Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Biological Responses to Climate Change and Nanoplastics Are Altered in Concert: Full-Factor Screening Reveals Effects of Multiple Stressors on Primary Producers

Using high-throughput screening of a freshwater green alga, researchers tested how nanoplastics interact with multiple climate change stressors (temperature, CO2, pH, UV), finding that nanoplastics combined with warming or UV caused greater harm than either alone, and that climate change will likely amplify nanoplastic toxicity.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics exposure modulate lipid and pigment compositions in diatoms

Researchers exposed marine diatoms (Chaetoceros neogracile) to amine-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics and found disruption to photosynthetic pigments and membrane lipid composition, with exponential-phase cells showing impaired long-chain fatty acid synthesis at high concentrations — identifying lipid and pigment profiles as sensitive biomarkers for nanoplastic stress in marine primary producers.

2020 Environmental Pollution 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Altered Biological Responses of Primary Producers to Multiple Stressors in the Presence of Nanoplastics

This thesis investigated how nanoplastics interact with other environmental stressors — including elevated CO2, temperature, and light — to affect freshwater algae and cyanobacteria. The results show that nanoplastics can alter how aquatic plants respond to climate change, potentially disrupting the base of freshwater food webs.

2021 TSpace
Article Tier 2

Lipidomic and proteomic responses of a freshwater green alga to heatwave and microplastic exposure

Researchers examined how heatwaves and microplastic exposure affect the nutritional quality of a freshwater green alga. The study found that heatwaves caused more acute but transient changes to the algal lipid profile compared to constant warming, while microplastics had minimal effects on lipids but triggered a distinct proteomic stress response. These findings suggest that combined environmental stressors may independently alter phytoplankton quality in ways that could ripple through aquatic food webs.

2026 Open Collections
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics cause growth inhibition, morphological damage and physiological disturbance in the marine microalga Platymonas helgolandica

Researchers exposed marine green microalgae to polystyrene nanoplastics and found significant growth inhibition, increased membrane permeability, disrupted photosynthesis, and visible morphological damage — including surface fragmentation and cellular rupture — at concentrations as low as 200 µg/L.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 128 citations
Article Tier 2

Current methods to monitor microalgae-nanoparticle interaction and associated effects

Researchers reviewed over sixty studies on how nanoparticles — including metals, silica, and plastics — affect aquatic microalgae, finding that shading, ion release, oxidative stress, and adsorption are the primary impact pathways, though no consensus has emerged on which particle properties (size, chemistry, concentration) most determine toxicity.

2019 Aquatic Toxicology 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nano-plastics and microalgae in aquatic environment: Influence factor, interaction, and molecular mechanisms.

This review examined the interactions between micro/nanoplastics and microalgae in aquatic environments, summarizing how plastic particle size, surface chemistry, and co-pollutants influence algal toxicity through oxidative stress, photosynthesis inhibition, and gene expression changes.

2024 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

The effects and mechanisms of polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate with different sizes and concentrations on Gymnodinium aeruginosum

Researchers exposed the microalga Gymnodinium aeruginosum to polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics of different sizes and concentrations, finding that smaller particles and higher concentrations caused greater oxidative stress and growth inhibition. The study revealed that microplastics can physically adhere to and damage algal cell membranes, disrupting cellular structure and function.

2021 Environmental Pollution 81 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Evaluating physiological responses of microalgae towards environmentally coexisting microplastics: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 52 studies found that microplastics inhibit microalgal growth and photosynthesis and induce oxidative damage, though microalgae can recover over time. Cyanobacteria are more vulnerable than green algae, and the relative size of microplastics to algal cells governs the mechanism of impact, while aged versus pristine microplastics have opposite effects on extracellular polymeric substance and microcystin production.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on plants in the scenario of increasing temperatures: The case of Azolla filiculoides Lam

Researchers studied the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and elevated temperatures on the aquatic fern Azolla filiculoides. They found that higher temperatures amplified the toxic effects of nanoplastics on plant growth and photosynthetic performance. The study suggests that climate change may worsen the environmental impact of nanoplastic pollution on aquatic plant communities.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The hormetic dose-risks of polymethyl methacrylate nanoplastics on chlorophyll a fluorescence transient, lipid composition and antioxidant system in Lactuca sativa

Researchers found that polymethyl methacrylate nanoplastics caused hormetic dose-dependent effects in lettuce, reducing growth and water content while disrupting photosynthetic performance, lipid composition, and antioxidant systems at varying concentrations.

2022 Environmental Pollution 39 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis for systematic review of global micro/nano-plastics contamination versus various freshwater microalgae: Toxicological effect patterns, taxon-specific response, and potential eco-risks

A meta-analysis of 1,071 observations found that nanoplastics cause more severe cell membrane damage than microplastics, while microplastics more strongly inhibit photosynthesis in freshwater microalgae. Among polymer types, polyamide caused the highest growth inhibition, polystyrene induced the most toxin release, and diatoms were the most sensitive algal group while cyanobacteria showed exceptional resilience.

2024 Water Research 36 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of nanoplastics on marine plankton: A case study with polymethylmethacrylate

Researchers tested polymethylmethacrylate nanoplastics against four marine microalgae species and a marine rotifer, finding median effect concentrations between 84 and 133 mg/L for algae and a 48-hour lethal concentration of 13.3 mg/L for rotifers, with species sensitivity distribution analysis suggesting PMMA nanoplastics are less harmful to marine biota than polystyrene.

2019 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics reshape lipid metabolism in marine microalgae with potential ecological consequence

Researchers exposed a marine microalga important to ocean ecosystems to nanoplastics and found significant disruptions to its lipid metabolism, reducing both biomass and lipid production. The nanoplastics altered the types of fats the algae produced, potentially affecting the nutritional value of these organisms for the marine food web. The findings suggest that nanoplastic pollution could have cascading ecological consequences by disrupting carbon cycling at the base of the food chain.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastic-induced stress in microalgae: Latest laboratory evidence and knowledge gaps

This review compiled laboratory evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics stress microalgae — the base of aquatic food webs — covering effects on photosynthesis, growth, oxidative stress, and toxin production. The authors identify key knowledge gaps including environmentally realistic concentrations and combined contaminant effects.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Different surface modified polystyrene nanoplastics can affect growth adaptability of Skeletonema costatum to heat stress

Researchers assessed how heat stress and polystyrene nanoplastics (PS, PS-NH2, PS-COOH) interact to affect the growth of the marine microalga Skeletonema costatum. Elevated temperature stimulated algal growth, but all three nanoplastic surface modifications impaired thermal acclimatization, with transcriptome analysis revealing that nanoplastics significantly disrupted the gene expression responses needed to adapt to heat stress.

2025 npj Emerging Contaminants
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and ocean warming: Combined impact on physiology and surface properties of the marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta

Researchers investigated whether ocean warming amplifies the toxicity of amine-modified polystyrene nanoplastics in the marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta. Elevated temperature increased nanoplastic toxicity, worsening reactive oxygen species production, oxidative stress, and cell surface changes, suggesting climate change will intensify nanoplastic hazards to marine primary producers.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

The Growth Inhibition of Polyethylene Nanoplastics on the Bait-Microalgae Isochrysis galbana Based on the Transcriptome Analysis

Researchers found that polyethylene nanoplastics (50 nm) significantly inhibited growth and reduced chlorophyll in the bait microalga Isochrysis galbana through oxidative stress and disrupted gene expression, while larger microplastics had no significant impact.

2023 Microorganisms 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Heatwaves increase the polystyrene nanoplastic-induced toxicity to marine diatoms through interfacial interaction regulation

Researchers found that marine heatwaves significantly worsen the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on an important ocean diatom species. The higher temperatures weakened the algal cell walls and increased nanoplastic adhesion, leading to greater membrane damage and reduced photosynthesis and carbon absorption. The findings suggest that climate change and plastic pollution together may pose a compounding threat to ocean productivity.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Transformations, interactions, and acute biological responses of nanoplastics on mixotrophic microalgae Poterioochromonas malhamensis

Nanoplastics affected the mixotrophic microalgae Poterioochromonas malhamensis in ways that depended on particle concentration, size, and the surrounding water chemistry. Notably, particle aggregation behavior was the most important factor determining how harmful nanoplastics were to these algae.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (chrysene and fluoranthene) on the growth and physiological characteristics of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Researchers tested how polystyrene nanoplastics combined with two common pollutants (chrysene and fluoranthene, found in vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions) affect green algae. The combination reduced algae growth, damaged cell membranes, and triggered oxidative stress more severely than either pollutant alone. Since algae are the foundation of aquatic food chains, this combined toxicity from nanoplastics and common environmental pollutants could have cascading effects on water ecosystems and the organisms that depend on them.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Behavior and surface properties of microalgae indicate environmental changes

Not relevant to microplastics — this microcosm study examines how temperature and salinity stress affect the behavior, growth, and surface properties of three marine microalgal species.

2023 Journal of Applied Phycology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Hetero-Aggregation of Nanoplastics with Freshwater Algae and the Toxicological Consequences: The Role of Extracellular Polymeric Substances

Researchers studied how polystyrene and polylactic acid nanoplastics hetero-aggregate with the alga Chlorella vulgaris, finding that extracellular polymeric substances released by algae strongly influenced aggregation behavior and that aggregation altered the toxicity of nanoplastics.

2025 Toxics
Article Tier 2

Dual impacts of elevated pCO2 on the ecological effects induced by microplastics and nanoplastics: A study with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Researchers examined how freshwater acidification from elevated carbon dioxide interacts with polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics to affect a common green algae species. They found that smaller nanoplastics caused greater harm than larger microplastics, primarily through oxidative stress, while acidification alone actually promoted algal growth. The study reveals that climate change and plastic pollution can interact in unexpected ways, with acidification sometimes masking or modifying the toxic effects of plastic particles.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 2 citations