We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to What comes after the Sun? On the integration of soil biogeochemical pre-weathering into microplastic experiments
ClearReply on RC2
This perspective article examines the weathering history of microplastics in soil environments, arguing that most laboratory studies use pristine plastic particles whose surface properties differ substantially from environmentally aged microplastics. Researchers found that UV-induced photochemical weathering, biofilm formation, enzymatic decay, and physical fragmentation by soil fauna all alter microplastic surface characteristics in ways that affect soil aggregation, faunal health, and contaminant transport.
Reply on RC1
This perspective article examines the weathering history of microplastics in soil environments, arguing that most laboratory studies use pristine plastic particles whose surface properties differ substantially from environmentally aged microplastics. Researchers found that UV-induced photochemical weathering, biofilm formation, enzymatic decay, and physical fragmentation by soil fauna all alter microplastic surface characteristics in ways that affect soil aggregation, faunal health, and contaminant transport.
Weathering pathways and protocols for environmentally relevant microplastics and nanoplastics: What are we missing?
This review highlights a major gap in microplastics research: most lab studies use brand-new, pristine plastic particles, but microplastics in the real world have been weathered by sunlight, water, and biological activity. Weathered microplastics behave differently, releasing more chemicals and interacting with organisms in ways that fresh plastics do not. Only about 10% of published studies have used aged microplastics, meaning current risk assessments may not reflect the true dangers of environmental microplastic exposure.
The impact of microplastic weathering on interactions with the soil environment: a review
This review examines how weathering — exposure to UV light, moisture, and physical forces — changes the surface properties of microplastics and affects their interactions with soil. Weathered microplastics behave differently in the environment, potentially altering soil structure and the movement of water and nutrients.
Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment
Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.
Physicochemical and biological ageing processes of (micro)plastics in the environment: a multi-tiered study on polyethylene
Researchers applied a multi-tiered approach combining laboratory aging, field deployment, and environmental simulation to study how polyethylene plastic undergoes physicochemical and biological weathering in natural settings. The study found that UV radiation and microbial colonization act synergistically to accelerate surface oxidation and fragmentation of PE into smaller particles.
After the sun: a nanoscale comparison of the surface chemical composition of UV and soil weathered plastics
Researchers used nanoscale surface analysis to compare how UV light and soil burial weather the chemical composition of plastics differently, finding that each exposure type produces distinct surface changes. These differences affect how plastics interact with surrounding environments, including how they may adsorb or release contaminants as microplastics in nature.
Laboratory simulation of microplastics weathering and its adsorption behaviors in an aqueous environment: A systematic review
UV photo-oxidation and physical abrasion are the most practical laboratory methods for simulating microplastic weathering; aging increases surface area and oxygen-containing functional groups, altering pollutant adsorption behavior and potentially increasing environmental risks.
Preparation of Degraded Microplastics That Imitate Surface Properties in the Environment
Researchers developed laboratory methods to prepare degraded microplastics that accurately mimic the surface properties of environmentally weathered particles, filling a gap in toxicology research that often uses pristine plastic beads instead of realistic aged particles. The study characterized how surface chemistry, roughness, and charge of laboratory-degraded microplastics compare to those collected from natural environments.
Abiotic Long-Term Simulation of Microplastic Weathering Pathways under Different Aqueous Conditions
Laboratory weathering experiments simulated long-term microplastic degradation under UV, thermal, and mechanical stress to characterize how environmental exposure alters plastic surface chemistry, fragmentation, and additive release. The results provide insight into the formation pathways of secondary microplastics under realistic environmental conditions.
Accelerated Weathering of Microplastics: A Systematic Approach to Model Microplastic Production
Researchers developed a systematic laboratory method for producing environmentally realistic microplastics through accelerated UV weathering of common polymer types. The approach generates particles with surface degradation patterns that closely mimic those found in nature, unlike commercially available test beads. The study provides a reproducible protocol that could improve the relevance of microplastic toxicity and environmental fate studies.
Preparing and characterizing environmentally aged microplastics
When microplastics enter the environment, they are not static — UV radiation, water, temperature, and biological activity all cause them to age, changing their surface structure, chemical composition, and behavior. This paper presents a standardized laboratory protocol for systematically recreating and measuring microplastic aging across different environments (soil, water, air, and inside organisms), along with a composite aging index to quantify how degraded a particle has become. Having a consistent, reproducible method for studying aging is a critical step toward understanding how microplastics change as they move through ecosystems and how that affects their health and environmental risks.
Are we really producing environmentally relevant reference materials for microplastic studies?
This study evaluated whether laboratory-produced microplastic reference materials used in research adequately represent the physical and chemical properties of particles found in natural environments. Results found substantial differences between commercially available reference materials and environmentally weathered microplastics, undermining the ecological relevance of studies using pristine materials.
Thermal oxidation, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical abrasion - understanding mechanisms of microplastic generation and chemical transformation
Researchers evaluated how consumer-derived polymers fragment and chemically transform when exposed to UV radiation or thermal oxidation followed by soil abrasion. The study found that these combined weathering processes, which mimic real-world environmental conditions, significantly affect the rate and type of microplastic generation. The results highlight how everyday use and environmental exposure work together to break down plastics into microplastic particles.
From Pristine to Laboratory-weathered Micro- and Nanoplastics: Interaction with Environmental Contaminants and Biological Effects
This review contrasts pristine and laboratory-weathered micro- and nanoplastics in terms of surface chemistry, adsorption of co-contaminants, and biological effects, arguing that weathered particles better represent real-world exposures and often exhibit different or greater toxicity.
Abiotic weathering of plastic: Experimental contributions towards understanding the formation of microplastics and other plastic related particulate pollutants
Scientists studied how the five most common types of plastic break down under realistic environmental conditions involving UV light, temperature changes, and humidity. They found that weathering follows complex, uneven pathways and that the microplastics produced can have very different physical properties depending on the additives in the original plastic. This matters because it means microplastics in the environment are more varied and unpredictable than lab studies using uniform particles suggest, complicating efforts to assess their health risks.
From Macro to Micro Plastics; Influence of Photo-oxidative Degradation
This study used simulated UV aging to investigate how photo-oxidative degradation of common plastics drives fragmentation from macro to micro scale, characterizing the surface property changes and structural breakdown that generate microplastic particles in the environment.
Bridging the gap: Environmentally relevant aging of microplastics under laboratory conditions
Researchers reviewed approaches to simulate environmental aging of microplastics under controlled laboratory conditions, evaluating how well lab protocols replicate real-world weathering. The review identified gaps between laboratory aging methods and actual outdoor weathering outcomes, recommending more environmentally realistic test conditions.
Quantitative study of microplastic degradation in urban hydrosystems: Comparing in situ environmentally aged microplastics vs. artificially aged materials generated via accelerated photo-oxidation
Researchers compared how polyethylene microplastics degrade in real urban water environments versus under controlled laboratory UV exposure. They found that lab-aged plastics showed primarily physical and chemical changes from UV light, while microplastics collected from stormwater and sediments also showed signs of biological degradation and hydrolysis. The study demonstrates that artificial aging alone does not fully replicate the complex degradation processes microplastics undergo in actual urban water systems.
Elaborating more realistic model microplastics by simulating polypropylene's environmental ageing
This study developed more realistic model microplastics by simulating the environmental aging of polypropylene, producing laboratory particles with surface chemistry, roughness, and density closer to field-collected environmental microplastics.
Developing environmentally relevant test materials for microplastic research through UV-induced photoaging
Researchers used UV irradiation to create photoaged microplastics from multiple polymer types as environmentally relevant test materials for ecotoxicology research, characterizing how aging changes surface chemistry, particle size distribution, and potential biological effects.
Effects of microplastic aging on its detectability and physico-chemical properties in loess and sandy soil
This study compared fresh microplastics to aged particles collected from soil and found that weathering significantly changes their physical and chemical properties, including making them more mobile. Aged microplastics may behave very differently in the environment than the pristine particles typically used in laboratory studies.
Emerging investigator series: microplastic-based leachate formation under UV irradiation: the extent, characteristics, and mechanisms
Six common microplastic types were exposed to UV irradiation to characterize surface changes and leachate chemical profiles, finding that UV treatment generated oxidized surface groups and released diverse organic compounds. Leachate composition varied by polymer type, highlighting the role of weathering in generating secondary chemical pollution from microplastics.
Laboratory simulated aging methods, mechanisms and characteristic changes of microplastics: A review
This review examines the different laboratory methods scientists use to artificially age microplastics to study how they change over time in the environment. UV light, heat, chemical oxidation, and biological processes all alter the surface, size, and chemical properties of microplastics in different ways. Understanding how aging changes microplastics is important because weathered particles in the real world may be more toxic and carry more pollutants than the fresh plastics typically used in lab studies.