Papers

61,005 results
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Review Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water: A review of the fate, mechanisms and toxicity

This review examines how microplastics act as carriers for PFAS ("forever chemicals") in water, with the two pollutants interacting through various chemical mechanisms that affect their movement through the environment. The combined presence of microplastics and PFAS raises concerns about increased toxicity, since microplastics can transport these persistent chemicals into organisms and potentially concentrate their harmful effects.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction and combined toxicity of microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in aquatic environment

This review examines how microplastics interact with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aquatic environments and the combined toxic effects on organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can adsorb PFAS chemicals and transport them through water systems, potentially increasing exposure for aquatic life. The study highlights that the combination of these two widespread pollutant types may pose greater ecological risks than either one alone.

2022 Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering 83 citations
Article Tier 2

The unheeded inherent connections and overlap between microplastics and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances: A comprehensive review

This review reveals the overlooked connection between microplastics and PFAS (forever chemicals), showing that these two widespread pollutants often come from the same products and interact in the environment. Microplastics can absorb PFAS onto their surfaces and transport them through water systems, potentially increasing exposure for aquatic organisms and humans. Understanding this overlap is important because the combined effects may be more harmful than either pollutant alone.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 45 citations
Article Tier 2

The Microplastic–PFAS Nexus: From Co-Occurrence to Combined Toxicity in Aquatic Environments

This review examines the interconnected environmental behavior of microplastics and PFAS ("forever chemicals"), showing that microplastics can act as carriers, concentrators, and secondary sources of PFAS contamination. Researchers found that co-exposure to both pollutants often produces synergistic toxic effects in aquatic organisms, disrupting processes from photosynthesis to neurological development. The study argues that current regulations assessing these pollutants individually are inadequate and must evolve to address their combined effects.

2025 Toxics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-accumulation characteristics and interaction mechanism of microplastics and PFASs in a large shallow lake

Researchers examined how microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as forever chemicals, accumulate together in Taihu Lake, China. They found that microplastics can adsorb and concentrate these persistent chemicals on their surfaces, with the interaction strength depending on plastic type and environmental conditions. The study raises concerns that microplastics may act as carriers that spread forever chemicals through freshwater ecosystems.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics (MPs): Findings from an extensive investigation

This study tested how PFAS ("forever chemicals") interact with 18 different types of microplastic and found that polyamide (nylon) plastics absorbed up to 100% of the PFAS in solution. Since both PFAS and microplastics are widespread environmental pollutants, their ability to bind together means microplastics may act as carriers that concentrate and transport these harmful chemicals into water, soil, and ultimately the human body.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular-Scale Insights into the Interactions between Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Polyethylene

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles called microplastics can strongly attract and hold onto toxic "forever chemicals" called PFAS, which are already found in drinking water and food. This means microplastics in our environment could act like sponges that collect these harmful chemicals and potentially transport them to new places, including into our bodies. The research helps explain why these two types of pollution might work together to create bigger health risks than either one alone.

2026 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Article Tier 2

Interactions between MPs and PFASs in aquatic environments: A dual-character situation

This review examines the interactions between microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water environments, finding that the two pollutants have a complex relationship. Microplastics can absorb PFAS chemicals onto their surfaces, potentially transporting them through aquatic systems and altering their environmental behavior. The study highlights the need to consider these combined effects when assessing pollution risks in waterways.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer and interfacial impacts of micro(nano)plastics and per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the environment.

This review examined the co-occurrence, trophic transfer, and interactions of micro(nano)plastics and PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the environment, highlighting how their combined persistence and toxicity create compounding risks for ecosystems and human health.

2024 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Do They Matter to Aquatic Ecosystems?

This review examines PFAS, the persistent 'forever chemicals' widely used in consumer products, and their growing threat to aquatic ecosystems. Evidence indicates that PFAS accumulate in aquatic organisms, disrupt hormones, and can alter how other pollutants behave in the environment. The research is relevant to microplastic concerns because PFAS are commonly found in plastic products and can leach from microplastics into water.

2023 Toxics 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Environmental Impacts and Toxicological Interactions of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and Microplastics (MPs)

This review examines how microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) frequently co-occur in the environment and interact to alter each other's environmental fate and biological effects. Researchers found that co-exposure can enhance PFAS bioaccumulation by up to 2.5-fold compared to PFAS alone, accompanied by amplified oxidative stress, immune disruption, and reproductive impairment in aquatic organisms. The magnitude and direction of combined effects depend heavily on polymer type, particle size, surface aging, and biological context.

2026 Environments
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and PFAS air-water interaction and deposition

This study examines how microplastics and PFAS (forever chemicals) interact in the environment, with microplastics acting as carriers that transport PFAS through water and air over long distances. Both pollutants are persistent and can deposit together in urban, rural, and remote areas through rain and atmospheric fallout. The combined exposure to both microplastics and PFAS is a growing concern for human health because their toxic effects may be amplified when they occur together.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Truth of Interactions between Microplastics and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Wastewater Treatment Plants: Microplastics as a Carrier of PFASs and Beyond

Researchers discovered that microplastics in wastewater treatment plants act as carriers for PFAS (forever chemicals), absorbing them from the water and potentially releasing them back into the environment. Commercial plastics were found to leach even more PFAS than environmental samples, with some chemicals releasing more than was originally absorbed. This dual role of microplastics as both carriers and sources of forever chemicals means they could significantly increase human exposure to these persistent, harmful substances.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in sentinel freshwater models, Daphnia, Zebrafish and unicellular green algae: A systemic review

Researchers reviewed 68 studies on how microplastics and PFAS ("forever chemicals") affect freshwater organisms like Daphnia, zebrafish, and algae, finding that both contaminants are more toxic at chronic low doses than in short-term exposures, and that combining them tends to amplify harm — while noting almost no research has studied them together.

2025 Environmental Pollution and Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the complexities of microplastics and PFAS synergy to foster sustainable environmental remediation and ecosystem protection: A critical review with novel insights

This review examines how microplastics and PFAS (sometimes called 'forever chemicals') interact in the environment, since both often come from the same everyday products. The authors found that microplastics can carry PFAS on their surface, and when organisms are exposed to both together, the combined toxic effects including oxidative stress and reproductive harm can be worse than either pollutant alone.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 13 citations
Article Tier 2

PFAS Associated with Microplastics (MPs)

This review examined the environmental and health risks of the 'forever alliance' between PFAS and microplastics, where PFAS adsorb onto MP surfaces, increasing their environmental mobility, bioavailability, and combined toxicity. The interaction amplifies the hazards of both contaminant classes and complicates risk assessment.

2025
Article Tier 2

A tale of two emerging contaminants: Interfacial interactions, co-transport behaviors and ecotoxicological implications between per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances and micro(nano)plastics.

This review examined how PFAS and micro/nanoplastics co-occur in the environment, form interfacial adsorption complexes, and interact synergistically within organisms. The authors found that the two contaminant classes amplify each other's toxicity in co-exposure scenarios and that their shared transport pathways complicate standard risk assessment.

2026 Advances in colloid and interface science
Article Tier 2

Uptake and release of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) from macro and microplastics

Researchers studied how perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids, a class of persistent PFAS chemicals, interact with both macro and microplastics in aquatic environments. They found that microplastics can adsorb and later release these harmful chemicals, with the interaction influenced by the amphiphilic properties of the contaminants. The findings suggest that microplastics may serve as carriers for PFAS contamination, potentially increasing exposure pathways for organisms in the environment.

2023 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 22 citations
Article Tier 2

From co-occurrence to co-existence and co-exposure: Associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics in the environment

This review examines the growing recognition that PFAS chemicals and microplastics frequently co-occur in the environment and may interact in ways that affect both ecological and human health. Researchers identified four major sources that emit both pollutants simultaneously and found strong evidence that PFAS can adsorb onto microplastic surfaces and be co-transported through the environment. The study calls for standardized methods and long-term studies to better understand the combined exposure risks of these two widespread contaminant classes.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate, distribution, and transport dynamics of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in the environment

This review examines how PFAS, often called "forever chemicals," move through water, soil, plants, and air, with their ultra-strong carbon-fluorine bonds making them nearly indestructible in nature. While focused on PFAS rather than microplastics specifically, the two pollutants often co-occur and share similar concerns about persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential health effects.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of PFAS onto secondary microplastics: A mechanistic study

Researchers studied how PFAS (toxic "forever chemicals") attach to microplastics that form when PET water bottles break down in the environment. They found that PFAS bonds to these microplastic surfaces within hours in both fresh and salt water, meaning microplastics can act as carriers for these harmful chemicals. This is concerning because people may be exposed to both microplastics and the dangerous chemicals hitchhiking on them through contaminated water.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

The emerging threat of hybrid microplastics: Impacts on per(poly)fluoroalkyl substance bioaccumulation and phytotoxicity in floating macrophytes

This study examined how mixtures of different microplastic types interact with PFAS (forever chemicals) and found that more diverse microplastic mixtures increased the absorption and toxicity of PFAS in aquatic plants. The complexity of real-world microplastic pollution, where multiple plastic types coexist, appears to make forever chemical contamination worse. This finding is important because most lab studies test single plastic types, potentially underestimating the actual environmental risk.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and PFAS as ubiquitous pollutants affect potencies of highly toxic chemicals in mixtures

Researchers investigated how ubiquitous pollutants like PFAS and microplastics affect the toxicity of other highly toxic chemicals when present together in mixtures. They found that even at non-toxic concentrations, PFAS and microplastics could alter the potency of co-occurring toxic compounds. The study highlights the importance of considering pollutant interactions in complex environmental mixtures rather than assessing chemicals in isolation.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) on the marine environment: Raising awareness, challenges, legislation, and mitigation approaches under the One Health concept

This review examines how PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances), often called 'forever chemicals,' are contaminating marine environments and interacting with other pollutants including microplastics. PFAS accumulate in marine food chains and can combine with microplastics to amplify toxic effects on ocean wildlife and ultimately human health through seafood consumption. The authors call for stronger regulations and cleanup strategies under a One Health approach that connects ocean, animal, and human well-being.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 76 citations