Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

(Bio)monitoring of pharmaceuticals in the Mediterranean aquatic environment and interactive effect with microplastics. Insights from field and laboratory studies

This biomonitoring study surveyed the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in Mediterranean aquatic environments, measuring concentrations in water, sediment, and biota across multiple sampling sites. Several drugs were detected at levels of potential concern for aquatic organisms.

2024 Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya)
Article Tier 2

Persian Gulf Bivalves: Bioactive Pharmaceutical Compounds and Biomedical Applications

This review covers the bioactive compounds found in bivalves from the Persian Gulf and their potential pharmaceutical and medical applications. Bivalves are relevant to microplastic research because they filter large volumes of water and accumulate microplastics and associated chemicals in their tissues. This paper focuses on medicinal compounds rather than contamination.

2021 Iranian South Medical Journal
Article Tier 2

Marine Ecological Well-Being and the Development of Human Health Through Marine Natural Products and Nutraceuticals

This review examines the balance between marine ecological health and the development of nutraceuticals and functional foods from ocean species. The study discusses how pollution including microplastics threatens marine ecosystems while also covering the bioactive compounds from marine organisms that show potential antioxidant, cardio-protective, and neuroprotective properties.

2026 MarineMedicine
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Impact of Contaminants of Emerging Concern on Fish and Invertebrates Physiology in the Mediterranean Sea

This study examines how emerging pollutants including pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, pesticides, and microplastics affect marine organisms in the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers used catsharks and mussels as indicator species to measure contamination levels and biological effects. The findings are relevant to human health because contaminated seafood from the Mediterranean is widely consumed across Europe.

2023 Biology 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the silent threats of pharmaceutical contaminants in indian seas: Monitoring, biological impact, and sustainable mitigation.

This review examined pharmaceutical contaminants in Indian seas, synthesizing evidence on their sources, pathways, occurrence, and biological impacts on marine biodiversity and ecosystem stability. It highlighted pharmaceutical pollution as a critical yet underexplored dimension of coastal marine pollution in India.

2025 Chemosphere
Article Tier 2

From Ocean to Medicine: Harnessing Seaweed’s Potential for Drug Development

This review explores how compounds derived from seaweed show promise for drug development, with properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activity. While not directly about microplastics, marine-derived bioactive compounds could be relevant to addressing the inflammation and oxidative stress that microplastic exposure is known to cause in the body.

2024 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential Effects of Persistent Organic Contaminants on Marine Biota: A Review on Recent Research

This review examined the effects of persistent organic contaminants including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs on marine biota, synthesizing evidence of direct and indirect ecological impacts across multiple chemical classes.

2021 Water 48 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Functional and Clinical Endocrine Exposure to Human Health. Systematic Review.

This systematic review summarizes research on microplastics found in fish and seafood from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, focusing on potential hormonal and health effects in humans. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in popular seafood species may expose consumers to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which could interfere with hormones and overall health.

2024 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Can Phthalates Be Considered as Microplastic Tracers in the Mediterranean Marine Environment?

This study assessed whether phthalate plasticizers could serve as tracers for microplastic pollution in Mediterranean coastal waters, examining their occurrence, distribution, and interactions with the marine environment in one of the world's plastic pollution hotspots.

2024 Environments 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Risk assessment of plastic pollution on marine diversity in the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers modeled plastic ingestion risk for 84 Mediterranean species across six taxonomic classes, finding that coastal species face the highest risk and that species with larger home ranges encounter plastic over greater distances — identifying spatial hotspots that could guide conservation priorities.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Mapping microplastic overlap between marine compartments and biodiversity in a Mediterranean marine protected area

Researchers mapped microplastic distribution across water, sediment, and biota in a Mediterranean marine protected area, revealing significant overlap between microplastic hotspots and biodiversity-rich zones, raising concerns about ecological impacts in supposedly protected habitats.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Mediterranean Marine Mammals: Possible Future Trends and Threats Due to Mercury Contamination and Interaction with Other Environmental Stressors

Researchers reviewed the combined threats facing Mediterranean marine mammals from mercury contamination and its interaction with other environmental stressors including microplastics and climate change. They found that despite reduced emissions, Mediterranean cetaceans still carry among the highest pollutant burdens globally, with climate change potentially altering mercury bioavailability. The study highlights how multiple stressors may compound to threaten marine mammal populations in this sensitive region.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

An assessment of the concentration of pharmaceuticals adsorbed on microplastics

This study developed and validated an analytical method to measure pharmaceutical compounds adsorbed onto microplastic particles in marine water samples. Microplastics can concentrate pharmaceuticals from water and carry them through marine food chains, potentially delivering drug compounds to fish and other organisms at elevated concentrations.

2020 Chemosphere 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Evolution of the Distribution and Dynamic of Microplastic in Water and Biota: A Study Case From the Gulf of Gabes (Southern Mediterranean Sea)

Researchers found microplastics in all surface water samples and in the digestive tracts of multiple commercially important marine species in the Gulf of Gabes, Southern Mediterranean, revealing widespread contamination in a previously understudied region.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of ecotoxicological effects of small microplastics on Mediterranean corals.

Researchers investigated the ecotoxicological effects of micro- and nano-plastics on Mediterranean gorgonian corals using field-representative polymer compositions and concentrations, with particular focus on energy allocation to metabolism, growth, and reproduction, as well as transgenerational impacts. The study addressed a gap in tropical-dominated coral microplastics research by examining temperate Mediterranean species.

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

Compounds of Marine Origin with Possible Applications as Healing Agents

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it reviews bioactive compounds from marine organisms and their potential applications in wound healing and cosmetic formulations, with no focus on plastic contamination.

2024 Marine Drugs 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Relationship between biological, ecological parameters and microplastic concentration in Mediterranean fish species

Researchers detected and characterized microplastics in five commercially important Mediterranean fish species -- including Mullus barbatus, Sardina pilchardus, and Trachinus draco -- and analyzed how biological parameters (length, weight) and ecological factors (diet, habitat) influenced microplastic contamination levels across species.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Assessing microplastic ingestion and occurrence of bisphenols and phthalates in bivalves, fish and holothurians from a Mediterranean marine protected area

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination and plastic-related chemicals in bivalves, fish, and sea cucumbers from a Mediterranean marine protected area. Sea cucumbers that feed on sediment contained the most microplastics, while bivalves accumulated the highest levels of chemical plasticizers like bisphenols and phthalates. The study shows that even organisms in protected marine areas are exposed to significant microplastic and plasticizer contamination.

2022 Environmental Research 117 citations
Article Tier 2

Implications for the seafood industry, consumers and the environment arising from contamination of shellfish with pharmaceuticals, plastics and potentially toxic elements: A case study from Irish waters with a global orientation

Researchers assessed contamination of Irish shellfish with pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and potentially toxic elements, highlighting implications for seafood safety, consumer health, and the need for improved monitoring in shellfish-producing waters.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in the Mediterranean marine environment: a combined bibliometric and systematic analysis to identify current trends and challenges

This systematic review analyzes microplastic research trends in the Mediterranean Sea region, where contamination levels are a growing concern. The study identifies key research areas and gaps in understanding how microplastics in this semi-enclosed sea affect marine life and could impact the health of the millions of people living along its coasts.

2022 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacto ambiental de productos dermatológicos: Una revisión sistemática sobre ecofarmacovigilancia.

Not relevant to microplastics — this Spanish-language systematic review examines the environmental impact of dermatological pharmaceutical products from an eco-pharmacovigilance perspective, focusing on how active drug compounds enter and affect ecosystems rather than microplastics specifically.

2026 ASCE MAGAZINE
Article Tier 2

Bioindicators for monitoring marine litter ingestion and its impacts on Mediterranean biodiversity

Researchers reviewed existing knowledge of marine litter ingestion impacts on Mediterranean biodiversity and proposed a new integrated monitoring framework using bioindicator species, identifying major knowledge gaps in understudied habitats and sub-regions while outlining a threefold approach to simultaneously measure plastic presence and its sub-lethal effects on organisms.

2017 Environmental Pollution 338 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodiversity at risk in the SPAMI Pelagos Sanctuary: The impact of marine litter on biota

Researchers surveyed 23 species in the Mediterranean's Pelagos Sanctuary and found that marine litter, including microplastics, poses widespread risks to biodiversity from small invertebrates to whales. They detected microplastics and plastic additives in the tissues of stranded marine animals and commercially fished species. The study highlights how microplastic contamination in marine protected areas can affect seafood safety and the health of ecosystems that coastal communities depend on.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Cellular and oxidative stress responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis to chlorpromazine: implications of an antipsychotic drug exposure study

This study examined how the antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine affects Mediterranean mussels, finding that it reduced cell survival and disrupted antioxidant defenses even at very low concentrations found in the environment. While focused on pharmaceutical pollution rather than microplastics, the research is relevant because mussels are filter-feeders that also concentrate microplastics, and the combined exposure to drugs and plastics may compound toxic effects. The study highlights how multiple pollutants in marine environments can together threaten the safety of shellfish consumed by humans.

2023 Frontiers in Physiology 34 citations