Papers

20 results
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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

Microplastics play a minor role in tetracycline sorption in the presence of dissolved organic matter

Researchers studied the sorption of the antibiotic tetracycline onto microplastics in the presence of dissolved organic matter, finding that dissolved organics competed strongly for binding sites on microplastics, meaning real-world conditions substantially reduce microplastic uptake of tetracycline.

2018 Environmental Pollution 439 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption properties and influencing factors of antibiotics on microplastics under simulated gastric fluid environment

Researchers investigated how microplastics adsorb antibiotics under simulated human stomach conditions and found that aged microplastics had significantly greater adsorption capacity than pristine ones. Among the antibiotics tested, amoxicillin was most readily adsorbed by all three microplastic types studied, and adsorption capacity increased with smaller particle sizes and lower ionic strength.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of sequential UV-aging of microplastics on the fate of antibiotic (tetracycline) in riverine, estuarine, and marine systems

Researchers studied how sequential UV aging of polystyrene, polypropylene, and polyethylene microplastics, which mimics natural weathering, affects their ability to adsorb the antibiotic tetracycline under different water chemistry conditions. They found that aged microplastics adsorbed significantly more tetracycline than pristine particles, with the effect varying by water type and plastic polymer. The study suggests that as microplastics weather in the environment, they may become increasingly effective at carrying antibiotic contaminants.

2025 Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption of selected pharmaceutical compounds on polyethylene microplastics: Roles of pH, aging, and competitive sorption

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics adsorb pharmaceutical compounds including an antibiotic, a beta-blocker, and an antidepressant, with sorption capacity influenced by pH, aging of the plastic, and competition between compounds — raising concern about microplastics as carriers of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments.

2022 Chemosphere 36 citations
Article Tier 2

The fate and risk of microplastic and antibiotic sulfamethoxazole coexisting in the environment

Researchers investigated sulfamethoxazole antibiotic adsorption onto polyamide microplastics and found that pH significantly influenced uptake, with adsorbed antibiotics more readily released in natural water than ultrapure water, posing environmental risks.

2022 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insight into different adsorption of norfloxacin on microplastics in simulated natural water and real surface water

This study compared the adsorption of norfloxacin antibiotic onto microplastics in simulated natural water versus real surface water, finding that natural organic matter and competing ions in real water significantly reduced antibiotic uptake by microplastics.

2021 Environmental Pollution 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Sorption behavior of oxytetracycline on microplastics and the influence of environmental factors in groundwater: Experimental investigation and molecular dynamics simulation

This study examined how oxytetracycline antibiotic adsorbs onto different types of microplastics and how environmental factors such as pH, salinity, and UV exposure influence sorption behavior. The findings indicate microplastics can act as vectors transporting antibiotics through aquatic environments.

2024 Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 4 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
Article Tier 2

Change in adsorption behavior of aquatic humic substances on microplastic through biotic and abiotic aging processes

Researchers found that both UV irradiation and microbial aging of polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their surface chemistry, changing how aquatic humic substances adsorb onto the plastic surface and highlighting the importance of weathering state in assessing microplastic-contaminant interactions.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 36 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of chlorination on the tetracycline sorption behavior of microplastics in aqueous solution

Researchers found that chlorination, a common disinfection step in wastewater treatment, alters the surface chemistry of microplastics and changes their capacity to adsorb tetracycline antibiotics, with chlorinated microplastics showing modified sorption behavior that affects their role as antibiotic carriers.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights into behavior and mechanism of tetracycline adsorption on virgin and soil-exposed microplastics

Researchers studied how common microplastics absorb the antibiotic tetracycline, finding that soil-exposed plastics absorbed significantly more than fresh ones, with polylactic acid showing the greatest increase at 88%. The study revealed that environmental weathering changes how microplastics interact with antibiotics through different physical and chemical mechanisms. These findings are important for understanding how microplastics may carry and spread antibiotic contamination in soil environments.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 110 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of antibiotics on microplastics

This study examined the adsorption of antibiotics onto different microplastic types, finding that sorption capacity depended on both the antibiotic's chemical properties and the plastic's surface characteristics, with implications for antibiotic transport in aquatic environments.

2018 Environmental Pollution 1314 citations
Article Tier 2

Interfacial interaction between diverse microplastics and tetracycline by adsorption in an aqueous solution

Polyethylene microplastics showed the strongest adsorption of the antibiotic tetracycline among three plastic types tested, and the presence of metals like lead and zinc enhanced tetracycline adsorption while copper reduced it. Ion exchange was identified as the primary adsorption mechanism, suggesting that microplastics in aquaculture settings could concentrate antibiotics and increase their environmental persistence.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 196 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

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

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

Effects of Salinity, pH, and Cu(II) on the Adsorption Behaviors of Tetracycline onto Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics: A Site Energy Distribution Analysis

PVC microplastic adsorption of tetracycline antibiotic decreased with increasing salinity and pH, while coexisting Cu2+ ions enhanced adsorption through bridging interactions, providing insights into how environmental factors affect antibiotic-microplastic interactions in aquatic systems.

2023 Water 23 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

Microplastics enhance the adsorption capacity of zinc oxide nanoparticles: Interactive mechanisms and influence factors

Researchers found that the presence of microplastics enhances the ability of zinc oxide nanoparticles to adsorb antibiotics from water, with aged microplastics showing different effects than virgin ones. The interactions between microplastics and nanoparticles were driven primarily by electrostatic forces, and factors like pH and humic acid further influenced adsorption rates. The study warns that microplastics may help spread antibiotic contamination more widely through aquatic environments.

2023 Journal of Environmental Sciences 7 citations