Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Eco-corona formation and associated ecotoxicological impacts of nanoplastics in the environment

This review examines how nanoplastics interact with natural organic matter in the environment to form an 'eco-corona,' a coating of biomolecules on the particle surface that changes their behavior and toxicity. Researchers found that eco-corona formation alters nanoplastic stability, transport, and biological interactions in ways that can either increase or decrease their harmful effects on organisms. The study highlights the importance of considering these surface transformations when assessing the real-world environmental risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 75 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparative study of microplastics under the influence of soil-typical eco-coronas through laboratory and field incubation experiments

Researchers compared microplastic behavior under laboratory and field incubation conditions when eco-coronas — natural surface coatings of organic matter, proteins, and humic acids — were present on particles, assessing how these coatings modify microplastic hydrophobicity, transport, and toxicity to soil organisms.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The interaction of micro/nano plastics and the environment: Effects of ecological corona on the toxicity to aquatic organisms.

This review examines how the ecological corona — the layer of organic matter, proteins, and microbes that form on micro- and nanoplastic surfaces in water — affects their toxicity to aquatic organisms. The ecological corona can either increase or decrease toxicity depending on its composition, making real-world plastic hazard assessment more complex than laboratory tests with clean particles suggest.

2022 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Understanding the formation and influence of soil-typical eco-coronas on microplastics through laboratory and field incubation experiments

Researchers conducted laboratory and field incubation experiments to characterize eco-corona formation on microplastics in soil, finding that soil-derived organic matter including humic acids, proteins, and carbohydrates forms a coating that alters MP surface properties, transport behavior, and adsorption efficiency in terrestrial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

The Composition of the Eco-corona Acquired by Micro- and Nanoscale Plastics Impacts on their Ecotoxicity and Interactions with Co-pollutants

This review examines how the 'eco-corona' — a layer of environmental biomolecules adsorbing onto plastic particle surfaces — alters the toxicity, transport, and interaction with co-pollutants of micro- and nanoplastics, emphasizing that this biological coating fundamentally changes how plastics behave in living organisms.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

A comparative study of microplastics under the influence of soil-typical eco-coronas through laboratory and field incubation experiments

Researchers compared the formation and properties of soil-typical eco-coronas on microplastics through both laboratory incubation and real-world field experiments, examining how natural organic matter coatings of proteins, carbohydrates, and humic acids alter microplastic surface hydrophobicity and transport behaviour. The study found that eco-corona composition significantly influences how microplastics move through terrestrial environments and interact with soil organisms.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Eco-Corona on Surface Properties of Nanoplastics

When tiny plastic particles in the environment get coated with natural materials from soil and water (called an "eco-corona"), it changes how they behave and move through sand and soil. This coating can make different types of plastics act more similarly to each other, which could affect how they spread through the environment. Understanding how these coated plastic particles move is important because it helps us predict where microplastics might end up in our water and food supply.

2026
Review Tier 2

A critical review on the biological impact of natural organic matter on nanomaterials in the aquatic environment

This review examines how natural organic matter in aquatic environments forms an ecological corona on the surface of nanomaterials, influencing their behavior, toxicity, and environmental fate. Researchers found that eco-corona formation can either increase or decrease the hazards posed by nanomaterials to aquatic organisms, making it a critical factor for environmental risk assessment.

2022 Carbon Research 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil Metabolome Impacts the Formation of the Eco-corona and Adsorption Processes on Microplastic Surfaces

This study found that natural molecules in soil form a coating (called an eco-corona) on microplastic surfaces, which changes how chemicals stick to them. The type and amount of coating depends on the soil's chemical makeup, meaning microplastics behave differently in different soils. This matters because it affects what pollutants microplastics can carry into the food chain and water supply.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Coronas of micro/nano plastics: a key determinant in their risk assessments

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics develop surface coatings called coronas when they interact with biological and environmental substances. These corona layers, formed from proteins, organic matter, and other materials, can significantly change how plastic particles behave in the body and environment, affecting their uptake, distribution, and toxicity. The study suggests that understanding these surface coatings is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of plastic particle exposure.

2022 Particle and Fibre Toxicology 143 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Eco-Corona Formation on Micro/Nanoplastics and Its Effects on Stability, Bioavailability, and Toxicity

When microplastics and nanoplastics enter water, natural substances like humic acid coat their surfaces, forming what scientists call an "eco-corona." This coating changes how the plastic particles behave, including how they clump together and how easily organisms absorb them. Importantly, the eco-corona can actually reduce some of the toxic effects of these plastic particles, such as growth problems and oxidative stress.

2025 Water 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of micro/nanoplastics in the environment: Roles of plastisphere and eco-corona

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics gain biological coatings in the environment: larger microplastics develop a "plastisphere" of microorganisms on their surface, while smaller nanoplastics get wrapped in proteins and organic matter forming an "eco-corona." Both coatings change how toxic the particles are to living organisms and humans. The review highlights that studying plastic particles without these coatings, as most lab experiments do, may underestimate or mischaracterize their real-world health risks.

2023 Soil & Environmental Health 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro/nanoplastics in aquatic organisms

This review examined the ecotoxicological significance of bio-corona formation on micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic organisms, exploring how protein and biomolecule coatings alter the bioavailability, toxicity, and environmental fate of plastic particles.

2023 RSC Advances 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of nanoplastics with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the aquatic environment: A special reference to eco-corona formation and associated impacts

This review examines how nanoplastics in aquatic environments interact with natural biomolecules to form an eco-corona coating that fundamentally changes their behavior and ecological impact. Researchers found that this biological coating alters the surface chemistry, transport, and toxicity of nanoplastic particles in ways that depend on environmental conditions. The study highlights that understanding eco-corona formation is essential for accurately assessing the real-world risks of nanoplastic pollution.

2021 Water Research 204 citations
Article Tier 2

From Root Exudates to Eco-Corona: Mechanisms Shaping Nanoplastic Fate and Plant–Soil Interactions

This research review summarizes how tiny plastic particles in farm soil interact with plant roots and the chemicals plants release into the soil. The study shows that these microscopic plastics can stress plants, change how their roots grow, and affect how plants absorb nutrients - which could impact the safety and quality of our food. Understanding these interactions is important because plastic pollution in agricultural soil is a growing problem that may affect the crops we eat.

2026 International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Tier 2

Interactions between micro(nano)plastics and natural organic matter: implications for toxicity mitigation in aquatic species

This review examines how natural organic matter found in water can reduce the harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic species. Researchers found that natural organic matter forms a coating called an eco-corona on plastic particles, which can decrease their toxicity to organisms like fish and water fleas. The findings suggest that the natural composition of waterways plays an important role in moderating the ecological impact of plastic pollution.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental dimensions of the protein corona

Researchers reviewed how nanomaterials entering natural environments acquire an "eco-corona" — a coating of proteins and other biomolecules that alters how organisms recognize and interact with the particles — and called for targeted research into how this coating changes during food chain transfer and affects ecotoxicity.

2021 Nature Nanotechnology 351 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco-Corona Formation Enhances Cotransport of Nanoplastics and Organic Contaminants in Porous Media

Researchers demonstrated that eco-corona formation, the coating of nanoplastics by environmental macromolecules, significantly enhances the co-transport of nanoplastics and organic contaminants through porous media like soil. The study found that even small amounts of eco-corona on polystyrene nanoplastics promoted the transport of the pollutant 4-nonylphenol, suggesting this natural coating process may accelerate the spread of both nanoplastics and associated contaminants through the environment.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Aggregation of Nanoplastics via Eco-corona Formation and Hetero-Aggregation in Soil Solution

This laboratory study found that soil solution dramatically accelerates the clumping (aggregation) of nanoplastics made from both conventional polyethylene and the biodegradable plastic PBAT, primarily due to the formation of an 'eco-corona' of organic matter and colloids on particle surfaces. Increased aggregation reduces nanoplastic mobility in soil but may also concentrate associated pollutants. Understanding how nanoplastics behave in real soil conditions is essential for predicting their environmental fate and potential uptake by soil organisms and plant roots.

2026 Environmental Science & Technology
Article Tier 2

Biofilm (Eco-Corona) Formation from Microplastics in Freshwater

This review examines eco-corona and biofilm formation on microplastics in freshwater environments, explaining how microbial colonization of plastic surfaces changes their buoyancy, surface chemistry, and biological interactions, with implications for MP transport and ecotoxicity.

2025
Article Tier 2

Mobility of soil-biodegradable nanoplastics in unsaturated porous media affected by protein-corona

Biodegradable plastic mulches used in agriculture can release nanoplastics into soil, and this study shows that a protein corona — a coating of soil proteins — affects how those nanoplastics move through unsaturated soil layers. The finding matters because biodegradable labels do not guarantee that plastic particles stay put; they can still migrate toward groundwater depending on soil chemistry.

2024 Environmental Science Nano 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro and nano-plastics on environmental health: a review on future thrust in agro-ecotoxicology management

This review examines the growing body of evidence on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect plant health, soil microbial communities, and agricultural productivity. The study highlights that plastic accumulation in agricultural soils can alter crop growth and yield while disrupting soil ecosystem dynamics, and calls for greater attention to agro-ecotoxicology management to address these emerging threats to food production.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco-corona formation lessens the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics towards marine microalgae Chlorella sp.

Researchers studied how eco-corona formation, the adsorption of algal exudates onto nanoplastic surfaces, affects the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the marine microalga Chlorella sp. The study found that eco-corona formation reduced the toxic effects of nanoplastics, suggesting that natural organic matter in marine environments may partially mitigate nanoplastic toxicity to algae.

2020 Environmental Research 131 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and Protein Corona - Investigating the Corona Structure and their Biological Impacts

This PhD thesis investigated how proteins from biological fluids coat the surface of nanoplastics, forming a 'protein corona' that changes how nanoplastics interact with cells and tissues. The protein corona is important because it alters the biological behavior of nanoplastics once they enter the body, potentially affecting how harmful they are.

2021 ResearchSPAce (Bath Spa University)