Papers

61,005 results
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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

[Effect of Water Components on Aggregation and Sedimentation of Polystyrene Nanoplastics].

Researchers investigated how sodium ions (Na+) and natural organic matter (NOM) affect the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) in six water types including seawater, lake water, and domestic sewage. They found that Na+ concentrations below 80 mmol/L facilitated PS-NP sedimentation, while NOM effects varied by water type, with findings informing the environmental fate and distribution of nanoplastics.

2024 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Impact of electrolyte and natural organic matter characteristics on the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers examined how dissolved organic matter from different water sources affects the aggregation and sedimentation of polystyrene nanoplastics under varied salt concentrations and temperatures, finding that biopolymers form a protective 'eco-corona' around particles that strongly inhibits long-term sedimentation, while temperature influences aggregation dynamics in complex ways.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of environmental and biological macromolecules on aggregation kinetics of nanoplastics in aquatic systems

Researchers studied how natural macromolecules like humic acid, alginate, and proteins influence the clumping behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water. They found that these macromolecules generally stabilized nanoplastics in sodium chloride solutions but caused them to aggregate in calcium chloride solutions, with effects varying by pH. The findings suggest that the environmental fate and transport of nanoplastics in natural waters depends heavily on the surrounding organic molecules and water chemistry.

2020 Water Research 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation and Deposition Kinetics of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environment

Researchers measured aggregation and deposition kinetics of 50 nm and 500 nm polystyrene particles under varying ionic strength and pH conditions, finding that both particle sizes aggregated rapidly at elevated salt concentrations and that the smaller nanoplastics were more mobile in column experiments.

2021 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced sinks of polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs) in marine sediment compared to freshwater sediment: Influencing factors and mechanisms

Researchers compared nanoplastic transport through freshwater and marine sediment columns, finding that nanoplastics penetrate far more readily in freshwater (up to 90% breakthrough) than in marine sediments (under 9%), primarily because higher salinity causes aggregation and marine sediments have finer grain sizes that trap particles more effectively.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of temperature and particle concentration on aggregation of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater

The aggregation behavior of nanoplastics in freshwater and seawater was studied at different temperatures and particle concentrations, finding that salinity, particle concentration, and temperature all significantly influenced aggregation rates with implications for nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Heteroaggregation kinetics of nanoplastics and soot nanoparticles in aquatic environments

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics and soot particles aggregate together in aquatic environments, finding that particle ratio, salinity, pH, and dissolved organic matter all influence clumping rates — with calcium ions dramatically accelerating aggregation and potentially altering nanoplastic transport in coastal and marine waters.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation behavior of polyethylene microplastics in the nearshore environment: The role of particle size, environmental condition and turbulent flow

Researchers investigated how particle size, salinity, dissolved organic matter, and turbulent flow affect the aggregation behavior of polyethylene microplastics in nearshore water, finding that all factors influenced aggregation rates and aggregate structure. Understanding microplastic aggregation in estuarine environments is essential for predicting their sedimentation and biological uptake.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation and stability of sulfate-modified polystyrene nanoplastics in synthetic and natural waters

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics behave in different water conditions, examining aggregation and stability under varying pH, salt types, and natural organic matter concentrations. The study found that nanoplastics remain highly stable and suspended in freshwater and even wastewater, but aggregate rapidly and settle in seawater. Natural organic matter was identified as the most significant factor affecting nanoplastic aggregation in waters with high ionic strength.

2020 Environmental Pollution 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation kinetics of microplastics in aquatic environment: Complex roles of electrolytes, pH, and natural organic matter

Researchers found that the aggregation behavior of polystyrene microplastics in water was strongly influenced by pH, ionic strength, and the presence of natural organic matter, with divalent cations like calcium and magnesium promoting aggregation. Understanding aggregation kinetics is critical for predicting how microplastics partition between suspended and settled states in natural water bodies.

2018 Environmental Pollution 249 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of natural organic matter and inorganic ions on the stabilization of polystyrene micro-particles

Researchers investigated how natural organic matter (NOM) and inorganic ions affect the stabilization and aggregation behavior of polystyrene nanoplastics in water, finding that NOM enhanced colloidal stability while high ionic strength promoted aggregation. The results indicate that water chemistry plays a dominant role in determining nanoplastic mobility and persistence in natural freshwater environments.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Settling behavior of microplastic hetero-aggregates in aquatic environments with varying salinity

This lab study examined how changes in water saltiness affect whether microplastics clump together with sediment and sink. Increasing salinity encouraged microplastics to form larger aggregates with sediment particles, peaking at moderate salt levels (25 PSU), which influences how quickly they settle out of the water column. Understanding this behavior matters for predicting where microplastics end up in coastal and estuarine environments where fresh and salt water mix.

2025 International Journal of Sediment Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of size and surface charge on the sedimentation of nanoplastics in freshwater

Researchers investigated how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics affect their sedimentation behavior in freshwater, finding that both properties significantly influence aggregation dynamics and settling rates, with implications for predicting nanoplastic fate in aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the evolution of nanoplastic particle aggregation in aquatic systems

Researchers developed a mathematical model to simulate how nanoplastic particles aggregate over time in freshwater and marine aquatic systems as a function of particle size, ionic strength, pH, and organic matter concentration. The model predicted that nanoplastics aggregate rapidly under typical estuarine salinity conditions, transitioning from colloidal to settling-sized clusters within hours.

2025
Article Tier 2

Effect of salinity and humic acid on the aggregation and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups and charges

Researchers showed that surface charge governs nanoplastic behavior in water — higher salinity caused negatively charged nanoplastics to aggregate while positively charged particles remained stable — and that humic acid (dissolved organic matter) alleviated toxicity to Daphnia, increasing survival from 15% to nearly 100% in some cases.

2018 Environmental Pollution 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano-plastics induce aquatic particulate organic matter (microgels) formation

Researchers found that 25 nm polystyrene nanoparticles in lake and river water promoted the formation of particulate organic matter microgels and accelerated the transition from dissolved to particulate organic matter through hydrophobic interactions. Adjusting salinity to simulate river-to-sea transport showed that specific salinity levels further drive settling of the plastic-organic aggregates, with implications for organic carbon cycling and microplastic fate in aquatic systems.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Raman spectra characterization of size-dependent aggregation and dispersion of polystyrene particles in aquatic environments.

This study used Raman spectroscopy to examine how the presence of salt, proteins, and organic matter influences the aggregation and dispersion of polystyrene nanoplastics in water. The findings show that environmental conditions significantly alter nanoplastic behavior and can complicate their detection, which has implications for understanding how nanoplastics move through aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

Impact of iron/aluminum (hydr)oxide and clay minerals on heteroaggregation and transport of nanoplastics in aquatic environment

Researchers examined how polystyrene nanoplastics interact with nine different minerals in aquatic environments, finding that positively charged iron and aluminum (hydr)oxide minerals readily form aggregates with nanoplastics through electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, while humic acid and shifting pH significantly suppress this aggregation.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 68 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polystyrene nanoplastics on microgel formation from effluent organic matter

When polystyrene nanoplastics were mixed with organic matter from treated wastewater effluent, they accelerated the formation of microscopic gel clusters (microgels) by up to 300% under high-salinity conditions, such as where wastewater meets the sea. These nanoplastic-laden microgels have a smoother surface than organic microgels alone, which could affect how they settle, how microbes colonize them, and how far they travel in aquatic environments. The finding reveals a previously overlooked way that nanoplastics escaping wastewater treatment alter the behavior of organic carbon in coastal waters.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 2 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

Role of Poly(Ionic Liquid) in Aggregation Behavior of Micro‐Particles in Aqueous Solvent

Researchers synthesized novel polymer-based flocculants (poly(ionic liquids)) that outperformed conventional aluminum-based coagulants in aggregating polypropylene and polystyrene microplastics from natural seawater, even under the high-salinity conditions where conventional treatments fail. Removing microplastics from marine environments is uniquely challenging because salt disrupts standard coagulation chemistry; these metal-free flocculants offer a more effective alternative. The work identifies a promising class of water treatment chemicals specifically suited to saltwater microplastic remediation.

2026 Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Article Tier 2

The effects of organic and inorganic colloids on the aggregation and settling of polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics in mimicked ocean temperature conditions

Researchers studied how naturally occurring minerals and biological compounds affect the clumping and sinking behavior of nanoplastics in ocean-like conditions. They found that clay minerals caused up to 70% of nanoplastics to settle out of the water at warm temperatures, but certain biological polymers produced by marine organisms could block this process entirely, keeping the plastics suspended. These findings matter because they help explain why nanoplastics may persist in surface waters rather than sinking to the ocean floor.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 2 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