Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Micro- and nano-plastics in marine environment: Source, distribution and threats — A review

This review examines the sources, distribution, and threats of micro- and nanoplastics in the marine environment. Researchers found that microplastics are nearly ubiquitous in ocean ecosystems, causing harm to marine animals ranging from malnutrition to chemical poisoning. The study also highlights that nanoplastics can penetrate biological barriers, including the gastrointestinal and blood-brain barriers, and accumulate in vital organs.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 754 citations
Review Tier 2

Nanoplastics in the Aquatic Environment. Critical Review

This critical review synthesized the emerging science on nanoplastics in aquatic environments, covering detection challenges, sources, behavior, and toxicological evidence, and identifying major gaps in knowledge about nanoplastic-specific risks.

2015 608 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence of MNPs in Water Environment-pathways of Degradation and Impact on Organisms

This literature review describes the characteristics, sources, and degradation pathways of micro- and nanoplastics in water environments and their potential impacts on living organisms. Evidence indicates that these particles enter aquatic systems through multiple routes and can interact with biological systems, though the full extent of their effects on human health requires further investigation.

2024 Civil And Environmental Engineering Reports 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in water

This paper examines the presence and behavior of nanoplastics, extremely small plastic particles, in water environments. Understanding how these particles move through and persist in water is important for assessing potential risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health.

2024 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progress of nanoplastics in freshwater

This review summarized the environmental fate, extraction methods, characterization techniques, and biological effects of nanoplastics in freshwater systems, noting that NPs' small size, high surface area, and cell-penetrating ability make them potentially more harmful than microplastics despite being less studied.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Origin, separation and characterization: Review

This review covers the origins, separation methods, and characterization of nanoplastics in aquatic environments. Nanoplastics (1–100 nm) are particularly concerning because their tiny size gives them a large surface area for adsorbing pollutants and allows them to penetrate biological barriers more easily than larger microplastics.

2023 Tehnika
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Critical Review of Sources, Transport Mechanisms and Ecotoxicological Risks

This review provides a broad overview of microplastic pollution in rivers, oceans, and other aquatic environments, covering where these particles come from, how they move through water systems, and the harm they can cause. Evidence indicates that microplastics accumulate toxins and disrupt growth, feeding, and reproduction in aquatic species, with potential consequences for human health through seafood and drinking water. The authors stress the need for better global monitoring, stronger waste management systems, and development of eco-friendly plastic alternatives.

2025 Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in the Environment: Sources, Fate, Toxicity, Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

This review covers the formation, environmental fate, and health risks of nanoplastics, emphasizing their capacity to penetrate biological barriers and cause oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and endocrine disruption, alongside current strategies for mitigation.

2025 Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology
Review Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Freshwater and Terrestrial Environment: A Review

This review critically analyzes the current state of research on micro- and nanoplastic pollution in freshwater and terrestrial environments. Researchers examine how these particles are transported through soil and water systems, their environmental fate, and their ecological impacts on living organisms. The study identifies significant knowledge gaps in the field, particularly around the characterization of nanoplastics and the long-term effects of plastic particle accumulation in non-marine environments.

2020 Water 242 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastic in the aquatic environment : from rivers to whales

This review traces the journey of micro- and nanoplastics from rivers to the open ocean, covering sources, transport pathways, effects on organisms, and human exposure. It highlights how plastic particles move through entire ecosystems—from wastewater to whales—with implications at every step for ecological and human health.

2018 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Emergence of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment and possible impacts on aquatic organisms

This review summarizes current knowledge on nanoplastics in aquatic environments, finding them present in seas, rivers, and nature reserves across multiple continents at measurable levels. These extremely small plastic particles accumulate in aquatic organisms and cause growth problems, reproductive issues, and immune dysfunction, raising concerns about human exposure through contaminated seafood and drinking water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 203 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic ecosystems: Current research trends and perspectives

This review covers 83 studies on the distribution and toxic effects of micro- and nanoplastics in both marine and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Researchers found that these tiny particles affected the growth, development, behavior, reproduction, and survival of a wide range of aquatic organisms. The paper identifies key research gaps and suggests future directions for understanding the full ecological impact of plastic pollution in aquatic environments.

2017 Marine Pollution Bulletin 630 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: Pathways, Impacts and Integrated Solutions for Environment and Human Health

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microplastic contamination in freshwater and marine ecosystems, covering their sources, environmental behavior, and biological effects. Evidence indicates that microplastics enter waterways through wastewater, runoff, atmospheric deposition, and the breakdown of larger debris, and they accumulate across food webs through ingestion and trophic transfer. The study calls for integrated solutions combining reduced plastic use, advanced filtration, bioremediation, and stronger policy enforcement.

2025 PLANETARY SUSTAINABILITY 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoscale plastic pollution: sources, identification and potential mitigation

This review examines the sources, environmental fate, and potential mitigation strategies for nanoscale plastic pollution, tracing the accumulation of plastic particles from millimetre to nanometre scales over decades. It highlights key knowledge gaps and emerging approaches for reducing nanoplastic contamination in ecosystems.

2025 Nanotechnology
Article Tier 2

Characterization, occurrence, environmental behaviors, and risks of nanoplastics in the aquatic environment: Current status and future perspectives

This review characterized the occurrence, environmental behavior, and toxicity of nanoplastics in aquatic systems, noting that their small size gives them unique properties — including higher surface reactivity and greater bioavailability — that make them potentially more hazardous than larger microplastics, while also harder to detect.

2021 Fundamental Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

[Toxicology of Nanoplastics to Aquatic and Terrestrial Organism: A Critical Review].

This review examines the toxicological effects of nanoplastics on aquatic and terrestrial organisms, noting that the vast surface area of nanoplastics enables them to carry environmental pollutants into organisms. Researchers describe how nanoplastics accumulate in organs and can transfer to offspring, potentially harming subsequent generations. The study highlights the need for further research on the health threats posed by nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2025 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution in the aquatic ecosystem: an emerging threat need to be tackled

This review summarizes the growing threat of plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, with a focus on how microplastics and nanoplastics enter food webs starting at the lowest levels. The authors highlight the persistence of these particles and call for coordinated action to reduce plastic inputs to water bodies.

2021 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Currents: Distribution, Fate, and Risks of Micro- and Nanoplastics in Freshwater Systems

This research review shows that tiny plastic particles called microplastics and nanoplastics are now found everywhere in freshwater systems like rivers and lakes, coming from sources like car tires, synthetic clothing, and broken-down plastic waste. These microscopic plastic bits can potentially harm human health, but scientists still don't fully understand the long-term health effects of exposure to them. The study highlights that plastic pollution has spread even to remote places like the Arctic, showing how widespread this contamination has become.

2026
Article Tier 2

A review on occurrence, characteristics, toxicology and treatment of nanoplastic waste in the environment

This review summarizes the current understanding of nanoplastic pollution, including sources, occurrence in water, soil, and air, and potential toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The study highlights major gaps in analytical methods for detecting nanoplastics and calls for more research on their environmental fate and health effects.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 56 citations
Article Tier 2

A Global Perspective of Beginning to the End of the Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment

This comprehensive review examines microplastics in aquatic environments from initial release through environmental fate, biological uptake, and ecological effects, identifying key knowledge gaps in freshwater and marine ecosystems.

2024
Review Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics: origin, sources of intake and impact on human health (literature review)

This literature review synthesizes mechanisms by which micro- and nanoplastics interact with living organisms, examining their physicochemical properties, routes of human exposure, and documented health effects across multiple organ systems.

2025 Hygiene and Sanitation
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environment

This review examines the origins, transport pathways, and toxic impacts of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments, tracing debris from diverse land-based and marine sources. Researchers found that plastic fragmentation produces ubiquitous micro- and nano-scale particles throughout ocean systems, with documented toxicity to marine organisms and potential risks to human consumers of seafood.

2022 Advances in human services and public health (AHSPH) book series 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics in the aquatic environmental: distribution, transport, ecotoxicology, and toxicological mechanisms

This review examines how microplastics are distributed, transported, and accumulate throughout aquatic environments, and the toxicological effects they have on aquatic organisms. The study suggests that microplastics can affect human health through the food chain, but notes that understanding of combined toxicity mechanisms remains very limited. The authors identify significant knowledge gaps and call for more systematic environmental risk assessments across multiple species.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Pollution to Solution: Understanding and Addressing Microplastic Contamination in the Environment

This review synthesizes current knowledge on how microplastics and nanoplastics are distributed across freshwater and marine environments, how they interact with and are taken up by aquatic organisms, and what removal technologies show the most promise. It covers the full lifecycle from macroplastic fragmentation to nano-scale particles, and surveys physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods. The review provides a useful overview for researchers and environmental managers looking to understand the scope of the microplastic problem and identify where interventions are most needed.

2026 Environmental Quality Management