Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Investigating the desorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from polyethylene microplastics to sediment

Researchers investigated how polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) desorb from polyethylene microplastics under simulated gut conditions, finding that digestive fluids with surfactants significantly enhanced PBDE release, raising concerns about gut-mediated transfer of flame retardants from ingested plastic particles.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Leaching of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from microplastics in fish oil: Kinetics and bioaccumulation

The leaching kinetics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from microplastics into fish oil were characterized to estimate chemical transfer to organism tissues upon ingestion. Leaching rates were contaminant- and polymer-dependent, providing mechanistic data for assessing how ingested microplastics increase exposure to inherent flame retardant additives.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 52 citations
Article Tier 2

How Digestive Processes Can Affect the Bioavailability of PCBs Associated with Microplastics: A Modeling Study Supported by Empirical Data

Researchers used a simulated human digestive model to study whether gut processes change how quickly chemicals like PCBs transfer on and off microplastic particles. They found that digestive enzymes and bile salts significantly accelerated the release of these chemicals from microplastics, suggesting that the human gut environment may increase exposure to plastic-associated pollutants. The study provides new evidence that microplastics could act as carriers that release harmful chemicals more readily during digestion.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Transfer of PCBs from Microplastics under Simulated Gut Fluid Conditions Is Biphasic and Reversible

Researchers developed a chemical exchange model to study how PCBs transfer from ingested microplastics to gut fluids, testing with both low-density polyethylene and PVC. They found that chemical transfer was biphasic, with a fast phase lasting hours and a slower phase extending for weeks, and was fully reversible. Importantly, when clean microplastics were ingested alongside contaminated food, the plastics actually extracted pollutants from the food, demonstrating that the net effect of microplastic ingestion on chemical exposure depends on the relative contamination of plastic versus food.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 175 citations
Article Tier 2

Relative importance of microplastics as a pathway for the transfer of hydrophobic organic chemicals to marine life

Researchers assessed the relative importance of microplastics as a pathway for transferring hydrophobic organic chemicals to marine life. The study suggests that while microplastics can carry high concentrations of contaminants, factors like gut surfactants, pH, and temperature influence desorption rates, and modeling indicates other exposure routes may be more significant in natural environments.

2016 Environmental Pollution 410 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption and release process of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from different composition microplastics in aqueous medium: Solubility parameter approach

This study investigated how four common microplastic types (PET, PP, LDPE, and PS) sorb and release flame retardant chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The type of plastic polymer significantly affects how much of these toxic chemicals it retains, with implications for how much is released when microplastics are ingested by organisms.

2020 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying theEffect of Dietary Microplastics onthe Potential for Biological Uptake of Environmental Contaminantsand Polymer Additives

Researchers modeled how the presence of dietary microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract influences the thermodynamic driving force for diffusion of organic contaminants and polymer additives from the gut lumen into biological tissues, determining whether microplastics act as contaminant vectors or sinks depending on relative contamination levels. The study found that microplastics can either facilitate or inhibit biological uptake of co-ingested contaminants based on the sorptive capacity of the plastic relative to the dietary matrix.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Estimating microplastic-bound intake of hydrophobic organic chemicals by fish using measured desorption rates to artificial gut fluid

Desorption rates of five hydrophobic organic chemicals (HCHs, PeCB, HeCB) from polyethylene microplastics into artificial gut fluid were measured and used in Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the fraction of chemical intake from MP ingestion by fish, finding that MP-mediated intake was less than 1% of total dietary uptake for all compounds. The study provides a quantitative framework for assessing when microplastics are and are not meaningful vectors for chemical contamination in fish.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Measuring the Effect of Dietary Microplastic on Biomagnification Potential of Environmental Contaminants and Plastic Additives

Researchers measured the effect of dietary microplastic ingestion on the biomagnification potential of hydrophobic organic contaminants and plastic additives in the gastrointestinal tract, testing competing hypotheses about whether microplastics increase, decrease, or negligibly affect contaminant uptake.

2024 TSpace
Article Tier 2

Mimicking human ingestion of microplastics: Oral bioaccessibility tests of bisphenol A and phthalate esters under fed and fasted states

Researchers simulated human digestion to measure how much bisphenol A and phthalate esters leach from polyethylene and PVC microplastics under fasting and fed conditions. They found that polar additives like dimethyl phthalate and BPA had the highest bioaccessibility, ranging from 37% to 92%, with greater release from the more flexible LDPE polymer. The study suggests that chemical additives in ingested microplastics can become bioaccessible during human digestion, with release rates depending on the plastic type and additive properties.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Desorption of bisphenol A from microplastics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions

Researchers investigated bisphenol A desorption from three types of microplastics under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, finding that ingested microplastics can release adsorbed BPA during digestion, posing potential health risks.

2023 Frontiers in Marine Science 12 citations
Article Tier 2

An automatic flow-through system for exploration of the human bioaccessibility of endocrine disrupting compounds from microplastics

An automated flow-through system was developed to investigate the bioaccessibility of plastic-borne contaminants in the human gastrointestinal tract using physiologically relevant body fluids. The system measured leaching rates of plastic additives under fasted and fed state conditions, providing the first mechanistic data on how ingested microplastics release chemical contaminants in the human gut.

2021 The Analyst 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Consequential fate of bisphenol-attached PVC microplastics in water and simulated intestinal fluids

Researchers tested how bisphenol-attached PVC microplastics release bisphenols in aquatic and simulated intestinal fluid environments, finding that desorption was faster under gut-like conditions and that released bisphenols were cytotoxic to human intestinal cell lines.

2020 Environmental Science and Ecotechnology 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Study of the scavenger and vector roles of microplastics for polyhalocarbazoles under simulated gastric fluid conditions

Researchers studied the desorption kinetics of polyhalocarbazoles from polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics under simulated gastric conditions for both vertebrates and invertebrates, finding rapid initial release followed by slow ongoing transfer over weeks to months. Smaller microplastic particles and invertebrate digestive conditions enhanced desorption, confirming that microplastics can act as vectors for these halogenated contaminants in the gut.

2022 Environmental Research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to microplastic associated chemicals upon oral consumption of microplastics

This thesis quantified the release of plastic-associated chemical contaminants from microplastics during simulated human digestion, measuring how much of these chemicals actually leach out under stomach and intestinal conditions. The research helps estimate the chemical exposure humans receive when they ingest microplastics through food and water.

2020 Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling
Article Tier 2

Releases of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from microplastics in aqueous medium: Kinetics and molecular-size dependence of diffusion

This study measured the release kinetics of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from microplastics into water, finding that release rates depended on the molecular size of the BFR compound and water temperature. The results suggest that flame retardant-laden microplastics can leach toxic chemicals into aquatic environments, increasing the chemical hazard beyond the physical presence of the particles.

2018 Water Research 183 citations
Article Tier 2

Partitioning of hydrophobic organic contaminants between polymer and lipids for two silicones and low density polyethylene

This study measured how hydrophobic organic contaminants partition between plastic polymers and biological lipids, providing data needed to predict whether microplastic ingestion increases a toxin's bioavailability in living organisms. The findings are important for assessing whether microplastics meaningfully boost pollutant transfer from the environment to marine life.

2017 Chemosphere 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Implications of observed PBDE diffusion coefficients in low density polyethylene and silicone rubber

This study measured how quickly flame retardant chemicals (PBDEs) diffuse through two types of passive sampling polymers — low-density polyethylene and silicone rubber — finding much faster diffusion in silicone. The results inform how passive samplers are designed to monitor chemical pollution in water and are relevant to understanding how microplastics accumulate organic contaminants from their surroundings.

2015 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Leachability of microplastic from different plastic materials

This study tested the leachability of microplastics from several common plastic materials under environmental conditions, finding that plastic type and degradation state influence how readily microplastic particles are released.

2021 Journal of Environmental Management 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Relative importance of aqueous leachate versus particle ingestion as uptake routes for microplastic additives (hexabromocyclododecane) to mussels

This study compared how much chemical contamination in aquatic organisms comes from dissolving chemicals in water versus direct ingestion of microplastic particles. Results indicated that the relative importance of particle ingestion versus aqueous leachate as an uptake route depends on chemical hydrophobicity and microplastic concentrations.

2020 Environmental Pollution 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Shift in Mass Transfer of Wastewater Contaminants from Microplastics in the Presence of Dissolved Substances

Researchers investigated how the mass transfer of wastewater contaminants from microplastics shifts depending on partition coefficients, finding that the controlling mechanism switches between aqueous boundary layer diffusion and intraparticle diffusion based on the hydrophobicity of the contaminant.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology 149 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by microplastics

This study measured sorption of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) onto four types of microplastics under varying temperature, pH, and salinity conditions, finding that sorption capacity differed substantially by polymer type and environmental conditions.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 173 citations
Article Tier 2

Leaching kinetics and bioaccumulation potential of additive-derived organophosphate esters in microplastics

Researchers studied the leaching kinetics of organophosphate ester additives from microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that these flame retardants and plasticizers are released at rates that depend on temperature and water chemistry, with implications for bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms.

2024 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioaccessibility of polypropylene microfiber-associated tetracycline and ciprofloxacin in simulated human gastrointestinal fluids

Researchers tested how antibiotics attached to polypropylene microplastic fibers behave when exposed to simulated human digestive fluids. They found that the antibiotics were released from the microplastics during digestion, with higher release rates in intestinal fluid than in stomach fluid. The study suggests that when people ingest microplastics contaminated with antibiotics, the chemicals can become available for absorption in the gut.

2023 Environment International 22 citations