Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of heavy metals on the adsorption of ciprofloxacin on polyethylene microplastics: Mechanism and toxicity evaluation

Researchers studied how heavy metals in water affect the ability of polyethylene microplastics to absorb the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. They found that heavy metals competed with the antibiotic for binding sites on the microplastic surface, changing how much of each pollutant the plastic could carry. This is important because it shows microplastics in real-world environments may transport different combinations of pollutants, potentially delivering both antibiotics and heavy metals into the food chain.

2023 Chemosphere 83 citations
Article Tier 2

The Sword of Damocles: Microplastics and the molecular dynamics of sulfamonomethoxine revealed

Researchers studied how three types of microplastics interact with the antibiotic sulfamonomethoxine in water using molecular dynamics simulations and laboratory experiments. They found that polyamide had the strongest adsorption capacity while polyethylene terephthalate formed the most stable bonds with the antibiotic. The findings help explain how different microplastics can act as carriers for pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic environments.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Salinity, pH, and Cu(II) on the Adsorption Behaviors of Tetracycline onto Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics: A Site Energy Distribution Analysis

PVC microplastic adsorption of tetracycline antibiotic decreased with increasing salinity and pH, while coexisting Cu2+ ions enhanced adsorption through bridging interactions, providing insights into how environmental factors affect antibiotic-microplastic interactions in aquatic systems.

2023 Water 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Heavy metal-mediated adsorption of antibiotic tetracycline and ciprofloxacin on two microplastics: Insights into the role of complexation

This study investigated how heavy metals copper and cadmium affect the adsorption of antibiotics tetracycline and ciprofloxacin onto polyamide and polyvinyl chloride microplastics. Heavy metals enhanced antibiotic adsorption through surface complexation, with copper promoting stronger binding than cadmium due to its greater complexation ability.

2022 Environmental Research 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged microplastics in antibiotics-heavy metals coexisting system

Researchers investigated how antibiotics affect the adsorption of copper and chromium onto aged polystyrene and PVC microplastics, finding that antibiotic co-contamination alters heavy metal binding behavior on weathered plastics in aqueous environments.

2021 Chemosphere 169 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of the antibiotic levofloxacin on microplastics in the presence of different heavy metals in an aqueous solution

Researchers studied how the antibiotic levofloxacin sticks to PVC microplastics in water and how the presence of heavy metals affects this process. They found that certain metals like copper, zinc, and chromium increased the amount of antibiotic absorbed by the plastic, while cadmium and lead reduced it. The findings reveal that microplastics can act as carriers for both antibiotics and metals in polluted water, potentially creating complex contamination scenarios.

2020 Chemosphere 305 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of tetracyclines onto polyethylene microplastics: A combined study of experiment and molecular dynamics simulation

The adsorption of three tetracycline antibiotics (TC, CTC, and OTC) onto polyethylene microplastics was studied in aqueous solution through a combination of batch experiments and computational modeling. Results showed that hydrophobic interactions and surface properties of PE microplastics drive tetracycline adsorption, contributing to antibiotic accumulation on environmental plastic debris.

2020 Chemosphere 201 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption mechanism of cefradine on three microplastics: A combined molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory calculation study

Using computer simulations, researchers studied how the antibiotic cefradine attaches to three common types of microplastics (polyamide, polyethylene, and polypropylene). Hydrogen bonding was the main force driving antibiotic attachment to polyamide, while weaker forces dominated for the other plastics. This helps explain how microplastics can carry antibiotics through water environments, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance that threatens human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption–Desorption Behaviors of Enrofloxacin and Trimethoprim and Their Interactions with Typical Microplastics in Aqueous Systems

Researchers investigated how two common aquaculture antibiotics, enrofloxacin and trimethoprim, adsorb to and desorb from polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene microplastics in water. They found that adsorption followed multilayer patterns driven by physical interactions including hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces, with PS and PVC showing higher adsorption capacity than PE. The study highlights how microplastics can serve as carriers for antibiotic pollutants in aquatic environments, with high salinity and pH changes promoting desorption and secondary contamination.

2025 Sustainability 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Interfacial interaction between diverse microplastics and tetracycline by adsorption in an aqueous solution

Polyethylene microplastics showed the strongest adsorption of the antibiotic tetracycline among three plastic types tested, and the presence of metals like lead and zinc enhanced tetracycline adsorption while copper reduced it. Ion exchange was identified as the primary adsorption mechanism, suggesting that microplastics in aquaculture settings could concentrate antibiotics and increase their environmental persistence.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 196 citations
Article Tier 2

NaCl enhances cesium adsorption onto microplastics in seawater: A density functional theory perspective

Researchers used density functional theory (DFT) to investigate how sodium chloride (NaCl) in seawater enhances the adsorption of radioactive cesium onto microplastic surfaces, elucidating molecular-scale mechanisms by which coexisting ions modulate heavy metal-microplastic interactions.

2025 Emerging contaminants
Article Tier 2

The fate and risk of microplastic and antibiotic sulfamethoxazole coexisting in the environment

Researchers investigated sulfamethoxazole antibiotic adsorption onto polyamide microplastics and found that pH significantly influenced uptake, with adsorbed antibiotics more readily released in natural water than ultrapure water, posing environmental risks.

2022 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 29 citations
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

New insights into adsorption mechanism of pristine and weathered polyamide microplastics towards hydrophilic organic compounds

Adsorption of four hydrophilic organic compounds including antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin onto pristine and weathered polyamide microplastics was studied, finding that weathering introduced oxygen-containing surface groups that significantly altered adsorption capacity and mechanisms. The results improve predictions of how microplastics transport co-occurring pollutants in aquatic environments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption performance and mechanisms of ciprofloxacin onto microplastics: effects of different textures and aging degrees.

Researchers examined ciprofloxacin adsorption onto pristine and UV-aged polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyamide 6 microplastics, finding that UV aging increased oxygen-containing surface functional groups and raised maximum adsorption capacity by up to 40%, with density functional theory calculations identifying hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, and π interactions as primary binding mechanisms.

2026 Environmental science. Processes & impacts
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics

This study examined the adsorption of antibiotics onto different microplastic types, finding that sorption capacity depended on both the antibiotic's chemical properties and the plastic's surface characteristics, with implications for antibiotic transport in aquatic environments.

2018 Environmental Pollution 1314 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of sulfamethazine onto different types of microplastics: A combined experimental and molecular dynamics simulation study

The sorption of sulfamethazine (a veterinary antibiotic) onto different microplastic polymer types was studied through laboratory experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, revealing that sorption kinetics and binding strength varied by polymer type and antibiotic concentration. The findings help predict how microplastics in agricultural waterways contaminated with livestock antibiotics could transport these drugs in the environment.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 251 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of cadmium on the sorption of tylosin by polystyrene microplastics

Researchers found that cadmium ions significantly influence the sorption of the antibiotic tylosin onto polystyrene microplastics, with competitive and cooperative interactions depending on concentration ratios, highlighting that co-contamination with heavy metals alters microplastic-mediated antibiotic transport in aquatic environments.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 73 citations
Article Tier 2

The interaction mechanism of polystyrene microplastics with pharmaceuticals and personal care products

Computational chemistry methods including force field and density functional theory calculations were used to characterize how polystyrene microplastics interact with co-occurring pharmaceuticals and other organic water pollutants, revealing hydrophobic and pi-pi stacking interactions as dominant adsorption mechanisms. The modeling provides mechanistic insight into microplastics' role as vectors for organic contaminant transport in aquatic environments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction characteristics and mechanism of Cr(VI)/Cr(III) with microplastics: Influence factor experiment and DFT calculation

Researchers investigated how two types of microplastics, polyamide and polyethylene, interact with toxic chromium in different forms across various environmental conditions. They found that polyamide had a much higher capacity to adsorb both forms of chromium, and that environmental factors like pH, temperature, and salinity significantly influenced the interaction. The study provides insights into how microplastics may affect the transport and toxicity of chromium contamination in the environment.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
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

Microplastic and antibiotics in waters: Interactions and environmental risks

This review examines how antibiotics adsorb onto microplastic surfaces in natural waters and the resulting environmental risks from their co-migration. Researchers found that the adsorption process is driven mainly by hydrophobic forces, hydrogen bonds, and electrostatic interactions, and is influenced by environmental factors like pH and temperature. The study suggests that microplastics carrying adsorbed antibiotics may increase the spread of antibiotic resistance and amplify ecological harm in aquatic environments.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 19 citations
Article Tier 2

The potential of polyethylene microplastics to transport copper in aquatic systems: Adsorption and desorption studies

Researchers investigated the adsorption and desorption of copper (II) ions onto polyethylene microplastics in aquatic systems, varying operational parameters such as equilibrium time, pH, temperature, and initial metal concentration. They found that polyethylene microplastics can act as vectors for copper transport in water, with sorption behavior governed by multiple physicochemical factors.

2022 Water Environment Research 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and associated emerging contaminants in the environment: Analysis, sorption mechanisms and effects of co-exposure

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as carriers for other environmental pollutants — including antibiotics, PFAS, and triclosan — absorbing them from surrounding water and potentially delivering higher doses to organisms that ingest the plastic, with combined toxicity effects that can be either amplified or reduced depending on the combination.

2022 Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry 151 citations