Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Engineering a Solution: Recent Technological Advances in the Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastics

This review examines recent advances in microbial bioremediation of microplastics, highlighting the limitations of conventional treatments and presenting biological alternatives using bacteria, fungi, and algae capable of degrading plastic polymers. The authors discuss key enzymatic mechanisms and the potential for scaling microbial approaches as sustainable remediation tools for plastic pollution.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Emerging Frontiers in Environmental Biotechnology

This chapter examines how biotechnology can address microplastic pollution generated by industrialization, reviewing bio-based degradation pathways, nanobiotechnology applications, and the role of engineered organisms in reducing plastic use and waste. The authors assess the future potential of environmental biotechnology as a sustainable tool for managing hazardous microplastic contamination across industries.

2024
Article Tier 2

Biotechnological Potential for Microplastic Waste

This article reviews how biotechnology — including engineered microbes and enzymes — can be used to break down microplastic waste. As conventional plastic recycling falls short, biological approaches offer a promising complement to reduce the accumulation of microplastics in the environment.

2020 Trends in biotechnology 31 citations
Review Tier 2

The plastic and microplastic waste menace and bacterial biodegradation for sustainable environmental clean-up a review

This review examined bacterial biodegradation of plastic and microplastic waste, covering key microbial species, enzymatic mechanisms, and biotechnological approaches being developed for sustainable environmental cleanup of plastic pollution.

2023 Environmental Research 42 citations
Article Tier 2

A concept for the biotechnological minimizing of emerging plastics, micro- and nano-plastics pollutants from the environment: A review.

This review examined biotechnological strategies for remediating plastics, micro-, and nano-plastics from the environment, cataloguing microbial and enzymatic degradation approaches, discussing their mechanistic basis, and proposing an integrated biotechnology framework for minimizing plastic pollution across terrestrial and aquatic systems.

2023 Environmental research
Article Tier 2

Engineering a Solution: Recent Technological Advances in the Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastics

This review examines recent advances in microbial bioremediation of microplastics, highlighting the limitations of conventional treatments like mechanical recycling and incineration and presenting biological alternatives using bacteria, fungi, and algae. The authors identify key microbial mechanisms and enzyme systems involved in plastic degradation and discuss the potential for scaling these approaches as cost-effective environmental remediation tools.

2025 UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution: Understanding microbial degradation and strategies for pollutant reduction

This review explores how microplastics form, spread through ecosystems, and affect microbial communities, then examines how certain microorganisms can actually break down these plastic particles. Understanding microbial degradation of microplastics could lead to biotechnology solutions that reduce the amount of plastic pollution entering the food chain and ultimately the human body.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 150 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Accumulation and Degradation in Environment via Biotechnological Approaches

This review examines how biotechnological approaches, including genetic engineering, genome editing, and synthetic biology, can enhance microbial degradation of plastics. Researchers found that while microplastics and nanoplastics are now found throughout the environment and even in food and the human body, improved methods for plastic biodegradation could help reduce their production. The study highlights the potential of engineered microorganisms as a strategy for addressing plastic waste accumulation.

2022 Water 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges and opportunities in bioremediation of micro-nano plastics: A review.

This review examines biological approaches to removing micro- and nanoplastics from the environment, focusing on microbial degradation and bioremediation strategies. While bioremediation holds promise, challenges remain in identifying microbes capable of degrading common plastic types and scaling these processes for practical environmental cleanup.

2022 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in biodegradation of emerging contaminants - microplastics (MPs): Feasibility, mechanism, and future prospects

This review explores biological approaches to breaking down microplastics, including using bacteria, fungi, and enzymes. While some organisms can partially degrade certain plastic types, the process is slow and incomplete compared to the scale of pollution. The research is promising for future cleanup efforts but shows that biodegradation alone cannot yet solve the microplastic contamination problem.

2023 Chemosphere 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing Recent Technologies for Addressing Microplastic Pollution and Pushing the Case of Bioremediation as an Attractive Approach

This review assesses current technologies for addressing microplastic pollution, with a focus on bioremediation as a sustainable alternative. Researchers compared physical, chemical, and biological approaches and found that microbial degradation offers distinct advantages in terms of environmental compatibility and cost-effectiveness. The study advocates for increased investment in bioremediation research as a practical strategy for managing microplastic contamination at scale.

2024 Recent Advances in Food Nutrition & Agriculture 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic waste impact and biotechnology: Exploring polymer degradation, microbial role, and sustainable development implications

Researchers reviewed how microorganisms and their enzymes can break down different types of plastic waste through both aerobic (oxygen-using) and anaerobic (oxygen-free) pathways. The review highlights biotechnological tools like genetic modification that could accelerate plastic biodegradation, supporting a shift toward a circular economy.

2023 Bioresource Technology Reports 86 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Degradation and Valorization of Plastic Wastes

This review covers recent advances in microbial and enzymatic degradation of synthetic plastic wastes, summarizing the microorganisms and enzymes capable of attacking different polymer types and assessing the prospects for biological plastic waste treatment at scale.

2020 Frontiers in Microbiology 551 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Novel Biological Agents in Plastic Degradation and Mitigation Approach towards Bioplastics

This review examines the role of novel biological agents — including bacteria, fungi, and engineered microorganisms — in degrading synthetic plastics and proposes bioplastics as a mitigation strategy to reduce persistent polymer accumulation in the environment. The authors outline the enzymatic mechanisms involved in breaking down major plastic types and discuss the potential of combining biological degradation with bioplastic adoption.

2025 THE ASIAN BULLETIN OF GREEN MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Pollution and its Remediation

This publication reviews the growing problem of microplastic pollution in the environment and explores biological and technological strategies for remediation, including microbial degradation and engineered solutions. It highlights the urgent need for practical cleanup approaches as microplastics continue to accumulate across ecosystems worldwide.

2024 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Management of Environmental Plastic Pollution: a Comparison of Existing Strategies and Emerging Solutions from Nature

Researchers reviewed the full landscape of plastic waste management strategies — from production controls and recycling to biological degradation — finding that while traditional approaches have had mixed results, newly discovered plastic-eating microbes and enzymes offer a promising complementary path to reducing the global plastic burden.

2023 Water Air & Soil Pollution 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial plastic degradation: enzymes, pathways, challenges, and perspectives.

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microbial plastic degradation, covering the enzymes and metabolic pathways involved in breaking down major synthetic polymers, the challenges limiting efficient biodegradation, and perspectives for engineering improved microbial solutions to plastic waste.

2025 Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR
Article Tier 2

Genetic engineering approach to address microplastic environmental pollution: a review

This review explores how genetic engineering approaches could enhance the ability of microorganisms to biodegrade microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment. Researchers highlight that while wild-type microbes struggle to break down plastics due to their high molecular weight and crystallinity, engineered enzymes and organisms show potential for more effective plastic pollution remediation.

2023 Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco-Solutions to Microplastic Pollution: Advances in Bioremediation Technologies

This review surveys bioremediation technologies, including microbial and plant-based approaches, as potential solutions for removing microplastics from the environment. Researchers highlight promising organisms and enzymatic pathways while noting that practical, scalable applications remain in early development.

2020 Environmental Reports.
Article Tier 2

Harnessing Microorganisms for Microplastic Degradation: A Sustainable Approach to Mitigating Environmental Pollution

This review surveys microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and other taxa—capable of degrading microplastics, examining the enzymes, metabolic pathways, and environmental conditions involved, and assessing the practical potential of harnessing these organisms for bioremediation of plastic pollution.

2025 NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research
Article Tier 2

Review on plastic wastes in marine environment – Biodegradation and biotechnological solutions

Researchers reviewed plastic biodegradation in the marine environment, cataloguing microbial communities that colonize plastic surfaces and the enzymes they produce, while highlighting biotechnological strategies — including enzyme engineering and biofilm optimization — as necessary complements to physical and chemical approaches for reducing micro- and nanoplastic contamination.

2019 Marine Pollution Bulletin 390 citations
Article Tier 2

A minireview on the bioremediative potential of microbial enzymes as solution to emerging microplastic pollution

This mini review explores the potential of microbial enzymes as a sustainable solution for degrading microplastics, discussing recent advances in identifying plastic-degrading enzymes and the challenges remaining for practical bioremediation applications.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial strategies for effective microplastics biodegradation: Insights and innovations in environmental remediation

This review explores how bacteria and their enzymes can break down microplastics through oxidative degradation, offering a biological approach to cleaning up plastic pollution. The paper highlights innovative pretreatment methods that make plastics more accessible to microbial breakdown and positions microbial strategies as a promising frontline solution for removing microplastics from ecosystems before they can enter the food chain and affect human health.

2024 Environmental Research 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Enzymatic Mechanisms, Biotechnological Applications, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives

This review examined the enzymatic mechanisms by which microorganisms degrade plastics and microplastics, covering biotechnological applications and ecotoxicological perspectives. Researchers found that certain bacterial and fungal enzymes can break down persistent plastic polymers, positioning microbial biodegradation as a promising sustainable remediation approach, though scalability and environmental deployment remain challenges.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Ecology 1 citations