Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Coarse-Grained Simulations of the Nanoplastic Interaction with Soil Organic Matter

Researchers used microsecond coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations with the Martini 3 force field to investigate how nanoplastic polymers including polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide) interact with humic substances representing soil organic matter, revealing molecular-level binding behaviors relevant to nanoplastic fate in terrestrial ecosystems.

2025 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Article Tier 2

Coarse-grained simulations of the nanoplastic interaction with soil organic matter

Researchers employed microsecond coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations using the Martini 3 force field to investigate how nanoplastic polyethylene and polyethylene oxide chains interact with humic substances as soil organic matter proxies. They found that polymer polarity, soil organic matter composition, and environmental pH all govern nanoplastic-soil interactions, with low pH promoting humic substance dispersion and enhanced surface coverage of polyethylene nanoparticles.

2025
Article Tier 2

Molecular modeling to elucidate the dynamic interaction process and aggregation mechanism between natural organic matters and nanoplastics

Researchers used molecular modeling to understand how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter found in water environments. They found that the chemical properties of both the plastic surface and the organic molecules determined whether they clumped together or remained dispersed. The study provides new molecular-level insights into how nanoplastics behave and spread in natural water systems, which is important for predicting their environmental fate.

2024 Eco-Environment & Health 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of nanoplastics interacting with a hydrophobic environment in aqueous solution

Researchers used molecular simulations to investigate how nanoplastics interact with abiotic particles like titanium dioxide commonly found in the environment. Understanding nanoplastic aggregation with mineral particles helps predict how these tiny pollutants move and settle in soil and aquatic environments.

2021 RSC Advances 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative Linking of Nanoscale Interactions to Continuum-Scale Nanoparticle and Microplastic Transport in Environmental Granular Media

Researchers successfully linked the atomic-scale forces between plastic nanoparticles and sand grains to predictions of how those particles move through soil and groundwater at larger scales. This advances the ability to model microplastic transport in the environment, which is important for assessing contamination of drinking water sources.

2020 Environmental Science & Technology 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between microplastics and humic acid and its effect on their properties as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to study how microplastics interact with humic acid, a natural organic compound found in soil and water. They found that microplastics disrupted the hydrogen bonding and calcium coordination within humic acid, altering its structure and properties. The study suggests that when microplastics and humic acid combine in the environment, both materials behave differently than they would alone, which could affect pollutant transport in natural systems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic in aqueous environments: The role of chemo-electric properties for nanoplastic-mineral interaction

Researchers studied how nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — stick to common soil minerals underground, finding that simple electrical repulsion is less important than chemical bonding, metal ion bridging, and hydrogen bonds. Understanding these interactions is key to predicting how nanoplastics move through soil and contaminate groundwater.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of shape on heteroaggregation of model microplastics: a simulation study

Researchers used molecular dynamics simulations to show that microplastic particle shape strongly influences how they aggregate with organic matter, finding that smooth spherical particles form compact aggregates with weak bonds while sharp-edged shapes form fractal structures with stronger connections that are more resistant to shear flow.

2023 Soft Matter 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics retention in porous media exhibits different dependence on grain surface roughness and clay coating with particle size

Researchers found that grain surface roughness and clay coatings affect the retention of microplastics and nanoplastics in porous media differently depending on particle size, with nanoplastics behaving oppositely to microplastics in certain soil conditions — complicating predictions of plastic transport in groundwater systems.

2022 Water Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into PVC microplastic adsorption on montmorillonite: A first-principles approach toward pollution control

Researchers used computational modeling to study how PVC microplastic fragments interact with montmorillonite clay, a common soil mineral. The simulations revealed that vinyl chloride molecules adsorb onto clay surfaces through weak noncovalent interactions rather than chemical bonding, providing mechanistic insights that could inform the development of clay-based approaches for microplastic remediation in contaminated water and soil.

2026 Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the interfacial fate of nanoplastics in soil: proteomics and molecular dynamics decipher the protein corona governed by surface functionalization

This study used proteomics and molecular dynamics simulations to examine how soil proteins coat nanoplastics — forming what is called a 'protein corona' — and how that coating changes depending on the nanoplastic's surface chemistry. The protein corona affects how nanoplastics move through soil and interact with living organisms, making this research important for understanding the true environmental fate of nanoplastics once they enter land ecosystems.

2026 Environmental Science Nano
Article Tier 2

MARTINI Coarse-Grained Models of Polyethylene and Polypropylene

Researchers developed coarse-grained molecular dynamics models for polyethylene and polypropylene polymers using the MARTINI framework, providing computational tools for simulating microplastic behavior and interactions at the molecular scale.

2015 The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 120 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinguishing the nanoplastic–cell membrane interface by polymer type and aging properties: translocation, transformation and perturbation

Molecular simulations revealed that nanoplastic behavior at cell membranes differs significantly by polymer type and aging state, with distinct patterns of membrane translocation, transformation, and disruption. Aged nanoplastics showed altered interaction dynamics compared to pristine particles, suggesting weathering changes ecotoxicological risk.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 45 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

A meta-analysis of nanomaterial and nanoplastic fate in small column experiments and implications for fate in soils

This meta-analysis pools data from column experiments to understand how nanoplastics behave and move through soil. The findings help predict where nanoplastics end up in the ground, which matters for human health because these particles can leach into groundwater or be taken up by crops growing in contaminated soil.

2025 NanoImpact 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the structure, distribution, and retention of nanoplastics in montmorillonite nanopore by multi-scale computational simulations

Researchers investigated the structure, distribution, and retention mechanisms of nanoplastics in montane stream sediments, finding that nanoplastic particles preferentially accumulated in fine-grained sediment fractions and that organic matter coating enhanced retention.

2025 Water Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil contamination with micro- and nanoplastics: environmental risks, challenges, and consequences for agroecosystems and agriculture

This review examines the mechanisms, distribution pathways, and ecological consequences of micro- and nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils, detailing impacts on soil structure, biodiversity, food chains, and crop productivity.

2025 Bulgarian Journal of Soil Science Agrochemistry and Ecology
Article Tier 2

Molecular-Level Insights into the Influence of Natural Organic Matter on Nanoplastic-Small Molecule Emerging Contaminant Interactions

Researchers found that natural organic matter significantly alters the interactions between polystyrene nanoplastics and multiple co-occurring emerging contaminants including PCBs, bisphenol S, DDT, and PFOS in aquatic environments, with molecular-level simulations revealing the mechanistic basis for these changes.

2025 Langmuir
Article Tier 2

A Critical Perspective on Nanoplastics in Soil and Crop Systems

This critical perspective examines nanoplastics as emerging soil contaminants, reviewing their physicochemical properties, fate in soil systems, interactions with other pollutants, and effects on soil biology and crop growth.

2025 Sustainability Sciences in Asia and Africa
Article Tier 2

An Atomic‐Level Perspective on the interactions between Organic Pollutants and PET particles: A Comprehensive Computational Investigation

Using advanced computational methods, researchers studied how organic pollutants interact with PET microplastic particles at the atomic level. The study found that pollutants bind to PET surfaces mainly through weak intermolecular forces, and that the specific chemical structure of both the pollutant and the plastic surface determines how strongly they attach.

2024 ChemPhysChem 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in the soil environment: Analytical methods, occurrence, fate and ecological implications

This review covered analytical methods, occurrence data, environmental fate, and ecotoxicological effects of nanoplastics in soils, finding that nanoplastics can alter soil chemistry, physical structure, and biota in ways that threaten both natural and agricultural ecosystem functions. The authors identify standardization of nanoplastic detection in soil as a critical research gap.

2022 Environmental Pollution 73 citations
Article Tier 2

A simplified model for size and shape of microplastics in soil: implications for risk assessment and particle measurement

Researchers developed a simplified model for characterizing microplastic size and shape in soil to address the lack of standardized measurement approaches, with implications for improving probabilistic risk assessment and fate modeling of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined interactions and ecotoxicological effects of micro/nanoplastics and organic pollutants in soil–plant systems: a critical overview

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics interact with organic pollutants in soil-plant systems. The study highlights that these plastic particles can act synergistically with organic pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems, posing combined threats to soil and plant health that warrant further investigation.

2025 Environmental Science Advances 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular-LevelInsights into the Influence of NaturalOrganic Matter on Nanoplastic-Small Molecule Emerging ContaminantInteractions

Researchers found that natural organic matter significantly alters the interaction dynamics between polystyrene nanoplastics and multiple small-molecule emerging contaminants including PCBs, bisphenol S, DDT, and PFOS in aquatic systems, using molecular-level analysis to reveal the mechanistic influence.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Soil?

This review examined the occurrence and behavior of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems and soils, questioning how particles move through and accumulate in soils and calling for more research on land-based microplastic impacts.

2012 Environmental Science & Technology 1520 citations