Papers

61,005 results
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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

Interaction between antibiotics and microplastics: Recent advances and perspective

This review examines how microplastics in water can absorb antibiotic pollutants onto their surface, especially as the plastics age and develop bacterial biofilms. This interaction is concerning for human health because microplastics carrying antibiotics could promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria in waterways, making infections harder to treat.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 168 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of antibiotic clarithromycin adsorption potential on microplastics

Researchers investigated the adsorption potential of the antibiotic clarithromycin onto various microplastic types under controlled laboratory conditions, examining how surface properties and environmental factors influence pharmaceutical-microplastic interactions. The study found that microplastics can adsorb clarithromycin, raising concern about microplastics acting as vectors for antibiotic transport and spread in aquatic environments.

2024 Global NEST Journal
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

Microplastics influence the fate of antibiotics in freshwater environments: Biofilm formation and its effect on adsorption behavior

Researchers found that biofilm formation on microplastics in freshwater environments enhanced antibiotic adsorption by 24-51%, with potential pathogens detected in all biofilm communities across PVC, PA, and HDPE plastics.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 136 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Co-occurence of antibiotics and micro(nano)plastics: a systematic review between 2016-2021

This systematic review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in the environment. It finds that microplastics can absorb and carry antibiotics, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance and creating combined health risks that are greater than either pollutant alone.

2022 Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A 22 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A critical review of the adsorption-desorption characteristics of antibiotics on microplastics and their combined toxic effects

This systematic review examines how microplastics absorb and release antibiotics in the environment, and the combined toxic effects of this interaction. When microplastics carrying antibiotics are ingested by living organisms, they may promote antibiotic resistance and cause greater harm than either pollutant alone, which is a growing concern for human health.

2024 Environmental Technology & Innovation 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Potential Vector of Antibiotics in Aquatic Media: Environmental Implications

This review examined the role of microplastics as vectors for antibiotics in aquatic environments, highlighting how their small size, large surface area, and hydrophobicity enable them to concentrate organic pollutants. Co-exposure of microplastics and antibiotics can enhance bioaccumulation in organisms and amplify environmental risk.

2025
Article Tier 2

Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters

Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.

2021 Water Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption characteristics of antibiotics on microplastics: The effect of surface contamination with an anionic surfactant

Researchers found that the common anionic surfactant SDBS coating polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics significantly altered their adsorption of the antibiotics oxytetracycline and norfloxacin. SDBS changed the surface charge and hydrophobicity of MPs in ways that increased antibiotic binding, suggesting surfactant-contaminated MPs pose a greater risk as antibiotic vectors in aquatic environments.

2022 Chemosphere 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in the plastisphere in wastewater treatment plant effluent: Health risk quantification and driving mechanism interpretation

Researchers found that microplastics in treated wastewater carry significantly more disease-causing bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors on their surfaces compared to the surrounding water. This means microplastics released from wastewater treatment plants into rivers and lakes could spread antibiotic-resistant infections, posing a direct risk to communities that rely on these water sources.

2024 Water Research 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Implications of polystyrene and polyamide microplastics in the adsorption of sulfonamide antibiotics and their metabolites in water matrices

Researchers found that polystyrene and polyamide microplastics can absorb sulfonamide antibiotics from water, with smaller particles and acidic conditions increasing absorption significantly. This means microplastics in the environment can act as carriers for antibiotics, potentially spreading antimicrobial resistance. The finding raises concerns because people may be exposed to both microplastics and the drugs they carry through contaminated water and food.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic Pollution: Interactions Among Polyethylene, Surfactants, and Antibiotics in an Aquatic Environment

Researchers investigated synergistic pollution effects among polyethylene microplastics, surfactants, and antibiotics in aquatic systems, finding that co-presence enhanced the environmental persistence and bioavailability of antibiotics beyond what microplastics or surfactants caused individually.

2025
Article Tier 2

Growth and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in microplastic biofilm from wastewater treatment plant effluents

Researchers studied antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing in biofilms on microplastic surfaces in wastewater treatment plant effluent. The study found that microplastic biofilms accumulated antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, and Bacillus, and that these biofilms harbored higher concentrations of resistance genes compared to surrounding water, suggesting microplastics may serve as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

The factors affecting bacterial colonisation on microplastics and the impact of tertiary treatment of wastewater on the attached bacteria and microplastics

This study examined the factors that influence bacterial colonization on microplastics and tested how tertiary wastewater treatment affects the bacteria and microplastics discharged from a treatment plant. Microplastic-associated biofilms in wastewater can carry harmful and antibiotic-resistant bacteria into receiving water bodies.

2023
Article Tier 2

Chlorination-improved adsorption capacity of microplastics for antibiotics: A combined experimental and molecular mechanism investigation

Researchers found that when microplastics go through chlorine disinfection in water treatment plants, they become better at absorbing antibiotics like tetracycline. Chlorination changes the surface of polystyrene microplastics, making them stickier for these drugs through stronger chemical bonding. This means treated wastewater may contain microplastics loaded with antibiotics, potentially increasing health risks when released into the environment.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastics with Antibiotics in Aquatic Environment: Distribution, Adsorption, and Toxicity

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in waterways, finding that microplastics can absorb antibiotics from the water and change their availability and toxicity to aquatic organisms. Critically, microplastics also provide surfaces where antibiotic resistance genes can accumulate and spread among bacteria. This is concerning for human health because it means microplastics in water could be accelerating the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.

2021 Environmental Science & Technology 415 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as hubs enriching antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens in municipal activated sludge

Researchers demonstrated that microplastics in municipal wastewater treatment plants act as "hubs," selectively concentrating antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pathogens in their surface biofilms, with antibiotic-resistance genes enriched up to 4.5-fold compared to sand particles — raising concerns about microplastics spreading drug-resistant microbes into the environment.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters 181 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined pollution of tetracyclines and microplastics in the aquatic environment: Insights into the occurrence, interaction mechanisms and effects

This review examines how microplastics and tetracycline antibiotics interact in water environments, since microplastics can absorb and carry antibiotics on their surfaces. Factors like pH, heavy metals, and organic matter in water influence how tightly antibiotics bind to microplastics, and the combined pollution is more harmful to aquatic life than either pollutant alone. This is relevant to human health because these microplastic-antibiotic combinations can enter drinking water supplies and promote antibiotic resistance.

2024 Environmental Research 19 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

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

Adsorption of Macrolide Antibiotics and a Metabolite onto Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyethylene Microplastics in Aquatic Environments

Researchers studied how four macrolide antibiotics and a metabolite adsorb onto polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene microplastics in water. They found that antibiotic adsorption followed a linear model, with PET showing higher adsorption capacity than polyethylene. The study suggests that microplastics in aquatic environments may serve as carriers for antibiotics, potentially affecting how these pharmaceutical pollutants are distributed in water systems.

2024 Antibiotics 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Multispectroscopic Characterization of Surface Interaction between Antibiotics and Micro(nano)-sized Plastics from Surgical Masks and Plastic Bottles

Researchers used multiple spectroscopic techniques to characterize how antibiotics interact with micro- and nano-sized plastic particles derived from surgical masks and plastic bottles. The study found that these plastic particles can adsorb antibiotics onto their surfaces, and the findings suggest this interaction could have implications for how contaminant-laden microplastics behave in living systems.

2023 ACS Omega 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics, antibiotics and antibiotic resistant genes within WWTPs

This review examined the interactions between microplastics, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes within wastewater treatment plants, analyzing how MPs serve as carriers for antimicrobial compounds and facilitate the spread of resistance in microbial communities.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 145 citations