Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of biofilm formation on triclosan adsorption by UV-aged and pristine polystyrene microplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers investigated how biofilm formation on UV-aged versus pristine polystyrene microplastics affected triclosan adsorption, finding that biofilm-colonized aged microplastics had altered surface properties that changed triclosan uptake compared to unaged particles.

2025 Water Research X 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The sorption behavior of triclosan on microplastics: aging effects and mechanisms

Researchers investigated how environmental aging processes change the ability of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene microplastics to absorb the antimicrobial compound triclosan. They found that aging increased sorption capacity for polyethylene but decreased it for polypropylene, with polystyrene showing mixed results depending on the aging method. The changes were driven by modifications to surface chemistry, particularly the introduction of oxygen-containing functional groups that alter hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

2025 Chemical Engineering Journal 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation of polyethylene microplastics in river biofilms and effect on the uptake, biotransformation and toxicity of the antimicrobial triclosan

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics interact with river biofilms growing on natural stone surfaces and how this affects the uptake of the antimicrobial chemical triclosan. They found that the presence of microplastics altered how biofilm communities absorbed and processed triclosan, potentially changing the chemical's toxicity profile. The findings suggest that microplastics in freshwater environments can indirectly influence how other pollutants affect aquatic life.

2024 Environmental Pollution 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Progress on the photo aging mechanism of microplastics and related impact factors in water environment

This review examined the photo-aging mechanisms of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that solar UV radiation drives oxidation reactions that alter surface chemistry, fragment particles further, and enhance their capacity to adsorb and release co-occurring pollutants.

2021 Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version) 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Transformation of dissolved organic matter leached from biodegradable and conventional microplastics under UV/chlorine treatment and the subsequent effect on contaminant removal

This study examined how dissolved chemicals leaching from both biodegradable and conventional microplastics behave during UV/chlorine water treatment. The treatment changed the chemical properties of the leached substances and actually inhibited the breakdown of a common antibiotic pollutant. The findings suggest that microplastic-derived chemicals in water could interfere with standard water purification processes, potentially reducing their effectiveness.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Non-Negligible Effects of UV Irradiation on Transformation and Environmental Risks of Microplastics in the Water Environment

This review examines how UV irradiation drives photoaging of microplastics in aquatic environments, altering their surface chemistry, mechanical properties, and adsorption capacity for co-pollutants, and thereby amplifying their ecotoxicological risks beyond those of virgin plastic particles.

2021 Journal of Xenobiotics 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of sequential UV-aging of microplastics on the fate of antibiotic (tetracycline) in riverine, estuarine, and marine systems

Researchers studied how sequential UV aging of polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyethylene microplastics, which mimics natural weathering, affects their ability to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline under different water chemistry conditions. They found that aged microplastics adsorbed significantly more tetracycline than pristine particles, with the effect varying by water type and plastic polymer. The study suggests that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may become increasingly effective at carrying antibiotic contaminants.

2025 Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of triclosan in aquatic organisms: A review focusing on single and combined exposure of environmental conditions and pollutants

This review examines how triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in many personal care products, harms aquatic organisms both on its own and in combination with other pollutants including microplastics. When triclosan and microplastics are present together in water, they can produce combined toxic effects that are worse than either alone. Since triclosan is widely used and microplastics are everywhere, their interaction in the environment is an important consideration for both ecosystem and human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 39 citations
Article Tier 2

UV aging of microplastic polymers promotes their chemical transformation and byproduct formation upon chlorination

Researchers studied how UV aging of different microplastic polymers affects their behavior during water chlorination treatment. They found that UV aging significantly increased the reactivity of polyamide and polyester microplastics, promoting the release of harmful organic compounds and the formation of disinfection byproducts by more than 10-fold. The study reveals that weathered microplastics in drinking water systems may generate more toxic byproducts during standard chlorination than their pristine counterparts.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-mechanistic adsorption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on oxidized microplastics: Oxidation processes, mechanisms, and environmental implications

Researchers reviewed how weathering and oxidation change microplastic surfaces, making them better at absorbing pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals from water. The modified surfaces attract these contaminants through multiple chemical forces, meaning aged microplastics in the environment act as enhanced carriers for drug and cosmetic pollutants.

2025 Chemical Engineering Journal Advances
Article Tier 2

Influence of UV wavelength variations on tetracycline adsorption by polyethylene microplastics in aquatic environments

Exposure to UVC, UVB, and UVA light at different wavelengths differentially altered the surface chemistry of polyethylene microplastics and their subsequent adsorption capacity for the antibiotic tetracycline. Shorter UV wavelengths caused more extensive surface oxidation, increasing tetracycline adsorption by up to several fold and changing the antibiotic's environmental fate.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments: A case study of augmented joint toxicity

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics interact with the antimicrobial compound triclosan in simulated environmental and cellular conditions. They found that surface-functionalized microplastics adsorbed significantly more triclosan and released it under cellular conditions, with the combination producing greater toxicity to human intestinal cells than either contaminant alone. The study suggests that microplastics can amplify the harmful effects of co-occurring organic pollutants.

2021 Chemosphere 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into the dynamic transformation properties of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter and its contribution to the formation of chlorination disinfection by-products

Researchers studied how dissolved organic matter released from microplastics transforms under UV light and how it contributes to the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts during water chlorination. They found that UV exposure changed the chemical composition of the microplastic-derived organic matter, affecting its reactivity during disinfection. The findings suggest that microplastics in water sources may indirectly increase the formation of potentially harmful chemicals during standard water treatment.

2024 RSC Advances 4 citations
Article Tier 2

UV and chemical aging alter the adsorption behavior of microplastics for tetracycline

Researchers found that UV and chemical aging significantly increased microplastics' capacity to adsorb tetracycline, with biodegradable PBAT showing more dramatic changes in surface properties and adsorption behavior compared to conventional plastics like polystyrene and polyethylene.

2022 Environmental Pollution 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics on organotins’ photodegradation in aquatic environments

Researchers found that polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, and polymethyl methacrylate microplastics differentially affect the photodegradation of organotin compounds in aquatic environments, with microplastics both adsorbing organotins and altering their photolytic breakdown pathways depending on polymer type.

2020 Environmental Pollution 61 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effect of Aging on Adsorption of Tetracycline by Microplastics and the Mechanisms].

Researchers aged polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics under UV-254 irradiation and analyzed changes in color, surface morphology, and functional groups, finding that UV aging altered the physical and chemical properties of both MPs and significantly affected their adsorption capacity and mechanism for the antibiotic tetracycline.

2022 PubMed 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of triclosan by different microplastics and the impact of water chemistry

Researchers investigated how triclosan — an antimicrobial compound — adsorbs onto four types of microplastics under varying water chemistry conditions. They found hydrophobic partitioning was the dominant adsorption mechanism, with solution pH, ionic strength, and dissolved organic matter all influencing uptake capacity.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology
Article Tier 2

Deciphering the interaction of sulfamethoxazole with biodegradable versus conventional, virgin versus aged microplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers compared how biodegradable and conventional microplastics interact with the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole in water, both before and after UV aging. They found that biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics had the highest capacity to absorb the antibiotic, and that aging generally increased absorption for all plastic types. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways may act as carriers for pharmaceutical pollutants, with biodegradable plastics potentially posing a greater transport risk than conventional ones.

2025 Journal of Environmental Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation strongly influences the vector transport of triclosan-loaded polyethylene microplastics

Researchers found that biofilm formation on polyethylene microplastics strongly influences their role as vectors for triclosan transport, with biofouled microplastics showing altered pollutant sorption capacity and different toxicity effects on Daphnia magna.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic particle versus fiber generation during photo-transformation in simulated seawater

Researchers exposed common plastic films and fibers to simulated sunlight in seawater and tracked the photo-transformation process, finding that particles and fibers formed at different rates and that UV irradiation preferentially generates certain morphologies depending on the parent polymer.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 95 citations
Article Tier 2

UV aging induces colloidal-like behavior in microplastics, mediating contaminant fluxes across interfaces

Researchers showed that UV aging and mechanical stress transform polyethylene microplastics into reactive porous particles with colloidal behavior, developing surface oxidation, increased roughness, and trace metal accumulation — changes that alter how they transport contaminants across water-sediment interfaces.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the optical and molecular characteristics of aging microplastics derived dissolved organic matter transformed by UV/chlor(am)ine oxidation and its potential for disinfection byproducts formation

Researchers studied how UV light and common water disinfection chemicals break down microplastics in water and found that different treatment methods produce different types of dissolved organic matter from the plastic. Some treatment combinations, particularly UV with chlorine, created byproducts that could form harmful disinfection byproducts when water is later chlorinated. This is important because it means water treatment processes might unintentionally create new toxic compounds from the microplastics already present in water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Roles of microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter on the photodegradation of organic micropollutants

Researchers discovered that dissolved organic matter released from weathered microplastics significantly inhibits the photodegradation of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole in water, primarily through light screening effects, suggesting microplastic pollution may slow the natural breakdown of pharmaceutical contaminants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 120 citations