Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Differentially charged nanoplastics demonstrate distinct accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Researchers exposed Arabidopsis thaliana plants to positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics and found that charge determined accumulation patterns, with positively charged particles penetrating deeper into root and leaf tissues than negatively charged ones.

2020 Nature Nanotechnology 1121 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on lead toxicity in dandelion seedlings

Researchers investigated how different types of functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics affect lead toxicity in dandelion seedlings. The results showed that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics matters: carboxy-modified particles with negative surface charges enhanced lead toxicity, while amino-modified particles with positive charges reduced it, highlighting the complex interactions between nanoplastics and heavy metal contaminants in plants.

2022 Environmental Pollution 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups on rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings: Combined transcriptome, enzymology, and physiology

Researchers exposed rice seedlings to polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface chemistries and found that all types reduced plant growth and photosynthetic ability. The amino-modified (positively charged) nanoplastics caused the most severe damage, reducing shoot growth by over 40% and dry weight by more than 70%. The study revealed that different surface modifications trigger distinct biological responses in the plant, affecting everything from ion transport to protein synthesis.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 90 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effect of Differentially Charged Polystyrene Nanoplastics on the Performance of Biological Denitrification in Wastewater Treatment].

This Chinese-language study investigated how positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics differentially affect the performance of activated sludge in wastewater treatment, finding that surface charge was a key determinant of biological treatment disruption. Positively charged nanoplastics were more toxic to the microbial community.

2024 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Do differentially charged nanoplastics affect imidacloprid uptake, translocation, and metabolism in Chinese flowering cabbage?

Researchers found that positively charged nanoplastics inhibited plant growth and reduced imidacloprid translocation in Chinese flowering cabbage, while negatively charged nanoplastics accelerated pesticide accumulation in shoots, revealing charge-dependent interactions affecting food safety.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Foliar implications of polystyrene nanoplastics on leafy vegetables and its ecological consequences

Scientists applied polystyrene nanoplastics to four common leafy vegetables and found that the tiny particles accumulated on leaf surfaces, particularly around the pores plants use to breathe. This accumulation reduced the plants' chlorophyll content and ability to photosynthesize, affecting their growth and nutritional quality. The findings raise concerns that airborne nanoplastic pollution could compromise the safety and nutritional value of the vegetables people eat.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of foliar-applied polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface charges on tetracycline accumulation, phytotoxicity, and the endophytic microbiota in Chrysanthemum coronarium L.

Researchers applied polystyrene nanoplastics of different surface charges to chrysanthemum leaves and found that positively charged particles most strongly reduced antibiotic (tetracycline) uptake, suppressed iron absorption and chlorophyll production, and increased oxidative damage — while also reshaping the plant's internal microbiome — demonstrating that atmospheric nanoplastic deposition can alter both contaminant bioavailability and plant health.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Surface functionalization and size of polystyrene microplastics concomitantly regulate growth, photosynthesis and anti-oxidant status of Cicer arietinum L.

Researchers found that both the size and surface functionalization of polystyrene microplastics jointly affected chickpea seedling growth and photosynthesis, with aminated and smaller particles causing greater oxidative stress and growth inhibition, demonstrating that microplastic surface chemistry is a key determinant of phytotoxicity.

2022 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Surface charge-dependent toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in human lung epithelial BEAS-2B and HaCaT cells

Researchers exposed human lung epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and skin keratinocytes (HaCaT) to positively charged, negatively charged, and neutral polystyrene nanoplastics and compared cytotoxicity outcomes. Surface charge was a critical determinant of toxicity: positively charged nanoplastics caused the most severe cell death and oxidative stress in both cell types, with lung cells more sensitive than skin cells.

2025 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health
Article Tier 2

In vitro wheat protoplast cytotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers investigated the cytotoxicity of amino- and carboxyl-modified polystyrene nanoparticles of different sizes on wheat plant cells (protoplasts) in vitro. The study found that 20 nm amino-modified particles were particularly damaging to cell structure, causing increased reactive oxygen species production and cell death, suggesting that surface modification and particle size significantly influence nanoplastic toxicity to plant cells.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Do plastic particles affect microalgal photosynthesis and growth?

This study investigated whether polystyrene particles of different sizes and charges affect growth and photosynthesis in three marine microalgae species. The results showed that charged particles caused greater inhibition of algal growth at the lowest concentrations tested, suggesting that plastic particle charge and size influence their toxicity to primary producers at the base of marine food chains.

2016 Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Article Tier 2

Charge-selective polystyrene nanoplastic retention by plant cell walls: Pectin domains dictate differential accumulation in rice seedling roots and shoots

A study of rice seedling roots found that plant cell walls act as a charge-selective barrier to nanoplastics: negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-COOH) accumulated nearly 4.5 times more in shoots than positively charged ones (PS-NH₂), while positive nanoplastics were preferentially retained in root cell walls by binding to pectin. The results are directly relevant to food safety because they show that nanoplastic surface chemistry determines how much plastic penetrates into the edible parts of a major global food crop.

2026 Eco-Environment & Health
Article Tier 2

Influence of nanoplastic surface charge on eco-corona formation, aggregation and toxicity to freshwater zooplankton

Researchers examined how surface charge and natural organic matter influence the stability and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to freshwater zooplankton. They found that positively charged nanoplastics were significantly more toxic than negatively charged ones, and that natural organic matter formed an eco-corona on the particles that reduced their toxicity. The study highlights that both particle surface properties and environmental conditions play critical roles in determining nanoplastic impacts on aquatic organisms.

2019 Environmental Pollution 242 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of heteroaggregation and internalization in the toxicity of differently sized and charged plastic nanoparticles to freshwater microalgae

Researchers investigated how the size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoparticles affect their toxicity to freshwater microalgae. The study found that smaller and positively charged nanoparticles showed greater heteroaggregation with algal cells and higher internalization rates, leading to more pronounced toxic effects including reduced photosynthetic activity.

2022 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Charge-specific impacts of polystyrene nanoplastics on acidogenesis and biofilm adaptation in Ethanoligenens harbinense

Positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics had different effects on acidobacteria (a major group of soil bacteria), with charge-specific impacts on community composition and activity. The findings indicate that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics, not just their size, determines ecological impact.

2025 Bioresource Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics on the Growth and Quality of Brassica campestris L. in a Three-season Consecutive Cultivation].

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics of four particle size fractions (under 25, 25-48, 48-150, and 150-850 micrometers) affect the growth, development, and nutrient quality of Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L.) across three consecutive cultivation seasons in pot experiments, finding significant size-dependent inhibitory effects on plant growth and soil nutrient supply.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
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

Disruption of auxin homeostasis by negatively charged nanoplastics inhibits plant primary root development

Experiments with plant seedlings showed that negatively charged polystyrene nanoplastics strongly inhibit root development by disrupting the plant hormone auxin, which controls root cell growth and organization — while positively charged nanoplastics had much weaker effects. Transcriptomic analysis and molecular docking identified specific molecular targets disrupted by the negatively charged particles. This matters because nanoplastics in soil carry varied surface charges depending on their aging and environment, and charge-specific toxicity helps explain why plant responses to nanoplastic exposure can be inconsistent across studies.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Role of nanoparticle surface charge in their toxicity

This study examined how surface charge (carboxyl vs. amino functionalization) affects the toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles formed during plastic degradation, noting that nanoparticle toxicity can differ substantially from bulk material. Results highlighted that surface chemistry is a critical determinant of nanoparticle behavior in biological environments.

2024 E3S Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation modes and effects of differentially charged polystyrene nano/microplastics in water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica F.)

Researchers investigated how water spinach plants absorb nano and microplastics of different sizes and electrical charges. They found that smaller, positively charged particles were absorbed more readily by roots and could travel to the leaves, while larger particles tended to stay on root surfaces. This matters because leafy vegetables like water spinach could be delivering nanoplastics directly to people who eat them.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation and Embryotoxicity of Polystyrene Nanoparticles at Early Stage of Development of Sea Urchin Embryos Paracentrotus lividus

Researchers exposed sea urchin embryos to polystyrene nanoparticles with different surface charges and studied how the particles accumulated and affected development. They found that positively charged nanoparticles embedded in the embryos' outer membrane and caused significant developmental defects, while negatively charged particles were less harmful. The study suggests that the surface chemistry of nanoplastics plays a key role in determining their toxicity to developing marine organisms.

2014 Environmental Science & Technology 610 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano-sized polystyrene plastics toxicity to microalgae Chlorella vulgaris: Toxicity mitigation using humic acid

Researchers exposed the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris to amino-functionalized polystyrene nanoplastics and found significant toxicity to biomass and chlorophyll, but adding humic acid — a natural organic matter component — substantially reduced toxicity by coating the nanoplastics' positively charged surfaces and preventing their electrostatic attraction to algal cell walls.

2022 Aquatic Toxicology 49 citations
Article Tier 2

What Is on the Outside Matters—Surface Charge and Dissolve Organic Matter Association Affect the Toxicity and Physiological Mode of Action of Polystyrene Nanoplastics toC. elegans

Researchers investigated how surface charge and organic matter coatings affect the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the nematode C. elegans. Positively charged nanoplastics were over 60 times more toxic than negatively charged ones, and organic matter coatings reduced toxicity across all particle types. The findings suggest that surface chemistry plays a critical role in nanoplastic toxicity and should be considered when assessing environmental risks.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Long-term toxicity of surface-charged polystyrene nanoplastics to marine planktonic species Dunaliella tertiolecta and Artemia franciscana

Researchers conducted long-term toxicity tests of positively and negatively charged polystyrene nanoparticles on marine microalgae and brine shrimp, finding that surface chemistry was the decisive factor: cationic (amino-modified) nanoparticles caused algal growth inhibition and shrimp mortality at microgram-per-liter concentrations, while anionic (carboxylated) particles accumulated and transferred trophically without acute lethality.

2017 Aquatic Toxicology 412 citations