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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to From Pristine to Laboratory-weathered Micro- and Nanoplastics: Interaction with Environmental Contaminants and Biological Effects
ClearWeathering pathways and protocols for environmentally relevant microplastics and nanoplastics: What are we missing?
This review highlights a major gap in microplastics research: most lab studies use brand-new, pristine plastic particles, but microplastics in the real world have been weathered by sunlight, water, and biological activity. Weathered microplastics behave differently, releasing more chemicals and interacting with organisms in ways that fresh plastics do not. Only about 10% of published studies have used aged microplastics, meaning current risk assessments may not reflect the true dangers of environmental microplastic exposure.
The wheel of time: The environmental dance of aged micro- and nanoplastics and their biological resonance
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and biological activity. Aged plastics behave differently than fresh ones: they accumulate faster in ecosystems, are more easily taken up by organisms, and can release trapped chemicals as they break down. The findings suggest that the real-world health and environmental risks of microplastics may be greater than lab studies using new, unweathered plastics indicate.
Effects of Weathering on Microplastic Dispersibility and Pollutant Uptake Capacity
This study examined how environmental weathering changes the surface properties of microplastics and their ability to absorb co-pollutants, finding that weathered MPs bind more contaminants than pristine particles due to surface oxidation and cracking. The results emphasize that the environmental fate and toxicity of microplastics change dynamically as they age in the environment.
Chemical reactivity of weathered nanoplastics and their interactions with heavy metals
Researchers examined the chemical reactivity of weathered nanoplastics following abiotic and biotic degradation processes, finding that weathering substantially alters the surface chemistry of nanoplastics and enhances their capacity to interact with and facilitate the transformation of legacy heavy metal contaminants in the environment.
Environmental Implications of Physicochemical Differences Between Environmental Nanoplastics and Their Commercial Forms
Researchers conceptually analyzed physicochemical differences between environmentally aged nanoplastics and their commercial engineered forms, examining how natural aging alters surface properties, environmental stability, and behavior in aquatic media for five types of environmentally relevant nanoplastic models.
Nanoplastics in aquatic environments: The hidden impact of aging on fate and toxicity
This review highlights that most toxicity studies on nanoplastics use brand-new pristine particles, but real-world nanoplastics are aged by sunlight and chemical exposure, which fundamentally changes their surface properties and toxicity. Aged nanoplastics may be more harmful than pristine ones because they interact differently with biological systems, meaning current safety assessments likely underestimate the true risks.
Adsorption Behavior and Interaction of Micro-Nanoplastics in Soils and Aquatic Environment
This review examined how micro- and nanoplastics adsorb environmental pollutants in soil and aquatic environments, acting as vectors that transfer and enhance the bioavailability of contaminants. Aging and weathering processes that alter plastic surface properties were identified as key factors influencing adsorption capacity and pollutant interactions.
Surface functional groups and biofilm formation on microplastics: Environmental implications
This review explains that microplastics in the environment are not the same as freshly made plastic -- weathering and aging change their surface chemistry and allow bacteria to form films on them. These changes make microplastics more toxic and better at absorbing and transporting other pollutants through water and soil. Understanding this transformation is important because it means the microplastics humans encounter are likely more harmful than lab-tested pristine particles suggest.
Effect of weathering on environmental behavior of microplastics: Properties, sorption and potential risks
This review examines how environmental weathering changes the physical and chemical properties of microplastics, affecting their ability to absorb pollutants and their toxicity to organisms. Researchers found that weathered microplastics develop altered surface chemistry, increased surface area, and changed color, all of which influence how they interact with contaminants and are ingested by aquatic life. The study also evaluates the toxic potential of chemical byproducts released during the weathering process itself.
Preparation of Degraded Microplastics That Imitate Surface Properties in the Environment
Researchers developed laboratory methods to prepare degraded microplastics that accurately mimic the surface properties of environmentally weathered particles, filling a gap in toxicology research that often uses pristine plastic beads instead of realistic aged particles. The study characterized how surface chemistry, roughness, and charge of laboratory-degraded microplastics compare to those collected from natural environments.
Laboratory simulation of microplastics weathering and its adsorption behaviors in an aqueous environment: A systematic review
UV photo-oxidation and physical abrasion are the most practical laboratory methods for simulating microplastic weathering; aging increases surface area and oxygen-containing functional groups, altering pollutant adsorption behavior and potentially increasing environmental risks.
Simulated experimental investigation of microplastic weathering in marine environment
Researchers simulated microplastic weathering under marine conditions, finding that exposure to UV light, saltwater, and mechanical abrasion progressively degraded plastic surfaces, increased surface roughness, and enhanced the adsorption capacity of contaminants onto microplastic particles.
Impact of Degradation of Polyethylene Particles on Their Cytotoxicity
Researchers found that degradation of polyethylene particles altered their cytotoxicity, with weathered and fragmented PE showing different toxic effects on cells compared to pristine particles, suggesting environmental aging changes microplastic health risks.
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.
A comprehensive review of microplastic aging: Laboratory simulations, physicochemical properties, adsorption mechanisms, and environmental impacts
This review examines how microplastics change as they age in the environment through exposure to sunlight, water, and chemicals, becoming rougher and more chemically reactive over time. Aged microplastics absorb more pollutants than fresh ones and release harmful additives and free radicals, meaning the microplastics people encounter in the real world may be more dangerous than the pristine particles typically used in lab studies.
Elucidating the effects of naturally weathered aged-polypropylene microplastics and newly procured polypropylene microplastics on raw 264.7 macrophages
Researchers compared the effects of naturally weathered polypropylene microplastics and newly manufactured ones on immune cells called macrophages. They found that both types caused cell toxicity and disrupted normal cellular function, but the weathered particles had distinct effects due to their altered surface chemistry. The study suggests that aging and environmental weathering change how microplastics interact with biological systems.
Materials, surfaces, and interfacial phenomena in nanoplastics toxicology research
This review examines how the materials and surface properties of engineered nanoplastics used in toxicology research may not accurately represent real environmental nanoplastics. Researchers found that surfactants, fluorescent labels, and surface modifications commonly applied to lab-made nanoparticles can alter their toxicological profiles in unpredictable ways. The study calls for greater attention to how particle surface chemistry and preparation methods influence experimental outcomes in nanoplastics safety research.
Towards more realistic reference microplastics and nanoplastics: preparation of polyethylene micro/nanoparticles with a biosurfactant
Polyethylene micro/nanoparticles stabilized with a biosurfactant were prepared as more realistic reference materials for ecotoxicity testing, better representing the surface properties and behavior of environmental microplastics compared to commercial standard materials. The study addresses a key methodological limitation in nanoplastic research by providing particles with environmentally relevant surface chemistry.
Aging Process of Microplastics in the Environment
This review examines how natural environmental processes — UV radiation, physical abrasion, chemical reactions, and biodegradation — alter the surface, shape, and chemistry of microplastics over time, and how these changes affect their ability to absorb and transport other pollutants. Understanding microplastic aging is critical because weathered particles behave differently than fresh plastic, often becoming more hazardous as pollutant carriers in ecosystems.
Recent advances on microplastic aging: Identification, mechanism, influence factors, and additives release
This review found that environmental aging transforms microplastic surface properties through abrasion, chemical oxidation, UV irradiation, and biodegradation, altering their environmental behavior and ecological risk. Aging also triggers the release of toxic plastic additives, but significant gaps remain between laboratory aging simulations and real-world conditions.
Elaborating more realistic model microplastics by simulating polypropylene's environmental ageing
This study developed more realistic model microplastics by simulating the environmental aging of polypropylene, producing laboratory particles with surface chemistry, roughness, and density closer to field-collected environmental microplastics.
Environmental behaviors of microplastics in aquatic systems: A systematic review on degradation, adsorption, toxicity and biofilm under aging conditions
Aging processes like UV irradiation and physical abrasion alter microplastic surface properties, increasing their capacity to adsorb environmental pollutants while also enhancing leaching of toxic additives like phthalates, collectively amplifying the environmental toxicity of weathered microplastics.
Weathering of microplastics and interaction with other coexisting constituents in terrestrial and aquatic environments
This review summarizes how microplastics weather and interact with other environmental constituents in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Researchers found that weathering processes such as UV exposure and microbial activity alter the surface properties of microplastics, increasing their ability to adsorb heavy metals, organic pollutants, and pathogens. The study highlights that weathered microplastics may pose greater environmental risks than pristine particles due to their enhanced capacity to carry contaminants.
Recent advances in toxicological research of nanoplastics in the environment: A review
Researchers systematically reviewed nanoplastic toxicology, finding that surface charge and particle size are the dominant determinants of harm — positively charged and smaller particles penetrate cell membranes more readily — and that adsorbed contaminants released inside organisms often pose greater toxicological risks than the nanoplastic particles themselves.