Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aquatic Environments: A Concise Review of Environmental Impacts and Bioremediation Systems

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs are polluting waterways worldwide because conventional wastewater treatment cannot effectively remove them. The authors focus on bioremediation approaches, especially using fungi, as a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to break down these drug residues. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics can carry pharmaceutical compounds in water, and better water treatment would address both contaminants.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 315 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: A Review on Eco-Toxicology and the Remediation Potential of Algae

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs end up in water through human activity and the damage they cause to aquatic life. Standard wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove these drugs effectively, so researchers are exploring the use of algae as a low-cost, natural cleanup method. While not directly about microplastics, this is relevant because microplastics in water can absorb and transport pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially increasing human exposure.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 229 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutically active micropollutants: origin, hazards and removal

This review summarizes existing research on pharmaceutical pollutants -- such as antibiotics, painkillers, and hormones -- found in water systems around the world. While focused on drug contamination, the paper notes that microplastics can act as carriers for these pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially concentrating them and increasing human exposure through drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods are often unable to fully remove these micropollutants.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 37 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Micro(nano)plastics as a vector of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystem: Historical review and future trends

This systematic review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in water can absorb and carry pharmaceutical drugs, creating a combined pollution threat. When medications attach to tiny plastic particles in rivers and oceans, they may become more harmful to aquatic life and potentially to humans who consume contaminated seafood or water. The research traces how this emerging double-threat has grown since 2018 and identifies key knowledge gaps.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals in Water: Risks to Aquatic Life and Remediation Strategies

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs in waterways threaten aquatic life and potentially human health. The biggest concern is the rise of antibiotic resistance from drugs entering water through household and agricultural waste. While not specifically about microplastics, the topic is connected because microplastics can adsorb and transport pharmaceutical residues through water systems.

2023 Hydrobiology 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: A comprehensive Review of Pathways and Distribution, Toxicological and Ecological

This review examines how pharmaceuticals and microplastics travel through aquatic environments via wastewater, agricultural runoff, and air, and how they affect fish and other aquatic life. Both pollutants build up in the food chain through a process called biomagnification, potentially reaching humans who eat seafood. The authors call for better monitoring and treatment methods to reduce these emerging threats to water quality and public health.

2025 Preprints.org 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable treatment systems for removal of pharmaceutical residues and other priority persistent substances

This review evaluates sustainable wastewater treatment technologies for removing pharmaceutical residues and other micropollutants before treated water is discharged to the environment. Advanced treatment methods are also applicable to improving microplastic removal from wastewater.

2019 Water Science & Technology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic–Pharmaceuticals Interaction in Water Systems

This review examined the interactions between microplastics and pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments, exploring how microplastics act as vectors that concentrate, transport, and potentially enhance the bioavailability and toxicity of drug residues in water.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and micro(nano)plastics in the environment: Sorption and analytical challenges

This review examines how pharmaceutical residues and micro- and nanoplastics interact in water environments, finding that microplastics can adsorb medications and alter their environmental behavior. Factors like plastic type, surface area, and biological film growth all influence these interactions, but very few studies have been conducted under real-world conditions. The authors highlight persistent analytical challenges and the need for field-based research to understand actual risks.

2024 Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: A Comprehensive Review of Pathways and Distribution, Toxicological and Ecological Effects

This review examines how pharmaceuticals and microplastics travel through the environment and accumulate in aquatic food chains, with drug residues found at measurable levels in surface waters and microplastics reaching densities of up to a million particles per cubic meter in some water systems. When aquatic organisms absorb these combined pollutants, the contaminants can biomagnify up the food chain to humans, affecting growth, reproduction, and immune function.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10 citations
Article Tier 2

The Occurrence of Micropollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Technologies for Their Removal

This review summarizes the growing problem of micropollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals, and evaluates advanced treatment methods to remove them. The research is important for human health because conventional water treatment plants cannot effectively filter out these contaminants, meaning people may be regularly exposed through tap water.

2025 Processes 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Treatment of Microplastics from Pharmaceutical Industrial Wastewater

Pharmaceutical manufacturing generates wastewater containing microplastics from plastic equipment, packaging, and processing materials, a source of contamination that surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as drug production ramped up. This review examines the nature of microplastic contamination in pharmaceutical wastewater and evaluates treatment techniques for removing these particles before discharge. Addressing this overlooked industrial source is important for reducing microplastic loads entering water systems from healthcare and pharmaceutical infrastructure.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Determination of the pharmaceuticals–nano/microplastics in aquatic systems by analytical and instrumental methods

Researchers reviewed analytical and instrumental methods for detecting pharmaceutical compounds associated with nano- and microplastic particles in aquatic systems. They examined how pharmaceuticals bind to plastic particles and the combined environmental risks these mixtures pose to water sources and marine life. The study identifies gaps in current detection capabilities and calls for improved methods to assess the combined impact of these co-occurring pollutants.

2022 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Model Study: Collection and Disposal of Waste Medications with Micropollutant Properties in the Ecosystem within the Scope of Zero Waste

This study proposes sustainable approaches for managing waste pharmaceuticals, which are classified as micropollutants that escape conventional wastewater treatment and contaminate drinking water and soil. While focused on drug residues rather than microplastics, the paper addresses the broader challenge of micropollutant removal from water systems.

2019 Erzincan Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Which\nMicropollutants in Water Environments Deserve\nMore Attention Globally?

This review analyzed which organic micropollutants in water environments deserve the most global attention based on their toxicity, occurrence frequency, and persistence. Microplastics are among the contaminants considered, alongside pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that routinely escape conventional water treatment and accumulate in aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Which\nMicropollutants in Water Environments Deserve\nMore Attention Globally?

This review analyzed which organic micropollutants in water environments deserve the most global attention based on their toxicity, occurrence frequency, and persistence. Microplastics are among the contaminants considered, alongside pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals that routinely escape conventional water treatment and accumulate in aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Considerations for the Pharmaceutical Industry Regarding Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Microplastics

This review examines the responsibilities of the pharmaceutical industry in addressing microplastic pollution, discussing sources, environmental fate, and human health impacts of microplastics with attention to how the pharmaceutical sector both contributes to and can mitigate MP contamination. The authors outline mitigation and adaptation actions available to the industry as part of the broader societal response to plastic pollution.

2022 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Selected widely prescribed pharmaceuticals: toxicity of the drugs and the products of their photochemical degradation to aquatic organisms

Researchers reviewed the environmental fate of widely prescribed pharmaceuticals in surface waters, examining both the parent drugs and their photochemical degradation products. The study found that some breakdown products may be more toxic to aquatic organisms than the original drugs, highlighting how pharmaceutical pollution interacts with other contaminants including microplastics in water systems.

2024 Journal of Applied Biomedicine 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between Microplastics and Pharmaceuticals Depending on the Composition of Aquatic Environment

This review examines how aquatic environmental conditions — including dissolved organic matter, salinity, pH, and temperature — influence the adsorption and desorption of pharmaceuticals onto microplastic surfaces, showing that water composition significantly affects the extent to which microplastics act as vectors for drug contaminants.

2022 Microplastics 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Fate of Emerging Organic Micro-Contaminants

This review covers the sources, fate, and toxicity of pharmaceuticals and other organic micropollutants in natural and built environments. It examines how these contaminants, which often co-occur with microplastics, persist in water systems and affect aquatic organisms.

2019
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as vectors of pharmaceuticals in aquatic organisms – An overview of their environmental implications

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as "vectors" for pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic environments, absorbing drugs onto their surfaces and then releasing them inside organisms after ingestion — potentially amplifying the toxicity of pharmaceuticals throughout the food web.

2021 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Issues of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Aquatic Environments: A Review Study

This paper is not primarily about microplastics. It reviews the occurrence and environmental fate of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs like ibuprofen and diclofenac) in aquatic environments, focusing on their incomplete removal by wastewater treatment plants and effects on aquatic organisms. While pharmaceutical pollutants and microplastics are both emerging contaminants in water, this study addresses drug contamination rather than microplastic pollution.

2023 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution Focused on Sources, Distribution, Contaminant Interactions, Analytical Methods, and Wastewater Removal Strategies: A Review

This review examines microplastic pollution across all environmental compartments, covering sources, distribution, contaminant interactions, analytical methods, and wastewater removal strategies. Microplastics act as vectors for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, PCBs, and PAHs, and the review discusses both the analytical challenges of detection and available treatment options.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutical and Microplastic Pollution before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Surface Water, Wastewater, and Groundwater

This review found that pharmaceutical residues and microplastics are widespread contaminants in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater globally, and that the COVID-19 pandemic amplified both types of pollution, with polypropylene and polyethylene being the most commonly detected plastic polymers.

2022 Water 30 citations