Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Adsorption of heavy metals by biofilm-coated microplastics in aquatic environments: Mechanisms, isotherm and kinetic processes, and influencing factors

This review synthesizes research on how biofilms—microbial coatings that naturally form on microplastics in water—alter the particles' ability to absorb heavy metals like lead, copper, and cadmium, finding that biofilmed microplastics generally adsorb more metal than bare plastic and that electrostatic forces and surface complexation are the dominant mechanisms. This matters because microplastics coated in both biofilm and toxic metals may deliver a double dose of contamination to organisms that ingest them. The review identifies key gaps, including how competitive metal mixtures and shifting biofilm composition over time affect this combined pollution risk.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastics biofilm in accumulation of trace metals in aquatic environments

This review examines how biofilms that form on microplastics in aquatic environments enhance the accumulation of trace metals from surrounding water. Researchers found that microorganisms colonizing plastic surfaces produce extracellular substances that facilitate metal sorption, effectively turning microplastics into concentrated carriers of metallic contaminants. The study highlights the dual pollution risk posed by microplastics serving as both physical pollutants and vehicles for toxic metal transport in waterways.

2022 World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm on microplastics in aqueous environment: Physicochemical properties and environmental implications

This review examines how bacteria and other microorganisms form sticky films called biofilms on microplastic surfaces in water. These biofilms change how microplastics move through the environment and increase their ability to absorb pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotics. Biofilm-coated microplastics may also carry harmful bacteria, making them a greater potential health risk than clean microplastic particles.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 353 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with metal(oid)s in aquatic environments: What is done so far?

This review assembled the mechanisms by which microplastics sorb hazardous metals and metalloids in aquatic environments, examining how weathering, biofilm formation, and environmental conditions influence the transport and bioavailability of these contaminants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Colonization characteristics and surface effects of microplastic biofilms: Implications for environmental behavior of typical pollutants

This review examines how bacteria colonize microplastic surfaces in water, forming biofilms that change how the plastics behave in the environment. These biofilms alter the surface properties of microplastics and affect how they absorb and transport heavy metals and other pollutants. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is important because it can make the particles more dangerous by concentrating toxic substances that could eventually enter the food chain.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Exaggerated interaction of biofilm-developed microplastics and contaminants in aquatic environments

Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces exaggerates the adsorption and vector capacity for co-contaminants in aquatic environments, with biofilm-coated MPs showing substantially higher uptake of contaminants than pristine MPs.

2023 Chemosphere 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm-Developed Microplastics As Vectors of Pollutants in Aquatic Environments

This review examines how biofilms that form on microplastics in aquatic environments change their ability to absorb and transport pollutants. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics can absorb more contaminants than clean microplastics and serve as vectors that transfer both pollutants and potentially harmful microorganisms through aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 349 citations
Review Tier 2

Evaluation of the Spreading Dynamics and Interactions of Lead-Carrier Microplastics Affected by Biofilm: A Mini-Review

This review examines how microplastics interact with lead, a toxic heavy metal, in aquatic environments and how biofilm formation on plastic surfaces changes these interactions. Researchers found that when microplastics enter water, they develop biofilms that significantly alter how lead attaches to and detaches from the plastic surface. The study highlights the need for more research into how these combined pollutants affect aquatic ecosystems and long-term environmental health.

2024 Water Air & Soil Pollution 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Physicochemical behavior and ecological risk of biofilm-mediated microplastics in aquatic environments

This review explores how biofilm formation on microplastics in water environments changes their physical and chemical behavior, potentially increasing their ecological risks. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics more readily absorb pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes, and may disrupt gut microbiota in organisms that ingest them. The findings suggest that the biological aging of microplastics in nature makes them more dangerous than freshly produced particles.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

The bioaccessibility of adsorped heavy metals on biofilm-coated microplastics and their implication for the progression of neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers examined how microplastics coated with natural biofilms can carry heavy metals into the body and what that might mean for human health. The biofilm layer changes the surface chemistry of microplastics, making them better at attracting and holding onto toxic metals that can then become accessible during digestion. The study raises concerns about the combined exposure to microplastics and heavy metals as a potential contributing factor to long-term health issues.

2023 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the Adsorption Behavior of Heavy Metals onto the MPs and Their Impact

This review examines how microplastics adsorb heavy metals from soil and aquatic environments and how this adsorption affects the transport, bioavailability, and toxicity of both contaminants. The authors synthesize evidence showing that microplastics act as effective carriers for heavy metal transport through freshwater and marine systems, amplifying the ecological hazard of metal contamination.

2024 ACS symposium series 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Metal leaching from plastics in the marine environment: An ignored role of biofilm.

Researchers investigated how biofilms on marine plastics influence metal leaching, finding that microbial colonization significantly alters the release rates of metal additives from common polymers, representing a previously underappreciated pathway for heavy metal transfer from plastic debris into marine ecosystems.

2023 Environment international
Article Tier 2

Impact of Biofilm Formation on Microplastic Behaviour in Aquatic Environments: An Comprehensive Review.

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that coat microplastics — change the behavior of plastic particles in aquatic environments, affecting how they move, sink, and interact with ecosystems. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is key to predicting where these particles end up and what risks they pose to water quality and aquatic life.

2025 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews
Article Tier 2

Effect of particle size on the colonization of biofilms and the potential of biofilm-covered microplastics as metal carriers

Industrial and food-grade polystyrene microplastics of different sizes were colonized by biofilms in aquatic conditions, with smaller particles supporting denser biofilm growth and showing greater metal adsorption capacity than larger ones. The findings suggest that particle size is a key factor governing both the ecological properties of the plastisphere and the capacity of microplastics to concentrate heavy metals.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Uptake of Pb(II) onto microplastic-associated biofilms in freshwater: Adsorption and combined toxicity in comparison to natural solid substrates

This study examined how biofilms that form on microplastics in freshwater lakes affect the absorption of lead, a toxic heavy metal. Researchers found that biofilm-coated microplastics absorbed significantly more lead than bare plastic particles, and the combination of lead and microplastic biofilms was more toxic to water fleas than either pollutant alone.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 179 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment

Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1318 citations
Article Tier 2

Study on the Adsorption Behavior and Mechanism of Heavy Metals in Aquatic Environment before and after the Aging of Typical Microplastics

Researchers investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of heavy metals by typical microplastics before and after environmental aging, finding that aging significantly alters microplastics' surface properties and capacity to bind metals such as cadmium and lead in aquatic systems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics with heavy metals in the aquatic environment: Mechanisms and mitigation

This review synthesized mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption onto microplastics in aquatic environments and evaluated strategies for removing both contaminants simultaneously. The authors found that temperature, salinity, and plastic surface aging govern metal binding, and identified hybrid adsorbent materials as the most promising approach for co-removal of metals and microplastics from water.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
Article Tier 2

The evolving interface of aged microplastics and heavy metals: implications for environmental fate and toxicity

This review examined how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment, focusing on how plastics serve as carriers that increase metal mobility and bioavailability. Researchers found that factors like polymer aging, biofilm formation, and water chemistry significantly affect how efficiently microplastics absorb metals, and that the combined exposure creates compounded toxicity including oxidative stress and organ damage in organisms. The findings highlight the need for more research on the long-term and multigenerational effects of these combined pollutants.

2026 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Sequential interfacial contributions of microplastics to microbial adhesion and metal adsorption

Researchers uncovered the mechanistic sequence of interactions between microplastics, microorganisms, and metals in aquatic environments, finding that microbial adhesion to microplastic surfaces precedes and facilitates subsequent metal adsorption through temporal interfacial processes.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Influence of biofilms on the adsorption behavior of nine organic emerging contaminants on microplastics in field-laboratory exposure experiments

Researchers studied how natural biofilms that form on microplastics in lake water affect the adsorption of nine emerging organic contaminants. The study found that biofilm colonization on microplastic surfaces can significantly alter how these particles interact with pollutants, in some cases increasing and in others decreasing contaminant uptake compared to clean microplastics.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

A Mini-Review On The Microplastic-Heavy Metal Interactions And The Factors Affecting Their Fate In Aquatic Habitats

This mini-review examines how microplastics interact with heavy metals in aquatic environments, serving as vectors that can transport toxic pollutants. Researchers describe how factors like polymer type, surface area, water pH, and salinity influence the adsorption of heavy metals onto microplastic surfaces, potentially increasing their bioavailability to aquatic organisms.

2024 Communications Faculty of Science University of Ankara Series C Biology Geological Engineering and Geophysical Engineering 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of metals and polymer types on the development of biofilm on microplastic surface

Researchers examined biofilm development on three polymer types (PVC, polystyrene, and polyethylene) in the presence of three heavy metals (lead, chromium, and cadmium) to determine how metal contamination influences the formation and composition of plastisphere communities. The study assessed whether metal-microplastic co-contamination alters the structure of microbial biofilms that colonize plastic surfaces in aquatic environments.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an emerging anthropogenic vector of trace metals in freshwater: Significance of biofilms and comparison with natural substrates

Scientists placed virgin polystyrene microplastics in a eutrophic urban lake and a drinking water reservoir for four weeks to allow biofilm development, then measured trace metal accumulation, finding that biofilm-coated microplastics accumulated significantly more metals than virgin plastics or natural substrates.

2020 Water Research 301 citations