Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effect of chronic exposure to nanopolystyrene on nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers chronically exposed C. elegans nematodes to nanopolystyrene across their adult lifespan and found that even low concentrations (≥1 µg/L) impaired locomotion and promoted oxidative stress, while also suppressing immune response genes, antioxidant defenses, and mitochondrial stress response pathways, with high concentrations shortening lifespan.

2020 Chemosphere 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Different Toxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers compared the toxicity of 2-μm polystyrene microplastics and 0.1-μm nanoplastics in C. elegans, finding both impaired growth, locomotion, reproduction, and lifespan at 1 mg/L and above, with microplastics causing greater locomotion and reproductive toxicity and nanoplastics inducing stronger oxidative stress.

2025 Journal of Applied Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive phenotyping and multi-omic profiling in the toxicity assessment of nanopolystyrene with different surface properties

Researchers applied comprehensive phenotyping and multi-omics profiling to assess how nanopolystyrene particles with different surface chemistries affect the soil nematode C. elegans, finding that all surface types impaired reproduction and locomotion while causing oxidative stress, but that uncharged particles triggered the most pronounced metabolic disruption — including altered autophagy and longevity pathways.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential toxicity of nanopolystyrene on lifespan and aging process of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers chronically exposed C. elegans to nanopolystyrene across their aging lifespan and found that high concentrations shortened lifespan while lower concentrations still impaired locomotion and elevated intestinal reactive oxygen species in older animals, with nanoplastic exposure progressively suppressing immune genes, antioxidant defenses, and mitochondrial stress responses as worms aged.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 91 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-Dependent Disruption of Lipid Metabolism by Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans Revealed Through Multi-Omics and Functional Genetic Validation

Researchers used the model organism C. elegans to study how polystyrene particles of different sizes affect lipid metabolism, finding that both 100-nanometer and 1-micrometer particles disrupted fat storage and lipid processing. Multi-omics analysis identified four core genes governing the size-dependent metabolic disruption, and elevated levels of specific lipid metabolites confirmed that microplastics can meaningfully interfere with lipid homeostasis.

2026 Toxics
Article Tier 2

The mechanism of oxidative stress induced by nanoplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans: Integrated analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics

Researchers exposed C. elegans nematodes to polystyrene nanoplastics across a concentration range and integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic data to identify disrupted fatty acid and glutathione metabolism as the central drivers of oxidative stress, with the gene gst-4 and specific metabolites serving as key molecular signatures.

2026 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene (nano)microplastics cause size-dependent neurotoxicity, oxidative damage and other adverse effects inCaenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics cause neurotoxicity and oxidative damage in the model organism C. elegans, with effects varying by particle size. Smaller nanoscale particles tended to cause more severe toxic responses than larger microplastic particles. The study highlights that the size of plastic particles is an important factor in determining how harmful they are to living organisms.

2018 Environmental Science Nano 422 citations
Article Tier 2

Using acs-22 mutant Caenorhabditis elegans to detect the toxicity of nanopolystyrene particles

Researchers used C. elegans worms with a defective intestinal barrier to show that nanoplastics at environmentally predicted concentrations (1 µg/L) can translocate to internal organs and activate oxidative stress pathways when the gut barrier is compromised — suggesting susceptibility may increase under certain disease conditions.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 169 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic exposure in soil compromises the energy budget of the soil nematode C. elegans and decreases reproductive fitness

Researchers found that soil exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics significantly reduced reproductive fitness in the nematode C. elegans by compromising energy budgets, decreasing ATP levels, and disrupting mitochondrial function in a concentration-dependent manner.

2022 Environmental Pollution 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Neuronal damage induced by nanopolystyrene particles in nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans

C. elegans nematodes were chronically exposed to nanopolystyrene particles and found to develop neuronal damage affecting both development and function of the nervous system after long-term exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study provides early evidence that nanoplastics can cause neurological harm in an animal model, raising questions about potential neurotoxicity in other species.

2019 Environmental Science Nano 99 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to nanopolystyrene and its 4 chemically modified derivatives at predicted environmental concentrations causes differently regulatory mechanisms in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that nanopolystyrene and four chemically modified derivatives caused distinct toxicity patterns in C. elegans nematodes at environmentally predicted concentrations, with surface chemistry significantly influencing the regulatory mechanisms affected.

2022 Chemosphere 20 citations
Article Tier 2

The toxic differentiation of micro- and nanoplastics verified by gene-edited fluorescent Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers used gene-edited fluorescent C. elegans to demonstrate that nanoplastic toxicity is size- and charge-dependent, with 100 nm positively charged polystyrene particles causing the greatest harm through intestinal accumulation and oxidative stress.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of nanopolystyrene toxicity under fungal infection condition in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that exposure to nanopolystyrene at microgram-per-liter concentrations significantly worsens outcomes of fungal infection (Candida albicans) in C. elegans nematodes, suppressing the innate immune response and mitochondrial stress pathways, and increasing fungal colony formation — suggesting nanoplastics may compromise host defense against pathogens even at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolic effects of dietary exposure to polystyrene microplastic and nanoplastic in fruit flies

Researchers used fruit flies as a model organism to study the metabolic effects of ingesting polystyrene microplastic and nanoplastic particles at environmentally relevant doses. They found that both particle sizes disrupted metabolic processes, with nanoplastics causing more pronounced changes in energy storage and lipid metabolism. The study suggests that dietary exposure to plastic particles, even at levels found in the environment, can meaningfully alter metabolic physiology.

2025 Journal of Experimental Biology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Neurodevelopmental Toxicity of Polystyrene Nanoplastics inCaenorhabditis elegansand the Regulating Effect of Presenilin

C. elegans exposed to 25, 50, and 100 nm polystyrene nanoplastics showed size-dependent neurodevelopmental toxicity — including reactive oxygen species generation, mitochondrial damage, and inhibited dopamine production — with smaller particles (25 nm) paradoxically showing weaker effects than the 50 nm size.

2020 ACS Omega 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Gradual effects of gradient concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics on metabolic processes of the razor clams

Researchers exposed razor clams to a gradient of polystyrene nanoplastic concentrations and used metabolomics to track effects, finding that even low concentrations disrupted energy metabolism and amino acid pathways, with effects becoming more severe as concentration increased.

2021 Environmental Pollution 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity induction of nanopolystyrene under microgravity stress condition in Caenorhabditis elegans.

This study used Caenorhabditis elegans to examine how nanopolystyrene exposure interacts with microgravity stress, finding that nanoplastic exposure amplified the toxicity of simulated weightlessness. The combined stress increased oxidative damage and triggered mitochondrial stress responses, suggesting that nanoplastics can worsen the effects of other environmental stressors.

2020 The Science of the total environment
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

Biochemical and physiological effects of multigenerational exposure to spheric polystyrene microplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that multigenerational exposure of C. elegans to polystyrene microplastics at low concentrations triggered oxidative stress, increased detoxification enzyme activity, and caused accumulating physiological effects across five consecutive generations.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of signaling cascade in the insulin signaling pathway in response to nanopolystyrene particles

Researchers used the nematode C. elegans to map the molecular signaling pathway that responds to nanopolystyrene particle exposure. They identified a cascade in the insulin signaling pathway where exposure to nanoplastics altered the expression of key genes controlling growth, metabolism, and stress response. The study suggests that this insulin signaling cascade may play a protective role against nanoplastic toxicity in living organisms.

2019 Nanotoxicology 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of tyramine and glutamate related signals to nanoplastic exposure in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers exposed Caenorhabditis elegans to nanopolystyrene and characterized changes in tyramine and glutamate neurotransmitter pathways, finding that nanoplastic exposure disrupted both signaling systems and that mutations in these pathways altered the worm's sensitivity to nanoplastic toxicity.

2021 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Combinational effect of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and nanopolystyrene particles at environmentally relevant concentrations on nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers exposed the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to environmentally realistic concentrations of both titanium dioxide nanoparticles and nanopolystyrene simultaneously, finding that nanoplastics enhanced the toxicity of the metal oxide particles, worsening locomotion impairment and gut oxidative stress beyond what either pollutant caused alone.

2018 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 158 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles at predicted environmental concentrations enhances toxic effects of Acinetobacter johnsonii AC15 infection on Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles at low, environmentally realistic concentrations made a bacterial infection significantly more harmful to the roundworm C. elegans. The nanoparticles increased bacterial accumulation in the worms' bodies and weakened their innate immune responses. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in the environment could amplify the toxicity of common microbial pathogens.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Effects of Micro- and Nanoplastics at the Predicted Environmental Concentration on Functional State of Intestinal Barrier in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers used the roundworm C. elegans to study the combined effects of nano- and micro-sized polystyrene particles at concentrations similar to what is found in the environment. They found that co-exposure caused more severe intestinal damage than either particle size alone, including increased oxidative stress and impaired gut barrier function. The study suggests that the real-world mixture of different-sized plastic particles may be more harmful than studies of single sizes would predict.

2023 Toxics 17 citations