Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological Effects of Microplastics Combined With Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment: Recent Developments and Prospects

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact in water environments, finding that microplastics can absorb antibiotics onto their surfaces and carry them over long distances. When aquatic organisms encounter these antibiotic-laden microplastics, the combined toxicity can be worse than either pollutant alone. Microplastics also promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, which is a growing public health concern.

2024 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 20 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
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
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and tetracycline on intestinal injury in mice

Researchers found that mice exposed to both microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline suffered more intestinal damage than those exposed to either pollutant alone. The combined exposure caused distinct injuries across different segments of the intestine and disrupted gut bacteria composition. This is concerning because humans are commonly exposed to both microplastics and antibiotic residues through food and water.

2023 Chemosphere 39 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis unravels the complex combined toxicity of microplastics and antibiotics in aquatic ecosystems

A meta-analysis of 730 datasets found that microplastics amplify antibiotic accumulation in aquatic organisms and worsen effects on growth, development, and immune function, but paradoxically appear to mitigate reproductive toxicity from antibiotics. The impact depends on biological response pathway, microplastic concentration, antibiotic properties, and exposure time, with an inverse relationship between antibiotic toxicity and both microplastic concentration and exposure duration.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics aggravate the bioaccumulation of three veterinary antibiotics in the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus and induce synergistic immunotoxic effects

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics interact with three common veterinary antibiotics in thick shell mussels. The study found that when microplastics and antibiotics were present together, mussels accumulated significantly more antibiotics in their tissues and suffered worse immune damage than from either pollutant alone. This synergistic effect included reduced immune cell counts, increased oxidative stress, and disrupted immune gene expression, suggesting that microplastic pollution may amplify the harmful effects of antibiotic contamination in coastal waters.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 134 citations
Review Tier 2

Decoding the interactions between antibiotics and microplastics-chemistry, environmental impacts, and mitigation approaches- A state-of-the-art review

This review examines how antibiotics and microplastics interact in the environment, forming complexes that can persist longer and travel farther than either pollutant alone. Researchers found that these complexes can serve as reservoirs for antimicrobial resistance and disrupt microbial communities. The study highlights an underappreciated environmental risk where two common pollutants combine to create compounding ecological and public health challenges.

2025 Environmental Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Antibiotics in Aquatic Environments: A Review of Their Interactions and Ecotoxicological Implications

This review examines how microplastics and antibiotics interact when they meet in water, and what that means for ecosystems and health. Antibiotics can attach to microplastic surfaces through chemical bonds, and the microplastics can then carry these drugs through the environment, potentially spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. While the combined threat to fish and other aquatic life needs more study, the findings raise concerns about how microplastics help move antibiotic resistance through water systems.

2024 Tropical Aquatic and Soil Pollution 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Insight into combined pollution of antibiotics and microplastics in aquatic and soil environment: Environmental behavior, interaction mechanism and associated impact of resistant genes

This review examines the combined pollution created when microplastics absorb antibiotics in water and soil environments. Researchers found that microplastics can concentrate antibiotics on their surfaces, and this combination promotes the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in microbial communities. The study highlights that the interaction between these two emerging pollutants may pose greater environmental and health risks than either one alone.

2023 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 69 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

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

Toxic effects of triclosan in aquatic organisms: A review focusing on single and combined exposure of environmental conditions and pollutants

This review examines how triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in many personal care products, harms aquatic organisms both on its own and in combination with other pollutants including microplastics. When triclosan and microplastics are present together in water, they can produce combined toxic effects that are worse than either alone. Since triclosan is widely used and microplastics are everywhere, their interaction in the environment is an important consideration for both ecosystem and human health.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on oxytetracycline trophic transfer: Immune, gut microbiota and antibiotic resistance gene responses

When polypropylene microplastics and the antibiotic oxytetracycline were present together in water, the microplastics acted as carriers that increased antibiotic buildup in shrimp and fish through the food chain. This combination caused more gut and liver damage, weakened immune defenses, and promoted the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The findings highlight that microplastics can make antibiotic pollution worse by helping resistant genes move up the food chain.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of antibiotic adsorption behavior of microplastics and its management measures

This review summarizes research on how microplastics adsorb antibiotics from the environment, creating combined pollutant complexes with potentially greater ecological harm. Researchers found that factors like plastic type, aging, and environmental conditions strongly influence how much antibiotic a microplastic particle can carry. The study highlights that these microplastic-antibiotic combinations may contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 21 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on the combined toxicological effects of microplastics and their attached pollutants

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as carriers for other environmental pollutants — including heavy metals and persistent organic chemicals — and how these combinations produce toxic effects in organisms that are more severe than either contaminant alone. The findings highlight a complex, layered toxicity problem that affects microbes, invertebrates, and vertebrates across marine and terrestrial environments.

2025 Emerging contaminants 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction between microplastics and microorganism as well as gut microbiota: A consideration on environmental animal and human health

This review explores how microplastics interact with microorganisms in the environment and within the gut, examining implications for both animal and human health. Researchers found that microplastics can alter gut microbiota composition, promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and amplify the toxicity of other environmental pollutants. The study suggests that the interaction between microplastics and gut microorganisms is an important emerging area for understanding health risks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 405 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes as rising threats: Their interaction represents an urgent environmental concern

This review examines how microplastics interact with antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, creating a combined pollution threat. Microplastics can absorb antibiotics onto their surface and serve as platforms where bacteria exchange resistance genes. This interaction could accelerate the spread of antibiotic resistance, making infections harder to treat and posing a growing public health risk.

2025 Current Research in Microbial Sciences 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined toxic effects of nanoplastics and norfloxacin on mussel: Leveraging biochemical parameters and gut microbiota

Researchers exposed mussels to nanoplastics and the antibiotic norfloxacin, both alone and together, and found that the combination caused greater biochemical stress than either pollutant alone. Nanoplastics appeared to carry the antibiotic into mussel tissues, increasing its bioavailability and impact on gut microbiota. The findings suggest that nanoplastics can amplify the toxicity of other contaminants in marine organisms.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 30 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
Meta Analysis Tier 1

When antibiotics encounter microplastics in aquatic environments: Interaction, combined toxicity, and risk assessments

A meta-analysis of the combined toxicity of antibiotics and microplastics in aquatic environments found significant adverse effects on algae but limited apparent effects on fish and daphnia. Microplastics alter antibiotic environmental behavior through adsorption and co-transport, and their coexistence is widespread across global aquatic study sites, though standardized risk assessment methods for combined exposure remain lacking.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and organic compounds in aquatic environments: A case study of augmented joint toxicity

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics interact with the antimicrobial compound triclosan in simulated environmental and cellular conditions. They found that surface-functionalized microplastics adsorbed significantly more triclosan and released it under cellular conditions, with the combination producing greater toxicity to human intestinal cells than either contaminant alone. The study suggests that microplastics can amplify the harmful effects of co-occurring organic pollutants.

2021 Chemosphere 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and associated emerging contaminants in the environment: Analysis, sorption mechanisms and effects of co-exposure

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as carriers for other environmental pollutants — including antibiotics, PFAS, and triclosan — absorbing them from surrounding water and potentially delivering higher doses to organisms that ingest the plastic, with combined toxicity effects that can be either amplified or reduced depending on the combination.

2022 Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry 151 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota related response of Oryzias melastigma to combined exposure of polystyrene microplastics and tetracycline

Researchers exposed estuarine fish to polystyrene microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline, both alone and in combination, for four weeks. The combined exposure caused more severe disruption to gut bacteria and liver tissue than either pollutant alone, with microplastics appearing to worsen the effects of tetracycline. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in coastal waters may pose greater ecological risks than either contaminant by itself.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling individual and combined toxicity of microplastics and tetracycline at environment-related concentrations to coral holobionts

Researchers tested how microplastics alone and combined with the antibiotic tetracycline affect coral organisms at levels actually found in the ocean. The combination was more toxic than either pollutant alone, disrupting the coral's symbiotic algae, microbiome, and immune responses. Since coral reefs support fisheries and coastal communities worldwide, this damage from microplastic pollution could have cascading effects on both marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 7 citations