Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Impacts of co-exposure to nanoplastics and ofloxacin on marine planktonic microbial communities and DMSP dynamics

Researchers conducted a 19-day experiment examining how nanoplastics and the antibiotic ofloxacin, alone and in combination, affect marine microbial communities and sulfur cycling in coastal seawater. Combined exposure produced significantly stronger negative effects than either pollutant alone, reducing microbial biomass, simplifying community networks, and disrupting the cycling of DMSP, a compound important for marine food webs and climate regulation.

2026 Marine Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Combined influence of the nanoplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure on microbial community in seawater environment

Researchers studied the individual and combined effects of nanoplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on microbial communities in seawater. They found that the combination of these two pollutants altered microbial diversity and community structure differently than either pollutant alone. The study suggests that the interaction between nanoplastics and chemical pollutants in the ocean may have complex and unpredictable effects on marine microbial ecosystems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Metagenomics reveals combined effects of microplastics and antibiotics on microbial community structure and function in coastal sediments

A metagenomic study of coastal sediments exposed to combined microplastic and antibiotic pollution found that co-exposure altered microbial community composition and significantly elevated the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes compared to either pollutant alone.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Pollution: Interactions Among Polyethylene, Surfactants, and Antibiotics in an Aquatic Environment

Researchers investigated synergistic pollution effects among polyethylene microplastics, surfactants, and antibiotics in aquatic systems, finding that co-presence enhanced the environmental persistence and bioavailability of antibiotics beyond what microplastics or surfactants caused individually.

2025
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the combined impacts of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics and the ciprofloxacin antibiotic on sediment microbial communities and ecological functions

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics — both fresh and environmentally weathered — interact with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin to affect the microbial communities living in aquatic sediments. They found that microplastics, especially in combination with the antibiotic, disrupted microbial community structure and simplified the ecological networks that microbes rely on for stable functioning. This is concerning because healthy sediment microbe communities underpin nutrient cycling and ecosystem health, and their disruption by combined plastic-antibiotic pollution could have cascading effects.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of nanoplastics and norfloxacin on mussel: Leveraging biochemical parameters and gut microbiota

Researchers exposed mussels to nanoplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin, both alone and together, and found that the combination caused greater biochemical stress than either pollutant alone. Nanoplastics appeared to carry the antibiotic into mussel tissues, increasing its bioavailability and impact on gut microbiota. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can amplify the toxicity of other contaminants in marine organisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of nanoplastics and norfloxacin on antioxidant and immune genes in mussels

Researchers studied the combined toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin on mussels, focusing on genes related to antioxidant defense and immune function. They found that the mixture of both contaminants produced more severe disruptions to gene expression than either substance alone, indicating a synergistic toxic effect. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and antibiotics in marine environments may pose compounding risks to shellfish health.

2023 Marine Environmental Research 18 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Co-occurence of antibiotics and micro(nano)plastics: a systematic review between 2016-2021

This systematic review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in the environment. It finds that microplastics can absorb and carry antibiotics, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance and creating combined health risks that are greater than either pollutant alone.

2022 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 22 citations
Review Tier 2

Decoding the interactions between antibiotics and microplastics-chemistry, environmental impacts, and mitigation approaches- A state-of-the-art review

This review examines how antibiotics and microplastics interact in the environment, forming complexes that can persist longer and travel farther than either pollutant alone. Researchers found that these complexes can serve as reservoirs for antimicrobial resistance and disrupt microbial communities. The study highlights an underappreciated environmental risk where two common pollutants combine to create compounding ecological and public health challenges.

2025 Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Temporal dynamics of lake microbiota under nanoplastic and enrofloxacin stress

Researchers exposed lake microbiota to polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic enrofloxacin over 14 days to track their combined effects on bacterial abundance, respiration, community physiology, and taxonomy. By day 14, community structure diverged significantly under combined stress — alpha-diversity remained depressed only under high antibiotic concentrations with nanoplastics present — demonstrating that nanoplastic and antibiotic co-exposure produces distinct and time-evolving microbial community shifts.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Microplastics magnify inhibitive effects of perfluorooctanoic acid on the marine microbial loop

Researchers studied how microplastics interact with a common industrial chemical called PFOA in ocean ecosystems. They found that polystyrene microplastics significantly amplified the harmful effects of PFOA on tiny marine organisms essential to carbon cycling, including bacteria and plankton. The study suggests that when these two pollutants co-exist in seawater, the ecological risks are considerably worse than from either pollutant alone.

2025 Environmental Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of antibiotics and nanoplastics from surgical masks and plastic bottles on pathogens

Researchers examined the combined effects of nanoplastics from surgical masks and plastic bottles with antibiotics on pathogens, finding that co-exposure created synergistic toxic effects and altered antimicrobial resistance patterns in bacteria.

2022 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 23 citations
Article Tier 2

The combined effect of microplastics and tetracycline on soil microbial communities and ARGs

Researchers studied how simultaneous exposure to microplastics and tetracycline affects soil microbial communities, finding that the combination disrupted microbial diversity, altered functional gene expression, and promoted horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes beyond the effects of either pollutant alone.

2025 Environmental Pollution 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of co-loading of polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin on the antibiotic degradation efficiency and microbial community structure in soil

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin together affect soil microbial communities and antibiotic degradation. The study found that co-loading of microplastics with antibiotics altered microbial community structure and affected the rate of antibiotic degradation in soil, suggesting microplastic contamination may influence how soils process pharmaceutical pollutants.

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

Gut microbiota related response of Oryzias melastigma to combined exposure of polystyrene microplastics and tetracycline

Researchers exposed estuarine fish to polystyrene microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline, both alone and in combination, for four weeks. The combined exposure caused more severe disruption to gut bacteria and liver tissue than either pollutant alone, with microplastics appearing to worsen the effects of tetracycline. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in coastal waters may pose greater ecological risks than either contaminant by itself.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Enrofloxacin on the Life Histories and Gut Microbiota of Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna to polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic enrofloxacin alone and in combination, measuring life history traits and gut microbiota responses. Both stressors individually reduced survival and reproduction, and combined exposure altered the taxonomic composition and metabolic function of gut microbiota more than either contaminant alone.

2022 Water 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics enhance the intestinal damage and genotoxicity of sulfamethoxazole to medaka juveniles (Oryzias melastigma) in coastal environment

Scientists exposed young medaka fish to the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole and polystyrene nanoplastics, both individually and together, to study their combined effects on intestinal health. They found that co-exposure caused more severe gut damage than either pollutant alone, disrupting the gut microbiome and triggering changes in gene expression related to immune defense and DNA repair. The study suggests that nanoplastics may amplify the harmful effects of antibiotics on fish in coastal environments.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into combined pollution of antibiotics and microplastics in aquatic and soil environment: Environmental behavior, interaction mechanism and associated impact of resistant genes

This review examines the combined pollution created when microplastics absorb antibiotics in water and soil environments. Researchers found that microplastics can concentrate antibiotics on their surfaces, and this combination promotes the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in microbial communities. The study highlights that the interaction between these two emerging pollutants may pose greater environmental and health risks than either one alone.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial dynamics of the plastisphere microbiome exposed to sub-lethal antibiotic pollution.

This study investigated how sub-lethal antibiotic concentrations in water interact with microplastic-associated biofilm communities (the plastisphere), finding that combined pollution alters bacterial dynamics and may contribute to antibiotic resistance selection in aquatic environments.

2024 Microbiome
Article Tier 2

Higher toxicity induced by co-exposure of polystyrene microplastics and chloramphenicol to Microcystis aeruginosa: Experimental study and molecular dynamics simulation

Researchers studied what happens when the antibiotic chloramphenicol and polystyrene microplastics are present together in water containing blue-green algae. The study found that the combined exposure was more toxic to the algae than either pollutant alone, disrupting photosynthesis and gene expression. The findings suggest that microplastics and antibiotics may interact in ways that amplify their harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 38 citations