Papers

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Article Tier 2

Responses of submerged macrophytes to different particle size microplastics and tetracycline co-pollutants at the community and population level

Researchers set up outdoor experimental ponds to study how microplastics of different sizes combined with the antibiotic tetracycline affect communities of underwater aquatic plants. Smaller microplastics caused more harm to plant diversity and growth, and the combined exposure with antibiotics created worse effects than either pollutant alone. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could amplify the damage antibiotics cause to freshwater plant ecosystems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Pollution: Interactions Among Polyethylene, Surfactants, and Antibiotics in an Aquatic Environment

Researchers investigated synergistic pollution effects among polyethylene microplastics, surfactants, and antibiotics in aquatic systems, finding that co-presence enhanced the environmental persistence and bioavailability of antibiotics beyond what microplastics or surfactants caused individually.

2025
Article Tier 2

Combined toxicity of microplastics and antibiotics towards aquatic ecosystems: A case study in Beiluo River, China.

eDNA analysis of aquatic communities in the Beiluo River, China found that combined microplastic and antibiotic contamination significantly altered community structure, with MPs predominantly from agriculture and urban sewage and antibiotics from livestock operations exerting synergistic effects.

2024 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and co-pollutant with ciprofloxacin affect interactions between free-floating macrophytes

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics and ciprofloxacin co-pollutants altered competitive interactions between free-floating macrophytes, with combined exposure affecting plant growth and physiological responses differently than individual pollutant exposure.

2022 Environmental Pollution 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of enrofloxacin and microplastics on submerged plants and epiphytic biofilms in high nitrogen and phosphorus waters

Researchers studied the combined effects of the antibiotic enrofloxacin and microplastics on the submerged plant Myriophyllum verticillatum in nutrient-rich water. The study found that while microplastics alone had little effect, their combination with enrofloxacin produced synergistic toxic effects, reducing the plant's ability to absorb nitrogen and phosphorus and decreasing photosynthetic pigment content.

2022 Chemosphere 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and effects of microplastics in combination with pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in freshwaters: Insights from a microcosm experiment

Researchers conducted a microcosm experiment exposing moss and caddisflies to microplastics combined with pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors, finding that microplastics can alter the fate and biological effects of co-occurring chemical contaminants in freshwater ecosystems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the combined impacts of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics and the ciprofloxacin antibiotic on sediment microbial communities and ecological functions

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics — both fresh and environmentally weathered — interact with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin to affect the microbial communities living in aquatic sediments. They found that microplastics, especially in combination with the antibiotic, disrupted microbial community structure and simplified the ecological networks that microbes rely on for stable functioning. This is concerning because healthy sediment microbe communities underpin nutrient cycling and ecosystem health, and their disruption by combined plastic-antibiotic pollution could have cascading effects.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological impacts of polylactic acid and polylactic acid-polyethylene microplastics on freshwater ecosystems: Insights from a water–Vallisneria natans–sediment system

Researchers tested the effects of biodegradable PLA and PLA-polyethylene blend microplastics on a freshwater ecosystem containing aquatic plants and sediment. Both types of microplastics altered water chemistry, reduced plant growth, increased oxidative stress, and shifted the microbial communities in both water and sediment. The study demonstrates that even biodegradable plastic alternatives can disrupt freshwater ecosystems in meaningful ways.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and their combined effects with sulphamethoxazole on the free-floating aquatic plant Lemna major

Researchers studied the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole on free-floating freshwater organisms, examining how co-exposure to these two pollutants interacts compared to individual exposures. Nanoplastics altered the bioavailability and toxicity of the antibiotic, demonstrating complex mixture effects in aquatic systems.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis unravels the complex combined toxicity of microplastics and antibiotics in aquatic ecosystems

A meta-analysis of 730 datasets found that microplastics amplify antibiotic accumulation in aquatic organisms and worsen effects on growth, development, and immune function, but paradoxically appear to mitigate reproductive toxicity from antibiotics. The impact depends on biological response pathway, microplastic concentration, antibiotic properties, and exposure time, with an inverse relationship between antibiotic toxicity and both microplastic concentration and exposure duration.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Antibiotics in Aquatic Environments: A Review of Their Interactions and Ecotoxicological Implications

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact when they meet in water, and what that means for ecosystems and health. Antibiotics can attach to microplastic surfaces through chemical bonds, and the microplastics can then carry these drugs through the environment, potentially spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. While the combined threat to fish and other aquatic life needs more study, the findings raise concerns about how microplastics help move antibiotic resistance through water systems.

2024 Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of sulfamethoxazole on a riverine microbiome

Scientists studied how the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole affects the microbial community in a river, finding that even low concentrations shifted the balance of bacteria and promoted antibiotic resistance genes. This is relevant to the microplastic field because both antibiotics and microplastics promote antibiotic resistance when they co-occur in aquatic environments.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicology of microplastics in water ecosystems and aquatic organisms: A review of synergistic and antagonistic effects of microplastics on other xenobiotics

This review examines the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, focusing on how they interact with other pollutants like heavy metals, organic contaminants, and pathogens. The study highlights that microplastics can adsorb and transport these pollutants through synergistic or antagonistic interactions, leading to oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and reproductive impairment in exposed organisms, with potential for biomagnification up the food chain.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of microplastic and sulfanilamide co-exposure on soil microbiota

This study investigated what happens when microplastics and the antibiotic sulfanilamide are present together in soil, finding that the combination significantly altered soil microbial communities compared to either pollutant alone. Both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics interacted with the antibiotic to change bacterial diversity and soil chemistry. The results show that microplastics and antibiotics in agricultural soil can have compounding effects on soil health, potentially affecting the crops grown in it.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated Effects of Polyamide Microplastics and Three Abundant Antimicrobials and Reclaimed Water On The Growth of Lettuce and Soil Bacterial Communities

Researchers investigated the combined effects of polyamide microplastics and three common antimicrobials -- sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and triclosan -- alongside reclaimed water irrigation on lettuce growth and soil bacterial community composition. The study examined how simultaneous exposure to microplastics and pharmaceutical contaminants alters soil microbial ecology in agricultural settings.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

[Response of Water-Vallisneria natans-Sediment System to Polyethylene Microplastics].

This study examined how polyethylene microplastics affect the water-Vallisneria natans-sediment system, finding that microplastic exposure alters aquatic plant physiology, sediment microbial activity, and nutrient cycling dynamics.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics interfere with the nutrient cycle in water-plant-sediment systems

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect nutrient cycling in freshwater systems containing submerged plants and sediment. They found that the microplastics significantly reduced nitrogen and carbon content in plant leaves and disrupted the microbial communities in sediment responsible for nutrient processing. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can interfere with fundamental biogeochemical cycles that maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems.

2022 Water Research 122 citations
Article Tier 2

Bipartite trophic levels cannot resist the interference of microplastics: A case study of submerged macrophytes and snail

Researchers studied how microplastics affect a two-level food chain consisting of a submerged aquatic plant and freshwater snails living together. They found that increasing microplastic concentrations harmed both organisms, reducing plant growth and disrupting snail feeding behavior and reproduction. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can destabilize interconnected species relationships in freshwater ecosystems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological perspectives on the effects of microplastics on the aquatic environment

This review examines how microplastics interact with microorganisms in aquatic environments, highlighting risks to microbial communities and the potential for microplastics to disrupt ecosystem functions. Microplastics may alter microbial diversity and promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

2019 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Impact of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions

This review examines microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering chemical, biological, and ecological processes beyond simple physical contamination and identifying priority areas for future research directions.

2025 Indus journal of bioscience research.
Article Tier 2

Long-term exposure of a free-living freshwater micro- and meiobenthos community to microplastic mixtures in microcosms

Researchers exposed a natural freshwater micro- and meiobenthos community to microplastic mixtures in long-term microcosm experiments, finding community-level effects that differ from single-species studies and highlighting the importance of realistic multi-polymer exposure scenarios.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism of the Synergistic Toxicity of Ampicillin and Cefazoline on Selenastrum capricornutum

Researchers studied how two common antibiotics, ampicillin and cefazolin, work together to harm freshwater algae, finding that their combined effect is worse than either antibiotic alone. The antibiotics disrupted the algae's growth, metabolism, and photosynthesis at the genetic level. While focused on antibiotic pollution rather than microplastics, the study is relevant because microplastics can carry antibiotics through waterways, potentially amplifying these toxic effects on aquatic ecosystems.

2024 Toxics 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrative Evaluation of the Ecological Hazards by Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Wetland Ecosystem

Researchers conducted an integrative ecological hazard assessment of microplastics combined with heavy metals, evaluating their combined toxicity to aquatic organisms. The study found that co-contamination with heavy metals and microplastics poses greater ecological risk than either pollutant alone.

2023 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial dynamics of the plastisphere microbiome exposed to sub-lethal antibiotic pollution.

This study investigated how sub-lethal antibiotic concentrations in water interact with microplastic-associated biofilm communities (the plastisphere), finding that combined pollution alters bacterial dynamics and may contribute to antibiotic resistance selection in aquatic environments.

2024 Microbiome