Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Role of Biofilms in the Degradation of Microplastics

This review examines the role of microbial biofilms in degrading microplastics, presenting insights into how microbial communities colonizing plastic surfaces may contribute to the breakdown of microplastic particles in aquatic and terrestrial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Role of biofilms in the degradation of microplastics in aquatic environments

This review examined the role of microbial biofilms in degrading microplastics in aquatic environments, highlighting the potential for biofilm-mediated biodegradation as a natural mechanism for breaking down recalcitrant plastic pollutants.

2021 Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro‐by‐micro interactions: How microorganisms influence the fate of marine microplastics

This review examines how microorganisms interact with microplastics in marine environments, including biofilm formation, biodegradation, and effects on plastic transport and sedimentation. Researchers found that microbial colonization of plastics can influence how microplastics move through the water column and enter food webs. The study highlights that understanding these micro-by-micro interactions is essential for assessing the environmental fate of microplastic pollution.

2020 Limnology and Oceanography Letters 283 citations
Article Tier 2

The Importance of Biofilms to the Fate and Effects of Microplastics

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that form on microplastic surfaces — affect the fate and ecological effects of plastic pollution. Biofilm formation alters how microplastics are transported, ingested, and degraded in the environment, and the plastisphere can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may pose risks to human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilm development as a factor driving the degradation of plasticised marine microplastics

Researchers investigated how natural marine biofilms drive the degradation of plasticized microplastics. The study found that biodegradation was dependent on polymer type, plasticizer type, and time, with polystyrene containing bisphenol A showing the most degradation, coinciding with increased abundance of putative biodegradative bacteria in the colonizing biofilm.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial degradation of plastics: Biofilms and degradation pathways

This review covers how microorganisms form biofilms on plastic surfaces in soils and water, and how these communities gradually break plastics down through enzymatic activity. Microbial plastic degradation is still slow and incomplete, but understanding the process is key to developing biological plastic cleanup strategies.

2019 Agro Environ Media - Agriculture and Ennvironmental Science Academy, Haridwar, India eBooks 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Microbial Assemblages on Microplastics: Diversity, Adaptation, and Role in Degradation

This review examines microbial communities that colonize microplastics in the ocean, collectively known as the plastisphere. Researchers found that these biofilms differ significantly from those on natural surfaces and may include pathogenic bacteria and species capable of partially degrading plastics. The study highlights both the ecological risks of microplastics as vectors for harmful microbes and the potential for harnessing plastic-degrading organisms.

2019 Annual Review of Marine Science 434 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Colonization in Marine Environments: Overview of Current Knowledge and Emerging Research Topics

This review examines how microorganisms colonize submerged surfaces in aquatic environments, with a focus on the factors shaping biofilm communities on microplastics. The authors discuss how the chemical and physical properties of plastic surfaces influence microbial attachment and community development compared to natural substrates.

2020 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine microplastic-associated biofilms – a review

This review synthesizes research on biofilm communities forming on marine microplastics, covering their composition, formation dynamics, and potential consequences for both plastic fate and ocean microbiology. The authors highlight that plastic-associated biofilms can include pathogens and toxin producers, and that the plastisphere community differs meaningfully from the surrounding seawater microbiome.

2015 Environmental Chemistry 463 citations
Article Tier 2

Biofilms on Plastic Debris and the Microbiome

This review synthesizes knowledge on biofilms that colonize plastic debris in the ocean, known as the plastisphere, covering how microbial communities are structured and how they interact with the surrounding environment. The authors discuss implications for nutrient cycling, pathogen transport, and polymer degradation.

2024 Microorganisms 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms and Their Role in the Fate of Microplastics in Aquatic Environment

This review examines how microbial biofilms attached to microplastics in aquatic environments mediate the accumulation and transfer of chemical pollutants, exploring how the 'plastisphere' community influences the fate and ecotoxicological impact of microplastics and co-contaminants.

2025
Article Tier 2

Microbial Colonization and Degradation of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystem: A Review

This review examines how microorganisms colonize and form biofilms on microplastics in aquatic environments, creating a plastisphere where bacteria and fungi can potentially degrade plastic particles through enzymatic processes.

2021 Geomicrobiology Journal 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities on microplastic‐associated biofilms in marine and freshwater environments

Researchers analyzed microbial biofilm communities on microplastic surfaces in both marine and freshwater environments, finding that plastic-associated biofilms harbor distinct prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities with potential roles in plastic biodegradation.

2024 Engineering in Life Sciences 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments

This review compared microplastic-associated biofilm communities in freshwater and marine environments, examining how plastic type, ecosystem, and environmental conditions shape the microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces. Understanding these "plastisphere" communities is important because they may include pathogens and can affect the fate and transport of plastic particles.

2017 ˜The œhandbook of environmental chemistry 188 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Biofilm Formation on the Fate and Potential Effects of Microplastic in the Aquatic Environment

Researchers reviewed how biofilm formation on microplastic surfaces affects the fate and potential ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic environments, finding that biofilms alter particle buoyancy, surface chemistry, and interactions with organisms.

2017 Environmental Science & Technology Letters 1318 citations
Article Tier 2

The threat of microplastics and microbial degradation potential; a current perspective

This review covers the growing threat of microplastics in marine environments, where they enter the food chain and can transfer to humans along with pathogenic organisms, causing various toxic effects. The paper also explores how bacteria and fungi found in ocean environments could be harnessed to biodegrade different types of plastics as a future strategy for reducing microplastic pollution.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Biofilm Formation on Microplastic Behaviour in Aquatic Environments: An Comprehensive Review.

This review examines how biofilms — communities of microorganisms that coat microplastics — change the behavior of plastic particles in aquatic environments, affecting how they move, sink, and interact with ecosystems. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is key to predicting where these particles end up and what risks they pose to water quality and aquatic life.

2025 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews
Article Tier 2

Biofilm formation and its implications on the properties and fate of microplastics in aquatic environments: A review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics in water attract and support communities of bacteria and other microorganisms that form biofilms — living coatings that alter the plastic particles' movement, help them carry pathogens, and affect how toxic chemicals attached to the plastic are absorbed by living things. Understanding this "plastisphere" ecosystem is critical for predicting where microplastics go and how harmful they become.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 219 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiological Characterization of the Biofilms Colonizing Bioplastics in Natural Marine Conditions: A Comparison between PHBV and PLA

Researchers characterized biofilm communities colonizing bioplastics and conventional plastics in natural marine conditions, finding that bioplastic surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities compared to petroleum-based plastics, with implications for biodegradation and ecological interactions.

2023 Microorganisms 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Colonization characteristics and surface effects of microplastic biofilms: Implications for environmental behavior of typical pollutants

This review examines how bacteria colonize microplastic surfaces in water, forming biofilms that change how the plastics behave in the environment. These biofilms alter the surface properties of microplastics and affect how they absorb and transport heavy metals and other pollutants. Understanding biofilm formation on microplastics is important because it can make the particles more dangerous by concentrating toxic substances that could eventually enter the food chain.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations