Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Assessing the size transformation of nanoplastics in natural water matrices

Researchers studied how nanoplastics change in size when placed in different types of natural water, including freshwater and seawater. They found that factors like pH, salt content, and dissolved organic matter significantly influenced whether the particles clumped together or remained small. The findings are important for understanding how nanoplastics behave in real-world aquatic environments and assessing their potential risks.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 9 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Emerging investigator series: metal nanoparticles in freshwater: transformation, bioavailability and effects on invertebrates

This review and meta-analysis found that silver nanoparticles are toxic to freshwater invertebrates at environmentally relevant concentrations, with toxicity mediated by both dissolved silver ions and nano-specific effects. Environmental transformation processes like aggregation, dissolution, and surface coating alteration significantly modify nanoparticle bioavailability and toxicity. These findings parallel microplastic research, where particle size, surface chemistry, and environmental weathering similarly determine biological impact.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation of nanoplastic particles in the presence of inorganic colloids and natural organic matter

Nanoplastics were found to heteroaggregate extensively with inorganic colloids and natural organic matter in both freshwater and marine conditions, altering their size, surface charge, and settling behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that nanoplastic behavior in natural waters is dominated by interactions with other environmental constituents rather than the intrinsic properties of the plastic alone.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 227 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and transport of nanoplastics in complex natural aquifer media: Effect of particle size and surface functionalization

Researchers used batch and column experiments in a natural sandy aquifer to show that nanoplastic transport is governed primarily by organic matter coatings rather than particle size or surface chemistry alone, with suspended organic matter increasing mobility while dissolved organic matter reduces it — findings that improve predictions of nanoplastic contamination in agricultural groundwater systems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 186 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiple roles of dissolved organic matter on typical engineered nanomaterials: environmental behaviors, pollutants removal and potential risks

This review examines how dissolved organic matter in natural water interacts with engineered nanomaterials, influencing their environmental behavior, pollutant removal capacity, and potential ecological risks in aquatic systems.

2022 Carbon Research 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Dissolved Organic Matter Enhanced the Aggregation and Oxidation of Nanoplastics under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation in Water

Dissolved organic matter was found to enhance both the aggregation and photooxidation of nanoplastics under simulated sunlight in water, with humic substances promoting particle clustering and accelerating surface oxidation. The results indicate that organic matter content in natural waters strongly influences nanoplastic fate and transformation.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 79 citations
Review Tier 2

A critical review on the biological impact of natural organic matter on nanomaterials in the aquatic environment

This review examines how natural organic matter in aquatic environments forms an ecological corona on the surface of nanomaterials, influencing their behavior, toxicity, and environmental fate. Researchers found that eco-corona formation can either increase or decrease the hazards posed by nanomaterials to aquatic organisms, making it a critical factor for environmental risk assessment.

2022 Carbon Research 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Heavy metals trigger distinct molecular transformations in microplastic-versus natural-derived dissolved organic matter

This study compared how heavy metals interact with organic matter that comes from natural sources versus organic matter released by degrading microplastics in water. Natural organic matter formed stable complexes that kept heavy metals in check, while microplastic-derived organic matter formed weaker bonds and was more vulnerable to chemical reactions that could release metals back into the water. This means that as plastic pollution increases, heavy metals in waterways may become more mobile and more available to enter the food chain.

2025 Environmental Science and Ecotechnology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the impact of phytoplankton secretions on the behavior of metal-containing engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environment

This review examines how tiny algae (phytoplankton) release natural substances that change the way metal nanoparticles behave in water, affecting whether they dissolve, clump together, or get absorbed by organisms. While focused on engineered nanoparticles rather than microplastics, the same biological processes apply to how plastic particles interact with living things in aquatic environments. Understanding these interactions is important for predicting how pollutants, including microplastics, move through water ecosystems and potentially into the food chain.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Natural Organic Matter Stabilizes Pristine Nanoplastics but Destabilizes Photochemical Weathered Nanoplastics in Monovalent Electrolyte Solutions

This study examined how sunlight weathering and natural organic matter coatings change the behavior of nanoplastics in water. Researchers found that organic matter stabilizes fresh nanoplastics but actually destabilizes sun-weathered ones, meaning aged nanoplastics in natural waters may clump together and settle differently than expected, affecting where they end up in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of natural organic matter on the joint toxicity and accumulation of Cu nanoparticles and ZnO nanoparticles in Daphnia magna

Researchers tested how copper and zinc oxide nanoparticle mixtures affect the water flea Daphnia magna in the presence and absence of natural organic matter, finding additive-to-synergistic joint toxicity and showing that natural organic matter shifts the dominant toxic species toward dissolved zinc ions while increasing nanoparticle accumulation in the organism's body.

2021 Environmental Pollution 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: The hidden impact of aging on fate and toxicity

This review highlights that most toxicity studies on nanoplastics use brand-new pristine particles, but real-world nanoplastics are aged by sunlight and chemical exposure, which fundamentally changes their surface properties and toxicity. Aged nanoplastics may be more harmful than pristine ones because they interact differently with biological systems, meaning current safety assessments likely underestimate the true risks.

2025 Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of photoaging and natural organic matter on the colloidal stability of nanoplastics in aquatic environments

Researchers found that photoaging of polystyrene nanoplastics alters how natural organic matter interacts with their surfaces — reducing humic acid adsorption while increasing protein adsorption — with downstream effects on the nanoplastics' stability and transport in aquatic environments.

2022 Water Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Joint effect of nanoplastics and humic acid on the uptake of PAHs for Daphnia magna: A model study

This study examined how humic acid (a form of dissolved organic matter) modifies the bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aquatic organisms exposed to nanoplastics, finding that humic acid significantly altered the joint effects of the two complex matrices. The results indicate that natural organic matter plays an important role in regulating nanoplastic-associated chemical uptake.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 56 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of different modes of adsorption of natural organic matter on the environmental fate of nanoplastics

Natural organic matter in water can stabilize nanoplastics by coating their surfaces and preventing them from clumping together and settling out, with different types of organic matter working through different physical mechanisms. Understanding this stabilization effect is important for predicting how long nanoplastics remain suspended in aquatic environments.

2020 Chemosphere 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Concomitant presence of nanosized plastics and metal(loid)s: is there cause for alarm? State-of-the-art and recommendations for future studies

This review assessed the co-occurrence of nanoplastics and metal(loid)s in the environment, finding that nanoplastics can adsorb and transport heavy metals, potentially amplifying toxicity through combined exposure and calling for integrated risk assessment approaches.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Agglomeration of nano- and microplastic particles in seawater by autochthonous and de novo-produced sources of exopolymeric substances

Nano- and microplastic particles in seawater were found to readily form agglomerates with naturally produced exopolymeric substances, altering their surface properties, size, and sinking behavior compared to pristine particles. The study demonstrates that natural organic matter in seawater fundamentally changes how plastic particles behave and interact with marine organisms and sediments.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 165 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoparticle Heteroagglomeration with Natural and Synthetic Suspended Particulate Matter

Researchers reviewed nanoparticle heteroagglomeration with natural and synthetic suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments, examining how the kinetics of agglomeration between nanoplastics, manufactured nanomaterials, and SPM affect nanoparticle transport and risk assessment in river systems.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of copper in Daphnia are modulated by nanosized titanium dioxide and natural organic matter: what is the impact of aging duration?

This study examined how titanium dioxide nanoparticles interact with natural organic matter to modify the toxicity of copper to the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. It is an aquatic toxicology study focused on nanoparticle-metal interactions rather than microplastics specifically.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Strategies for determining heteroaggregation attachment efficiencies of engineered nanoparticles in aquatic environments

Researchers developed strategies for determining heteroaggregation attachment efficiencies of engineered nanoparticles with suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments, providing a practical roadmap for understanding nanoparticle fate in natural water systems.

2020 Environmental Science Nano 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Impactof Minerals(Ferrihydrite and Goethite) andTheir Organo-Mineral Complexes on Fate and Transport of Nanoplasticsin the Riverine and Terrestrial Environments

Researchers investigated how iron minerals ferrihydrite and goethite, along with their organo-mineral complexes, influence the mobility and transport of nanoplastics in riverine and terrestrial environments, finding that organic matter coatings substantially alter nanoplastic behavior compared to pure mineral phases.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Speciation and release risk of heavy metals bonded on simulated naturally-aged microplastics prepared from artificially broken macroplastics

Researchers investigated heavy metal speciation and release risk from naturally aged microplastics in simulated saltwater and gastrointestinal solutions, finding that different metals varied in adsorption capacity and release behavior, posing potential risks to both ecosystems and human health.

2021 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic understanding of the aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in marine environments: Comparing synthetic and natural water matrices

Researchers investigated aggregation kinetics of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine environments, finding that organic matter type and salt concentration strongly influenced particle stability, with nanoplastics in natural seawater aggregating differently than in synthetic matrices.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of microplastics with metal(oid)s in aquatic environments: What is done so far?

This review assembled the mechanisms by which microplastics sorb hazardous metals and metalloids in aquatic environments, examining how weathering, biofilm formation, and environmental conditions influence the transport and bioavailability of these contaminants.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 36 citations