Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastic Behavior and Toxicity on Crustacean Daphnia magna: Media Composition, Size, and Surface Charge Effects

Researchers examined how size and surface charge of polystyrene nanoplastics (20-100 nm) affected their behavior and toxicity to Daphnia magna in different water media, finding that smaller particles and certain media compositions significantly increased toxicity and aggregation patterns.

2021 Environments 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Controlled protein mediated aggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics does not reduce toxicity towards Daphnia magna

Researchers found that protein-mediated aggregation of polystyrene nanoplastics into larger clusters did not reduce their toxicity to Daphnia magna, whereas solid particles of equivalent aggregate size were non-toxic, suggesting aggregation state alone does not determine nanoplastic hazard.

2020 Environmental Science Nano 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Aquatic behavior and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastic particles with different functional groups: Complex roles of pH, dissolved organic carbon and divalent cations

Researchers systematically examined how water chemistry — pH, dissolved organic carbon, and divalent calcium and magnesium ions — affects the stability, aggregation, and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface functional groups, finding that complex solution conditions enhanced aggregation through cation bridging and increased oxidative gut damage in Daphnia magna.

2019 Chemosphere 128 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for high toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the European Daphnia longispina

Researchers exposed water fleas (Daphnia) to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that 50 nm particles were thousands of times more toxic per unit mass than 100 nm particles, with effects comparable to highly regulated toxic chemicals. The results highlight how particle size dramatically changes nanoplastic hazard and challenge the assumption that microplastics pose low ecological risk.

2023 Environmental Sciences Europe 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute toxicity of nanoplastics on Daphnia and Gammarus neonates: Effects of surface charge, heteroaggregation, and water properties

Researchers examined nanoplastic toxicity on crustacean neonates and found that smaller particles (20-40 nm) were more toxic, with surface charge and aggregation behavior being the primary factors influencing toxicity depending on species and water conditions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological Effects of Nanoplastic and Microplastic Polystyrene Particles on Hyalella azteca: A Comprehensive Study on the Impact of Physical and Chemical Surface Properties

Researchers studied the ecotoxicological effects of polystyrene nano- and microplastics on the freshwater crustacean Hyalella azteca through short- and long-term exposure experiments. The study found that surface properties and functional group modifications of the particles were key determinants of toxicity, with amino-functionalized microplastics and fluorescent nanoplastics showing significant effects on oxidative stress biomarkers and organism development, while unmodified nanoplastics were nearly inert.

2025 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of salinity and humic acid on the aggregation and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics with different functional groups and charges

Researchers showed that surface charge governs nanoplastic behavior in water — higher salinity caused negatively charged nanoplastics to aggregate while positively charged particles remained stable — and that humic acid (dissolved organic matter) alleviated toxicity to Daphnia, increasing survival from 15% to nearly 100% in some cases.

2018 Environmental Pollution 289 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential for high toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the European Daphnia longispina

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics caused high toxicity in three genetically distinct clones of the European water flea Daphnia longispina, highlighting the ecological hazard of nanoplastics and the importance of reporting exposure in particle count rather than mass metrics.

2023 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Molecular, biochemical and behavioral responses of Daphnia magna under long-term exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers studied the long-term effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on the water flea Daphnia magna over a 21-day exposure period at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study found molecular, biochemical, and behavioral changes even at low concentrations, suggesting that chronic exposure to nanoplastics may have significant impacts on aquatic organisms that short-term studies might miss.

2022 Environment International 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of the combined toxic effect of polychlorinated biphenyls and nano-sized polystyrene on Daphnia magna

Researchers investigated how nano-sized polystyrene particles modify the acute toxicity of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to Daphnia magna, finding that low concentrations of nanoplastics reduced PCB toxicity by binding and sequestering the chemicals, while high nanoplastic concentrations became directly lethal, reversing the protective effect.

2018 Journal of Hazardous Materials 112 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolomics-based analysis in Daphnia magna after exposure to low environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoparticles

Daphnia magna exposed to low environmental concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics (as low as 3.2 micrograms per liter) showed significant metabolic disruptions detectable by metabolomics analysis. Carboxylate-functionalized particles caused distinct metabolic responses compared to amine-functionalized particles, suggesting surface chemistry drives differential toxicity.

2023 Environmental Science Nano 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicity of Heteroaggregates of Polystyrene Nanospheres in Chironomidae and Amphibian

Researchers examined the ecotoxicity of carboxylated polystyrene nanospheres (350 nm and 50 nm) and their heteroaggregates on freshwater Chironomidae larvae and amphibians, using exposure experiments to assess toxicity mechanisms in organisms with direct environmental contact with plastic-polluted freshwater. They found that heteroaggregation altered the bioavailability and toxicity profiles of the nanoplastics compared to pristine particles, with effects including developmental disruption and behavioral changes in exposed organisms.

2022 Nanomaterials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Sub-lethal effects of nanoplastics upon chronic exposure to daphnia magna

Researchers conducted 21-day chronic exposures of Daphnia magna to 20 nm and 200 nm carboxylated polystyrene nanoplastics at 50 mg/L and 0.1 mg/L, finding sub-lethal effects on growth, molting, and reproduction at all tested concentrations and both size classes, with results supporting particle number as a relevant dose metric.

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

What Is on the Outside Matters—Surface Charge and Dissolve Organic Matter Association Affect the Toxicity and Physiological Mode of Action of Polystyrene Nanoplastics toC. elegans

Researchers investigated how surface charge and organic matter coatings affect the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to the nematode C. elegans. Positively charged nanoplastics were over 60 times more toxic than negatively charged ones, and organic matter coatings reduced toxicity across all particle types. The findings suggest that surface chemistry plays a critical role in nanoplastic toxicity and should be considered when assessing environmental risks.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastic exposure induces immobilization, reproduction, and stress defense in the freshwater cladoceran Daphnia pulex

Researchers documented how polystyrene nanoplastics accumulate in the guts of the freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex and cause chronic toxicity at environmentally relevant concentrations, delaying reproduction, reducing offspring numbers, and inducing then suppressing antioxidant defense genes over a 21-day exposure.

2018 Chemosphere 285 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of nanoplastic surface charge on eco-corona formation, aggregation and toxicity to freshwater zooplankton

Researchers examined how surface charge and natural organic matter influence the stability and toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics to freshwater zooplankton. They found that positively charged nanoplastics were significantly more toxic than negatively charged ones, and that natural organic matter formed an eco-corona on the particles that reduced their toxicity. The study highlights that both particle surface properties and environmental conditions play critical roles in determining nanoplastic impacts on aquatic organisms.

2019 Environmental Pollution 242 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the acute differential toxicity of polystyrene microplastic particles and comparing the impacts of bead-shaped versus fragmented particles on Daphnia magna

Researchers compared the toxicity of polystyrene microplastic fragments versus beads on tiny freshwater crustaceans (Daphnia magna) and found that jagged fragments were more harmful than smooth beads, causing greater mortality and triggering more stress-related genes — suggesting that the shape of a microplastic particle matters as much as its chemical makeup.

2025 Applied Biological Chemistry 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Protein binding on acutely toxic and non-toxic polystyrene nanoparticles during filtration by Daphnia magna

Researchers investigated protein binding on acutely toxic versus non-toxic polystyrene nanoparticles during filtration by Daphnia magna zooplankton, finding that the two particle types bind different protein profiles, suggesting that surface protein corona composition may help explain differential toxicity outcomes.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying nanoplastic-bound chemicals accumulated in Daphnia magna with a passive dosing method

A passive dosing method was used to measure how chemicals accumulate in Daphnia water fleas when nanoplastics are present, helping separate direct particle effects from chemical effects. Understanding which pathway causes more harm is essential for accurately assessing nanoplastic risk.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging trends in nanoparticle toxicity and the significance of using Daphnia as a model organism

Researchers reviewed why the freshwater crustacean Daphnia is a valuable model organism for nanoparticle toxicity testing, summarizing how nanoparticle size, charge, and surface chemistry influence toxicity in Daphnia and highlighting key knowledge gaps in nanoplastic environmental risk assessment.

2021 Chemosphere 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on early life stages of marine invertebrates: current knowledge and future research perspectives

This review synthesizes knowledge on how polystyrene nanoparticles affect the early life stages of marine invertebrates across five phyla, finding that toxicity depends heavily on surface charge, with amino-modified particles being most harmful to embryos and larvae.

2025 Marine Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Secreted protein eco-corona mediates uptake and impacts of polystyrene nanoparticles on Daphnia magna

Researchers discovered that proteins secreted by Daphnia magna create an eco-corona around polystyrene nanoparticles, increasing their uptake and toxicity. The study found that this protein coating also made the nanoparticles harder to remove from the gut, demonstrating a previously unknown biological mechanism that enhances the harmful effects of nanoplastics on this important indicator species.

2015 Journal of Proteomics 346 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinctive toxic repercussions of polystyrene nano plastic towards aquatic non target species Nitrobacter vulgaris, Scenedesmus sp and Daphnia magna

Researchers tested polystyrene nanoplastics across a wide concentration range against three aquatic species and found dose-dependent toxicity in all three — inhibiting nitrifying bacteria growth, reducing algal protein and chlorophyll, and killing water fleas — revealing broad ecological hazard across trophic levels.

2024 Ecotoxicology 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics and Pyriproxyfen to Daphnia magna

Researchers evaluated the combined toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and the insecticide pyriproxyfen on the water flea Daphnia magna under both acute and chronic exposure conditions. They found that nanoplastics initially reduced the acute toxicity of the pesticide within 24 hours but worsened chronic effects over longer periods. The study suggests that nanoplastics can alter how other environmental contaminants affect aquatic organisms, complicating risk assessments.

2024 Sustainability 3 citations