Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Distinct bacterial communities and resistance genes enriched by triclocarban-contaminated polyethylene microplastics in antibiotics and heavy metals polluted sewage environment

Researchers investigated how triclocarban contamination on polyethylene microplastics affects bacterial biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) profiles in sewage contaminated with antibiotics and heavy metals. Triclocarban-contaminated microplastics hosted more potential pathogens and resistant bacteria and promoted higher ARG abundance in both biofilms and surrounding water compared to clean microplastics.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents

Researchers studied antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in biofilms on microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The study found that microplastic biofilms accumulated antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Bacillus, and that these biofilms harbored higher concentrations of resistance genes compared to surrounding water, suggesting microplastics may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Early and differential bacterial colonization on microplastics deployed into the effluents of wastewater treatment plants

Researchers deployed seven types of microplastic materials into the effluents of two wastewater treatment plants and characterised bacterial communities colonising them after an early biofilm formation period using 16S rRNA sequencing. They found significantly higher bacterial diversity on microplastics than in the surrounding free-living water, and detected elevated antibiotic resistance genes (sulI, tetM) on microplastic surfaces, suggesting that WWTP effluents seed microplastics with pathogen- and resistance gene-carrying biofilms.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Selective enrichment of antibiotic resistome and bacterial pathogens by aquatic microplastics

This review found that microplastics in aquatic environments selectively enrich antibiotic-resistant bacteria, resistance genes, and bacterial pathogens in their biofilms, making plastic debris a potential vector for spreading antimicrobial resistance.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastisphere enrich antibiotic resistance genes and potential pathogenic bacteria in sewage with pharmaceuticals

Researchers investigated how tetracycline, ampicillin, and triclosan affected antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities on PVC and PE biofilms in sewage, finding that MPs enriched multidrug resistance genes and mobile genetic elements, with PE promoting greater microbial attachment than PVC.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 126 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced propagation of intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes in municipal wastewater by microplastics

Researchers investigated how microplastics in municipal wastewater can carry and promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, including those found both inside and outside bacterial cells. They found that microplastics adsorbed both types of resistance genes and enhanced their transfer between bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. The study reveals that microplastics in wastewater systems may act as an underappreciated accelerator of antibiotic resistance spread.

2021 Environmental Pollution 102 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters

Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.

2021 Water Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics can selectively enrich intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistant genes and shape different microbial communities in aquatic systems

Researchers examined how microplastics of different types selectively capture antibiotic resistance genes and shape microbial communities in aquatic systems. They found that microplastics enriched both intracellular and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes, with the enrichment patterns varying by plastic type. The study suggests that microplastics may serve as hotspots for the spread of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater and natural water environments.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 47 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastisphere may induce the enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes on microplastics in aquatic environments: A review

This first meta-analysis of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) enrichment on microplastics found that ARGs were more abundant on microplastic surfaces than on inorganic substrates or in surrounding water, but less abundant than on natural organic substrates. Freshwater microplastics showed a higher degree of ARG enrichment than those in saline water or sewage.

2022 Environmental Pollution 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics and their interaction with antibiotics in wastewater

Researchers characterized microplastics in wastewater and investigated their interactions with antibiotics, examining how microplastic surfaces adsorb antibiotic compounds and the implications for antibiotic transport and dissemination in wastewater treatment systems.

2025 e_Buah
Article Tier 2

Wastewater discharges and polymer type modulate the riverine plastisphere and set the role of microplastics as vectors of pathogens and antibiotic resistance

Researchers investigated how wastewater treatment plant discharges and polymer type shape microbial communities on microplastics in a river environment. They found that microplastics harbored significantly higher microbial diversity than surrounding water, and that wastewater discharges led to a 2.3-fold increase in antibiotic resistance gene abundance on the plastic surfaces. Different polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, and PET, each attracted distinct microbial communities with varying levels of pathogens and resistance genes.

2025 Journal of Water Process Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Fates of extracellular and intracellular antibiotic resistance genes in activated sludge and plastisphere under sulfadiazine pressure

Researchers found that microplastics in wastewater treatment systems act as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes, with the plastic surfaces (plastisphere) harboring more resistance genes than the surrounding sludge. When exposed to the antibiotic sulfadiazine, the spread of resistance genes on microplastic surfaces increased, and DNA from potential pathogens was detected. This suggests that microplastics leaving wastewater treatment plants could carry drug-resistant bacteria into waterways, posing a risk to public health.

2023 Water Research 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Emerging Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Biofilm of Microplastics Incubated Under a Wastewater Discharge Simulation

Researchers incubated common plastic types in flowing water that simulated wastewater discharge conditions for 10 weeks and studied the bacteria that colonized the plastic surfaces. They found that microplastics exposed to treated wastewater developed distinct bacterial communities compared to those in clean river water, including emerging pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. The study suggests that microplastics in waterways receiving wastewater may serve as mobile platforms for spreading harmful bacteria and antibiotic resistance in the environment.

2025 Environmental Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics and benzylalkyldimethylethyl compounds on system performance, microbial community and resistance genes in sulfur autotrophic denitrification system

Researchers found that PVC microplastics and a common disinfectant chemical in wastewater treatment systems promoted the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, with the disinfectant having an even stronger effect than the microplastics. The microplastic surfaces harbored disease-causing bacteria that carried these resistance genes. This is concerning because wastewater treatment plants could be releasing both microplastics and antibiotic-resistant pathogens into waterways, potentially threatening human health.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine plastisphere selectively enriches microbial assemblages and antibiotic resistance genes during long-term cultivation periods

Researchers placed four types of common microplastics in a marine environment for over 100 days and found that bacterial communities and antibiotic resistance genes accumulated on the plastic surfaces over time. PVC microplastics were particularly effective at concentrating resistance genes, and a key gene-transfer element was found on all plastic types. These results show that microplastics floating in the ocean act as hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could eventually reach humans through seafood or water.

2024 Environmental Pollution 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of ciprofloxacin on bacterial abundance and enrichments in samples taken from the sea surface microlayer and underlying waters in the southern North Sea

The antibiotic ciprofloxacin was found to alter bacterial community composition and promote the enrichment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic-associated biofilms. The results suggest that microplastics coated with antibiotics act as incubators for antibiotic resistance in aquatic environments.

2025 Frontiers in Microbiology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview

Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic-driven shifts in bacterial dynamics of the polyethylene terephthalate and low density polyethylene plastisphere in wastewater treatment systems

Researchers studied how antibiotic exposure shifts the bacterial communities colonizing PET and LDPE microplastic surfaces in activated sludge from wastewater treatment plants, finding that antibiotics altered plastisphere microbial composition and increased antibiotic resistance gene prevalence.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Do microplastic biofilms promote the evolution and co-selection of antibiotic and metal resistance genes and their associations with bacterial communities under antibiotic and metal pressures?

Researchers investigated whether microplastic biofilms promote the evolution and co-selection of antibiotic and metal resistance genes compared to natural substrates, examining how combined antibiotic and metal pressures shape resistant bacterial communities on plastic surfaces.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 106 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics enrichment characteristics of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in landfill leachate

Researchers found that microplastics in landfill leachate serve as surfaces that selectively accumulate antibiotic resistance genes and disease-causing bacteria. Incubation experiments with PET and polypropylene particles showed that pathogens were more abundant on microplastic surfaces than in the surrounding leachate. The study raises concerns that microplastics in landfills may act as vehicles for spreading antibiotic resistance and pathogenic organisms in the environment.

2023 Chemosphere 14 citations