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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastic surface biofilms: a review of structural assembly, influencing factors, and ecotoxicity
ClearBiofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review
Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.
Ecotoxicological and health implications of microplastic-associated biofilms: a recent review and prospect for turning the hazards into benefits
This review examined the ecological and health implications of biofilms that form on microplastics, discussing how these plastisphere communities can harbor pathogens and alter microplastic properties, while also exploring potential beneficial applications of microplastic-associated biofilms.
The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics
This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that form on microplastic surfaces — affect the fate and ecological effects of plastic pollution. Biofilm formation alters how microplastics are transported, ingested, and degraded in the environment, and the plastisphere can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may pose risks to human health.
(micro)Plastic biofilms: Keeping afloat by carving out a new niche
This review examined how microplastics serve as persistent substrates for microbial biofilm formation in natural environments, creating a novel ecological niche called the plastisphere that hosts distinct microbial communities. The authors discussed how these biofilms alter microplastic surface properties and may enhance the persistence and transport of plastic particles and associated microbes.
The Importance of Biofilms on Microplastic Particles in Their Sinking Behavior and the Transfer of Invasive Organisms between Ecosystems
This review explores how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces, known as the plastisphere, affects the transport and ecological impact of plastic particles in marine environments. Researchers found that biofilm colonization can cause microplastics to sink from the ocean surface, altering their distribution through the water column, while also providing a habitat that protects invasive microbial species. The study suggests that some plastisphere organisms with plastic-degrading abilities could potentially be harnessed for marine pollution cleanup strategies.
Marine Microbial Assemblages on Microplastics: Diversity, Adaptation, and Role in Degradation
This review examines microbial communities that colonize microplastics in the ocean, collectively known as the plastisphere. Researchers found that these biofilms differ significantly from those on natural surfaces and may include pathogenic bacteria and species capable of partially degrading plastics. The study highlights both the ecological risks of microplastics as vectors for harmful microbes and the potential for harnessing plastic-degrading organisms.
(micro)Plastic biofilms: Keeping afloat by carving out a new niche
This review examined how microplastics accumulate microbial biofilms, creating a distinct ecological niche with unique community composition and metabolic activities. The microplastic biofilm, or plastisphere, can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, raising concerns about plastic particles as vectors of biological hazards.
Microplastic-Associated Biofilms and Their Role in the Fate of Microplastics in Aquatic Environment
This review examines how microbial biofilms attached to microplastics in aquatic environments mediate the accumulation and transfer of chemical pollutants, exploring how the 'plastisphere' community influences the fate and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics and co-contaminants.
Microplastics in Aquatic Environments
This review summarizes the current state of microplastic research in aquatic environments, covering the plastisphere — the microbial community that colonizes plastic surfaces — and the ways microplastics interact with other aquatic organisms. The paper highlights microplastics as a growing ecological concern that affects food webs and ecosystem processes.
Colonization characteristics and surface effects of microplastic biofilms: Implications for environmental behavior of typical pollutants
This review examines how bacteria colonize microplastic surfaces in water, forming biofilms that change how the plastics behave in the environment. These biofilms alter the surface properties of microplastics and affect how they absorb and transport heavy metals and other pollutants. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is important because it can make the particles more dangerous by concentrating toxic substances that could eventually enter the food chain.
Beyond the Surface: Biofilms and Microplastics in Aquatic Systems
This review examines how microbial biofilms that form on microplastic surfaces (the 'plastisphere') influence particle transport, degradation rates, and potential toxicity in aquatic environments, including the role of biofilms in carrying pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.
Dynamics, ecological implications, and mitigation strategies of the ocean plastisphere
This review examines how plastic debris accumulates in marine environments, fragmenting into micro- and nanoplastics through physical, chemical, and biological processes. Researchers found that plastic surfaces serve as substrates for microbial colonization, forming complex biofilm communities known as the plastisphere, which can affect marine organisms through ingestion and trophic transfer. The study highlights the need for coordinated global strategies combining policy, technology, and public awareness to reduce marine plastic pollution.
Microbial Life on the Surface of Microplastics in Natural Waters
Researchers reviewed how microorganisms colonize the surface of microplastic particles floating in natural waters, forming biofilms that can include potentially harmful bacteria. These biofilm-coated microplastics concentrate near the water-air interface and are more readily consumed by aquatic animals than bare plastic particles. The study highlights that understanding microbial life on microplastics is essential for assessing their environmental and public health impacts.
The effects of plastisphere on the physicochemical properties of microplastics
This review examines how the communities of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces, known as the plastisphere, change the physical and chemical properties of the plastic particles. Researchers found that biofouling increases microplastic density causing them to sink, enhances their ability to absorb pollutants, and alters their surface chemistry. The study highlights that microplastics in the real environment behave very differently from the pristine particles typically used in laboratory experiments.
Microplastic Microbiome Interactions: Emerging Threats and Bioremediation Potentials
This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces — covering how these biofilms influence the fate and toxicity of microplastics while acting as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, and discussing their potential for bioremediation.
Microplastic Microbiome Interactions: Emerging Threats and Bioremediation Potentials
This review examines the plastisphere — microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces — covering how these biofilms influence the fate and toxicity of microplastics while acting as vectors for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, and discussing their potential for bioremediation.
Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments
This review compared microplastic-associated biofilm communities in freshwater and marine environments, examining how plastic type, ecosystem, and environmental conditions shape the microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces. Understanding these "plastisphere" communities is important because they may include pathogens and can affect the fate and transport of plastic particles.
Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment
Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.
Toxicity of micro/nanoplastics in the environment: Roles of plastisphere and eco-corona
This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics gain biological coatings in the environment: larger microplastics develop a "plastisphere" of microorganisms on their surface, while smaller nanoplastics get wrapped in proteins and organic matter forming an "eco-corona." Both coatings change how toxic the particles are to living organisms and humans. The review highlights that studying plastic particles without these coatings, as most lab experiments do, may underestimate or mischaracterize their real-world health risks.
Marine microplastic-associated biofilms – a review
This review synthesizes research on biofilm communities forming on marine microplastics, covering their composition, formation dynamics, and potential consequences for both plastic fate and ocean microbiology. The authors highlight that plastic-associated biofilms can include pathogens and toxin producers, and that the plastisphere community differs meaningfully from the surrounding seawater microbiome.