Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Combating antimicrobial resistance: the silent war

This review examines the growing global crisis of antimicrobial resistance, where bacteria become immune to antibiotics due to overuse in medicine and agriculture. Although focused on drug resistance, the paper is relevant to microplastic research because microplastics have been shown to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and facilitate the transfer of resistance genes in the environment, potentially making this public health crisis worse.

2024 Frontiers in Pharmacology 35 citations
Article Tier 2

On the Generation, Impact and Removal of Antibiotic Resistance in the Water Environment

This review explains how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads through water environments — including rivers, groundwater, and wastewater. The findings are relevant to microplastics because plastic particles in water are known to accumulate antibiotic-resistant bacteria, potentially accelerating the spread of drug resistance through aquatic systems.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Role of the Environment (Water, Air, Soil) in the Emergence and Dissemination of Antimicrobial Resistance: A One Health Perspective

This review examines how water, soil, and air act as reservoirs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with microplastics highlighted as one of several agents that help spread drug-resistant genes across environments. The findings matter for human health because microplastics can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria from wastewater and agricultural runoff into water supplies and food systems.

2025 Antibiotics 16 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

The Plastisphere Resistome: A Systematic Review of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Resistant Bacteria on Microplastics

This systematic review examines whether microplastic-associated biofilms harbor higher levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria compared to surrounding environments. If microplastics act as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes, they could spread drug-resistant bacteria through water systems, posing a serious concern for human health and the effectiveness of antibiotics.

2026 Open Science Framework
Article Tier 2

The Role of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance: Source, Measurement, Removal and Risk Assessment

This review examines how wastewater treatment plants handle antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their resistance genes, finding that current treatment processes do not fully remove them. Different levels of treatment show varying removal rates, and resistant bacteria can still be found in treated water released into the environment. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because microplastics in wastewater can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria into waterways.

2024 Antibiotics 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Determining the Contribution of Micro/Nanoplastics to Antimicrobial Resistance: Challenges and Perspectives

This review examines how microplastics in the environment serve as surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can grow and exchange resistance genes, potentially worsening the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. Researchers found that the unique surface properties of micro- and nanoplastics create favorable conditions for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among microorganisms. The study highlights that microplastic pollution and antibiotic resistance are interconnected environmental health challenges that may need to be addressed together.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the Interplay between Antimicrobial Resistance, Microplastics and Xenobiotic Contaminants: A Leap towards One Health?

This review examines the interplay between antimicrobial resistance, microplastics, and xenobiotic contaminants in the environment, highlighting how microplastics can serve as vectors for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes, posing combined threats to ecosystem and human health.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Dissemination Of Antibiotic Resistance Via Wastewater And Surface Water

This review examined how antibiotic-resistant bacteria spread through wastewater and surface water, noting that microplastics in wastewater can carry resistant bacteria into the environment. Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health crisis, and plastic pollution is one pathway accelerating its spread in waterways.

2021 Research Repository (Delft University of Technology)
Article Tier 2

The nexus of microplastics, food and antimicrobial resistance in the context of aquatic environment: Interdisciplinary linkages of pathways

This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces where bacteria can grow, share antibiotic resistance genes, and then enter the food chain through contaminated seafood. The combination of microplastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance creates a compounding threat, as resistant bacteria riding on plastic particles can survive water treatment and reach humans. The authors call for interdisciplinary research connecting environmental science and public health to address this growing risk.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistant bacteria colonising microplastics in the aquatic environment: An emerging challenge

Researchers reviewed how microplastics in aquatic environments act as surfaces where antibiotic-resistant bacteria can grow and swap resistance genes with each other, raising concern that contaminated seafood and water could transfer these hard-to-treat bacteria to humans.

2024 Discover Sustainability 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview

Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: Hidden drivers of antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems

This review examines how microplastics in aquatic environments serve as surfaces for biofilm formation, creating what researchers call the 'plastisphere,' which can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens. Evidence indicates that microplastics facilitate the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes through water systems, potentially affecting both aquatic organisms and human health. The findings underscore microplastics as an overlooked driver of antibiotic resistance in waterways.

2025 NanoImpact 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Unseen Weapons: Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles and the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in Aquatic Environments

This review explores how bacteria in water environments spread antibiotic resistance through tiny packages called extracellular vesicles, which can carry resistance genes between bacteria. The paper discusses how antibiotic use in aquaculture, agricultural runoff, and industrial waste accelerate this problem. While focused on antibiotic resistance rather than microplastics directly, the research is relevant because microplastics in water can serve as surfaces where resistant bacteria thrive and exchange genes.

2024 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 36 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics and nanoplastics shape antibiotic resistance?

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics act as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes, facilitating their spread through environmental and biological systems by creating selective pressure and hosting microbial communities that exchange resistance determinants.

2022 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

The Microplastic-Antibiotic Resistance Connection

This review examined the link between microplastic pollution and antibiotic resistance, finding that microplastic surfaces in the environment selectively enrich antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes, creating hotspots that may amplify the spread of resistance far beyond clinical settings.

2021 Environmental contamination remediation and management 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance: The Magnitude of the Problem and the Emerging Role of Hospital Wastewater

This review examines how microplastics in water can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and spread resistance genes, especially through hospital wastewater. Microplastics provide a surface where bacteria easily form colonies and share resistance genes, creating a potential threat to human health. The authors call for better wastewater management to reduce this emerging risk.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic Resistance: Moving From Individual Health Norms to Social Norms in One Health and Global Health

This review argues that antibiotic resistance should be understood as a global pandemic requiring coordinated One Health and Global Health approaches, rather than just an individual patient concern. Researchers explain how resistant bacteria and resistance genes spread across humans, animals, food systems, water, and natural environments including those contaminated with microplastics. The study advocates for social norms and socioeconomic frameworks that address antibiotic resistance within the broader context of environmental sustainability.

2020 Frontiers in Microbiology 130 citations
Article Tier 2

Are microplastic particles a hotspot for the spread and the persistence of antibiotic resistance in aquatic systems?

This review explores whether microplastic particles in water could serve as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers found that microplastics host a unique microbial biofilm called the "plastisphere" that differs from surrounding water communities and may promote the survival and spread of resistant organisms. The study suggests that microplastics could act as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes, posing a potential threat to both environmental and human health.

2021 Environmental Pollution 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-associated pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in environment

This review examines how microplastics in the environment act as surfaces for disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic-resistant microbes to colonize and spread. Researchers found that microplastics can carry pathogens and facilitate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria in water systems. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution may be contributing to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.

2021 Chemosphere 175 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics are a hotspot for antibiotic resistance genes: Progress and perspective

This review examines growing evidence that microplastics serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. Researchers found that microplastics selectively accumulate antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes on their surfaces across wastewater, aquatic, and terrestrial environments. The dense bacterial communities and concentrated pollutants on microplastic surfaces create favorable conditions for the spread and evolution of antibiotic resistance, raising concerns about potential risks to human health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 244 citations