Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of levofloxacin by ultraviolet aging microplastics

Researchers studied how ultraviolet aging changes the ability of common microplastics to adsorb the antibiotic levofloxacin. The study found that UV-aged polystyrene, polyamide, and polyethylene microplastics all showed significantly enhanced adsorption capacity compared to their unaged counterparts, suggesting that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher pollutant loads.

2023 Chemosphere 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Evolution of Microplastic Properties and Tetracycline Adsorption During Aging in Laboratory and Natural Environments

Researchers aged polyethylene, PET, and polystyrene microplastics under both laboratory UV and natural outdoor conditions and tracked how aging changed their physicochemical properties and tetracycline antibiotic adsorption capacity. Aging consistently increased surface oxidation and adsorption of tetracycline, with outdoor-aged particles showing different property profiles than lab-aged ones, highlighting the importance of using environmentally realistic aging conditions.

2025 Atmosphere
Article Tier 2

[Effect of Aging on Adsorption of Tetracycline by Microplastics and the Mechanisms].

Researchers aged polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics under UV-254 irradiation and analyzed changes in color, surface morphology, and functional groups, finding that UV aging altered the physical and chemical properties of both MPs and significantly affected their adsorption capacity and mechanism for the antibiotic tetracycline.

2022 PubMed 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Tetracycline adsorption trajectories on aged polystyrene in a simulated aquatic environment: A mechanistic investigation

Researchers found that aging of polystyrene microplastics in simulated aquatic environments progressively altered their surface properties and enhanced tetracycline antibiotic adsorption over time, with pseudo-second-order kinetics best describing the process, highlighting how weathered microplastics may increase antibiotic transport in aquatic systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of UV wavelength variations on tetracycline adsorption by polyethylene microplastics in aquatic environments

Exposure to UVC, UVB, and UVA light at different wavelengths differentially altered the surface chemistry of polyethylene microplastics and their subsequent adsorption capacity for the antibiotic tetracycline. Shorter UV wavelengths caused more extensive surface oxidation, increasing tetracycline adsorption by up to several fold and changing the antibiotic's environmental fate.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

UV and chemical aging alter the adsorption behavior of microplastics for tetracycline

Researchers found that UV and chemical aging significantly increased microplastics' capacity to adsorb tetracycline, with biodegradable PBAT showing more dramatic changes in surface properties and adsorption behavior compared to conventional plastics like polystyrene and polyethylene.

2022 Environmental Pollution 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Photoaging processes of polyvinyl chloride microplastics enhance the adsorption of tetracycline and facilitate the formation of antibiotic resistance

Researchers found that UV photoaging of PVC microplastics significantly enhanced their ability to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline and facilitated the development of antibiotic resistance in surrounding microorganisms, raising concerns about aged microplastics in aquatic environments.

2023 Chemosphere 44 citations
Article Tier 2

UV-photoaging of degradable microplastics in atmospheric and wastewater: Surface changes and enhanced antibiotic interaction

When biodegradable microplastics spend time in wastewater rather than open air, they age much more aggressively — developing biofilms and oxidized surfaces that dramatically increase their ability to absorb antibiotics. This study found that wastewater-aged polybutylene succinate microplastics adsorbed 2.4 times more tetracycline than fresh plastic, and outperformed air-aged plastic by 40%, driven by biofilm chemistry and increased surface area. The implication is that wastewater treatment systems — rather than solving the microplastic problem — may be transforming biodegradable plastics into potent carriers for antibiotic resistance.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Effect of polystyrene microplastics on tetracycline photoconversion under simulated sunlight: Vital role of aged polystyrene

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics affect the breakdown of the antibiotic tetracycline in sunlight. They found that aged microplastics actually slowed down the antibiotic's photodegradation by blocking UV light, while fresh microplastics had the opposite effect. The study reveals that weathered microplastics may help antibiotics persist longer in the environment, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative Photo‐Induced Aging of Poly(Butylene Adipate‐co‐Terephthalate) and Polystyrene Microplastics and their Divergent Affinities for Tetracycline in Aquatic Environments

Researchers UV-aged biodegradable PBAT and conventional polystyrene microplastics in river water for 30 days, finding that aging caused surface oxidation in PBAT while polystyrene showed minimal change, and that the two types had divergent affinities for adsorbing tetracycline.

2025 ChemistryOpen 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantitative assessment of interactions of hydrophilic organic contaminants with microplastics in natural water environment

Researchers quantified how microplastics interact with common antibiotic pollutants in natural water conditions, comparing virgin and environmentally aged polystyrene particles. They found that aged microplastics absorbed significantly more antibiotics than new ones due to increased surface area and chemical changes from weathering. The study suggests that as microplastics age in the environment, they become more effective at concentrating and transporting other harmful pollutants.

2022 Water Research 91 citations
Article Tier 2

Aging characteristics of degradable and non-biodegradable microplastics and their adsorption mechanism for sulfonamides

Researchers investigated how aging processes affect the ability of degradable and non-biodegradable microplastics to adsorb sulfonamide antibiotics in aquatic environments. The study found that aging increased the hydrophilicity and polarity of microplastics, boosting the adsorption capacity of polylactic acid by up to 3.18 times, suggesting that weathered microplastics may pose greater ecological risks as carriers of co-existing contaminants.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption characteristics of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride on polystyrene microplastics in freshwater

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics adsorb the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in freshwater, comparing pristine and aged particles. They found that aging treatment, particularly Fenton oxidation over seven days, significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity of the microplastics for the antibiotic. The study suggests that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may become increasingly effective carriers of pharmaceutical contaminants in water systems.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced adsorption of oxytetracycline to weathered microplastic polystyrene: Kinetics, isotherms and influencing factors

Researchers compared how weathered and new polystyrene foam particles absorb the antibiotic oxytetracycline from water. They found that beached foam that had been exposed to environmental conditions absorbed roughly twice as much of the drug as virgin material, due to increased surface area and chemical changes from weathering. The study suggests that aged microplastics in the environment are more effective at picking up and transporting pharmaceutical contaminants.

2018 Environmental Pollution 664 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of levofloxacin hydrochloride on non‐degradable microplastics aging with H 2 O 2

This study explored how microplastics act as carriers for the antibiotic levofloxacin in water, finding that chemically aged plastics (simulating environmental weathering) adsorb significantly more of the drug than fresh plastics. All three plastics tested — PVC, polystyrene, and PET — showed increased drug-binding capacity after aging, primarily through pore-filling. This matters because microplastics in rivers and lakes don't just pose a physical hazard; they can pick up and concentrate pharmaceutical contaminants, potentially delivering them to aquatic organisms at higher doses.

2025 Water Environment Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Influencing Mechanisms of Exogenous and Endogenous Dissolved Organic Matter on the Adsorption of Tetracycline on UV ‐Light Aged Microplastics

Researchers investigated how humic acid and microplastic-derived dissolved organic matter (MP-DOM) influence tetracycline adsorption onto UV-aged polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics, finding that UV aging increased surface area and functional groups on the plastics while dissolved organic matter altered adsorption capacity through competitive and facilitative mechanisms.

2025 Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation
Article Tier 2

Adsorption-desorption behaviors of ciprofloxacin onto aged polystyrene fragments in aquatic environments

Researchers investigated how UV and chemical aging of polystyrene microplastic fragments affects their adsorption and desorption of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin in aquatic environments, finding that aging increased surface area and altered surface chemistry, thereby enhancing adsorption capacity. The study identified key physicochemical properties controlling antibiotic-microplastic interactions and their potential to affect antibiotic bioavailability in contaminated waters.

2023 Chemosphere 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Macrolide Antibiotics by Aged Microplastics of Different Sizes: Mechanisms and Effects

Researchers investigated how aging affects the ability of polystyrene microplastics to adsorb macrolide antibiotics in water, testing two particle sizes under simulated natural aging conditions. They found that aging increased surface roughness and oxygen-containing functional groups on the microplastics, significantly enhancing their ability to adsorb azithromycin, clarithromycin, and erythromycin. The findings suggest that weathered microplastics in the environment may carry higher loads of antibiotic contaminants than pristine particles.

2025 Nanomaterials 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of the aged microplastics film and its sorption of antibiotics and bactericides in aqueous and soil compartments

Researchers simulated UV aging of polyethylene microplastics from black garbage bags and examined their sorption behavior toward antibiotics and bactericides in both water and soil. They found that UV-aged PE microplastics exhibited decreased crystallinity and hydrophobicity, significantly enhancing their capacity to adsorb these contaminants compared to virgin microplastics.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption behavior of aged polybutylece terephthalate microplastics coexisting with Cd(II)-tetracycline

Researchers studied how aged polybutylene terephthalate microplastics interact with cadmium and the antibiotic tetracycline in water, finding that weathered microplastics adsorb these pollutants more readily than pristine ones. The study suggests that aging changes the surface properties of microplastics, increasing their capacity to carry heavy metals and antibiotics and potentially amplifying their environmental toxicity.

2022 Chemosphere 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption behavior and mechanism of hydrophilic organic chemicals to virgin and aged microplastics in freshwater and seawater

UV-accelerated aging of polystyrene and PVC microplastics increased surface oxidation and introduced microcracks, and aged MPs showed significantly increased adsorption of the hydrophilic antibiotic ciprofloxacin compared to virgin MPs. The findings demonstrate that even hydrophilic organic chemicals can accumulate on aged microplastics, expanding the range of compounds that microplastics may carry and deliver to organisms.

2018 Environmental Pollution 1012 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of environmental conditions on the enrichment of antibiotics on microplastics in simulated natural water column

Researchers investigated how environmental ageing conditions affect the ability of microplastics to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline, finding that pH, ionic strength, and temperature had little effect, but humic acid significantly reduced adsorption capacity. The reduction was attributed to humic acid covering plastic surfaces, altering hydrophobicity, and competing for adsorption sites via electrostatic repulsion.

2018 Environmental Research 121 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhanced adsorption of tetracycline on polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics after anaerobically microbial-mediated aging process

Researchers found that anaerobic microbial aging of polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics altered their surface structure and crystallinity, significantly enhancing their ability to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline compared to unaged particles.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of antibiotics onto aged microplastics in freshwater and seawater

Aged microplastics were found to sorb antibiotics from fresh and saltwater, with aging processes altering the surface properties of the plastic and increasing antibiotic binding capacity in some cases. The adsorption of antibiotics onto aged microplastics could facilitate their transport and delivery to aquatic organisms, potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance in environmental bacteria.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 273 citations