Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Global warming and nanoplastic toxicity; small temperature increases can make gill and liver toxicity more dramatic, which affects fillet quality caused by polystyrene nanoplastics in the adult zebrafish model

Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene nanoplastics at slightly elevated water temperatures and found that warming made gill and liver damage significantly worse. The combined stress of nanoplastics and higher temperatures caused more severe tissue changes and reduced fillet quality. This study suggests that as global temperatures rise, the harmful effects of nanoplastic pollution on fish and seafood quality could intensify.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Each temperature degree counts: warming enhances polystyrene nanoplastic toxicity via metabolic disruption in a marine cellular model

This study examined how elevated water temperatures — simulating marine heatwaves — amplify the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in marine cells, finding that warming enhanced metabolic disruption caused by nanoplastics. The results suggest climate change and plastic pollution interact synergistically to harm marine organisms.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Synergistic toxic effects of polyvinyl chloride nano-plastics and the anticipated global temperature rise in Nile tilapia

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nano-plastics) become much more harmful to fish when combined with warmer water temperatures like those expected from climate change. The plastic and heat together damaged the fish's blood, brain function, and DNA more severely than either threat alone. This matters because humans also consume fish and are exposed to nano-plastics, suggesting we could face similar health risks as our planet warms and plastic pollution increases.

2026 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Elevated temperature decreases cardiovascular toxicity of nanoplastics but adds to their lethality: A case study during zebrafish (Danio rerio) development

Researchers studied nanoplastic toxicity in developing zebrafish at different temperatures and found that while warmer water reduced cardiovascular defects, it actually increased overall mortality. Multi-omic analysis revealed that temperature shifted the type of damage nanoplastics caused, trading heart problems for more systemic lethal effects. This finding complicates predictions about nanoplastic risks under climate change scenarios.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Global warming enhances nanoplastics toxicity: Insights into body shrinkage and energy deficit

Researchers studied how warming temperatures affect the toxicity of nanoplastics in water fleas over three generations. They found that elevated temperatures significantly worsened the harmful effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on growth, reproduction, and behavior. The underlying mechanism involved disruption of the animals' chitin-based exoskeleton development and energy metabolism, suggesting that climate change may amplify the ecological risks posed by nanoplastic pollution.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Plastic Particles Result in Adverse Outcomes for Hyalella azteca When Exposed at Elevated Temperatures

Experiments with the amphipod Hyalella azteca showed that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics caused greater adverse effects at elevated water temperatures, suggesting that climate warming could amplify the ecotoxicological impacts of plastic pollution.

2024 Water
Article Tier 2

Adverse effects of polystyrene nanoplastic and its binary mixtures with nonylphenol on zebrafish nervous system: From oxidative stress to impaired neurotransmitter system

Researchers investigated the individual and combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the industrial chemical nonylphenol on the zebrafish nervous system over 45 days. Both substances induced oxidative stress and disrupted neurotransmitter systems, with combined exposure generally producing more severe effects on glutamate metabolism and brain tissue damage. The study suggests that the interaction between nanoplastics and co-occurring environmental pollutants can amplify neurotoxic effects in fish.

2022 Environmental Pollution 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics impact the bioenergetics of developing zebrafish and limit molecular and physiological adaptive responses to acute temperature stress

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics affect developing zebrafish under heat stress conditions and found that the combination impairs energy production at the cellular level. While nanoplastics alone did not visibly alter development, they reduced mitochondrial efficiency and limited the fish's ability to adapt to rising temperatures. The findings suggest that nanoplastic pollution could make aquatic organisms more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced neurotoxic effect of PCB-153 when co-exposed with polystyrene nanoplastics in zebrafish larvae

Researchers found that when zebrafish larvae were exposed to both polystyrene nanoplastics and the toxic chemical PCB-153 together, the neurological damage was significantly worse than from either pollutant alone. The combined exposure caused hyperactive swimming behavior and suppressed immune, brain, and detoxification pathways at the genetic level. This is concerning because nanoplastics and persistent organic pollutants frequently co-exist in the environment, meaning their real-world health effects on aquatic life and humans may be greater than studies of single pollutants suggest.

2024 Chemosphere 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced uptake of BPA in the presence of nanoplastics can lead to neurotoxic effects in adult zebrafish

Researchers found that nanoplastics amplify bisphenol A (BPA) accumulation in zebrafish tissues by 2- to 2.6-fold and that co-exposure enhances neurotoxic effects — including myelin disruption and dopaminergic system changes — beyond what either contaminant causes alone.

2017 The Science of The Total Environment 446 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive neurotoxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics and butyl methoxydibenzoyl methane on early zebrafish embryos

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics and the UV sunscreen chemical BM-DBM interact synergistically to cause neurotoxicity in zebrafish at environmentally relevant concentrations, disrupting nervous system development and gene expression more severely in combination than either pollutant alone.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Environmental Concentrations of Nanoplastics on Zebrafish Neurobehavior and Reproductive Toxicity

Researchers exposed zebrafish to environmentally realistic levels of polystyrene nanoplastics and found they caused both brain and reproductive damage. The nanoplastics disrupted neurotransmitter signaling and impaired the hormonal pathway connecting the brain to reproductive organs, with different effects in males and females. These findings suggest that even low-level nanoplastic exposure could affect both brain function and fertility in aquatic life that humans may consume.

2024 Toxics 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure from individual to populational levels of a benthic copepod

This study assessed the combined effects of global warming and microplastic exposure on freshwater and marine organisms across individual and population levels, examining how climate and plastic pollution interact as co-occurring stressors. Results showed that warming conditions modified microplastic toxicity in ways that suggest climate change will alter the ecological risk of plastic pollution in aquatic systems.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis reveals temperature increase exacerbates microplastic toxicity in freshwater invertebrates

This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to show that rising temperatures make microplastics more toxic to freshwater invertebrates. The combined stress of warming water and plastic pollution caused greater harm to growth, reproduction, and survival than either stressor alone, suggesting that climate change will worsen the ecological and health impacts of microplastic contamination.

2025 Environmental Sciences Europe 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics Cause Neurobehavioral Impairments, Reproductive and Oxidative Damages, and Biomarker Responses in Zebrafish: Throwing up Alarms of Wide Spread Health Risk of Exposure

Researchers exposed adult zebrafish to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that the particles accumulated in the brain, liver, intestine, and gonads, causing significant behavioral and physiological changes. The fish showed disrupted energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and altered locomotion, aggression, and predator avoidance behaviors. The findings raise concerns about the widespread health risks of nanoplastic exposure, as these particles are small enough to cross biological membranes.

2020 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 410 citations
Article Tier 2

Photoaged polystyrene microplastics result in neurotoxicity associated with neurotransmission and neurodevelopment in zebrafish larvae (Danio rerio)

This study found that sunlight-aged microplastics are more toxic to zebrafish brains than fresh ones, disrupting nerve signaling chemicals and motor neuron development at very low concentrations. The findings are important because most microplastics in the environment have been weathered by sunlight, meaning their real-world neurotoxic effects may be worse than laboratory tests using fresh plastics would suggest.

2024 Environmental Research 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Adverse adult-onset and multigenerational effects in zebrafish (Danio rerio) developmentally exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers raised zebrafish exposed to nanoplastics during early development through to adulthood and found lasting reproductive impairment, heritable hyperactivity in offspring, and molecular changes in male reproductive and brain tissue linked to neurodegenerative disease pathways and endocrine disruption, demonstrating that brief developmental nanoplastic exposure can cause multigenerational harm.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics enhance the toxicological effects of DDE in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics enhanced the toxicity of the pesticide metabolite DDE in zebrafish larvae, with co-exposure causing greater developmental abnormalities and oxidative stress than either pollutant alone.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 38 citations
Article Tier 2

The Trojan horse effect of nanoplastics exacerbates methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity during zebrafish development

This zebrafish study showed that 250 nm polystyrene nanoplastics can act as a Trojan horse by enhancing methylmercury accumulation and directing it toward the head and eyes of larvae over 30 days. Combined exposure worsened behavioral impairment and developmental defects beyond what either contaminant caused alone.

2025 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic contamination: Impact on zebrafish liver metabolism and implications for aquatic environmental health

Zebrafish exposed to polystyrene nanoparticles for 28 days showed significant disruptions in liver metabolism, including altered fat processing, signs of inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. Notably, at lower doses the liver's detox enzymes appeared to break down the nanoplastics themselves, while higher doses overwhelmed these defenses and caused more severe injury.

2024 Environment International 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of nanoplastics and elevated temperature in the freshwater water flea Daphnia magna

This study found that polystyrene nanoplastics became more toxic to water fleas (Daphnia magna) at higher temperatures, causing more oxidative stress and a greater drop in reproduction. Warmer conditions increased how much plastic the organisms absorbed and accumulated. The findings suggest that as global temperatures rise, the harmful effects of nanoplastic pollution on aquatic life could get worse, potentially affecting species that are important food sources for fish.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Swim in Plastics:Clean Nanoplastics Cause MinimalMortality but Alter Neurobehavioral and Molecular Rhythms in Fish

Researchers exposed zebrafish embryos and larvae to three types of polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface charges (plain, amino-modified, carboxyl-modified) and tracked biodistribution and developmental effects. Up to 10 ppm exposure caused minimal mortality but disrupted swim bladder inflation and affected neurological pathways including circadian rhythm genes, with surface charge determining tissue distribution.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Joint effects of micro-sized polystyrene and chlorpyrifos on zebrafish based on multiple endpoints and gut microbial effects

Researchers found that micro-sized polystyrene particles accumulated in zebrafish gut and liver, causing oxidative stress and gut microbiome disruption, and that co-exposure with chlorpyrifos pesticide amplified toxic effects at the individual level.

2022 Journal of Environmental Sciences 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined neurotoxicity of aged microplastics and thiamethoxam in the early developmental stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

This study found that aged (weathered) microplastics combined with the insecticide thiamethoxam caused worse neurological damage to zebrafish larvae than either pollutant alone. The combined exposure reduced heart rate and movement, disrupted antioxidant defenses, and altered neurotransmitter levels in ways that were synergistic rather than simply additive. This is relevant to human health because both microplastics and pesticides are common in the environment, and their combined effects may pose greater risks than either one individually.

2024 Environmental Pollution 14 citations