges in detecting nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — in natural environments, noting that none had been confirmed in the wild at the time of the study despite being suspected to pose serious environmental risks. The review highlights the urgent need for better sampling, separation, and detection methods, since the very techniques needed to find nanoplastics are still being developed.

2020 Polymer Testing 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization, occurrence, environmental behaviors, and risks of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment: Current status and future perspectives

This review characterized the occurrence, environmental behavior, and toxicity of nanoplastics in aquatic systems, noting that their small size gives them unique properties — including higher surface reactivity and greater bioavailability — that make them potentially more hazardous than larger microplastics, while also harder to detect.

2021 Fundamental Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

[Toxicology of Nanoplastics to Aquatic and Terrestrial Organism: A Critical Review].

This review examines the toxicological effects of nanoplastics on aquatic and terrestrial organisms, noting that the vast surface area of nanoplastics enables them to carry environmental pollutants into organisms. Researchers describe how nanoplastics accumulate in organs and can transfer to offspring, potentially harming subsequent generations. The study highlights the need for further research on the health threats posed by nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2025 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoscale plastic pollution: sources, identification and potential mitigation

This review examines the sources, environmental fate, and potential mitigation strategies for nanoscale plastic pollution, tracing the accumulation of plastic particles from millimetre to nanometre scales over decades. It highlights key knowledge gaps and emerging approaches for reducing nanoplastic contamination in ecosystems.

2025 Nanotechnology
Article Tier 2

Emergence of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment and possible impacts on aquatic organisms

This review summarizes current knowledge on nanoplastics in aquatic environments, finding them present in seas, rivers, and nature reserves across multiple continents at measurable levels. These extremely small plastic particles accumulate in aquatic organisms and cause growth problems, reproductive issues, and immune dysfunction, raising concerns about human exposure through contaminated seafood and drinking water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 203 citations
Article Tier 2

Progress in selecting marine bioindicators for nanoplastics ecological risk assessment

Researchers reviewed the state of knowledge on nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — in marine environments, identifying major gaps in our ability to measure them and assess their ecological risks. The review calls for more realistic exposure studies using diverse polymer types and chronic low-dose conditions, and outlines which marine species could serve as best indicators for nanoplastic monitoring.

2023 Ecological Indicators 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Separation and characterization of microplastic and nanoplastic particles in marine environment

This review examined methods for separating and characterizing microplastics and nanoplastics in marine environments, addressing challenges posed by their tiny size, diverse properties, and ability to adsorb pollutants.

2021 Environmental Pollution 142 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and nanoplastic pollution: Assessing translocation, impact, and mitigation strategies in marine ecosystems

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics move through marine ecosystems, contaminating species from tiny plankton to large fish through processes like biofouling and chemical leaching. The plastics interact with other environmental stressors like climate change and chemical pollution, compounding their effects on marine food webs. The authors highlight that nanoplastics, which form as microplastics break down further, may pose additional unique risks that are not yet well understood.

2025 Water Environment Research 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Impacts of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: A Current Overview

This review examined the environmental impacts of microplastics and nanoplastics across ecosystems, highlighting that these tiny particles behave differently from larger plastic debris and can absorb and transport toxic chemicals. Researchers found evidence that these particles transfer through food chains from lower organisms to higher animals, including humans. The study also explored natural biodegradation processes and current efforts to reduce plastic pollution in the environment.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 230 citations
Article Tier 2

New insights in to the environmental behavior and ecological toxicity of microplastics

This review provides new insights into how microplastics behave in the environment and their toxic effects on living organisms. Microplastics can absorb and carry other pollutants, making them more dangerous than the plastic alone, and their effects vary based on size, shape, and chemical composition. The review highlights that smaller particles, especially nanoplastics, pose the greatest risk because they can cross biological barriers and enter cells.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of Nanoplastics in the Mediterranean Sea: A Growing Environmental Concern

This review examines the state of knowledge on nanoplastics—particles smaller than 1 µm—in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting that detection and quantification remain technically challenging. The authors synthesize available evidence suggesting nanoplastics are more abundant and potentially more hazardous than microplastics, while identifying critical gaps in monitoring capability.

2025
Article Tier 2

Introduction to the Series on “Current Knowledge in Marine Microplastics—Pollution Down to the Nanoscale”

This is an introduction to a scientific article series focused on marine microplastic pollution extending down to the nanoscale. It sets the stage for research addressing how nanoplastics — the smallest plastic particles — contaminate marine environments and interact with marine organisms.

2021 Biological Bulletin 1 citations