Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Silent threat – the ecological dangers of NSAIDs in aquatic ecosystems

This review synthesizes evidence on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as emerging aquatic contaminants, examining their sources, environmental persistence, and toxicological effects on aquatic organisms including fish, invertebrates, and algae.

2025 Archives of Environmental Protection
Article Tier 2

Potential Effects of Persistent Organic Contaminants on Marine Biota: A Review on Recent Research

This review examined the effects of persistent organic contaminants including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs on marine biota, synthesizing evidence of direct and indirect ecological impacts across multiple chemical classes.

2021 Water 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Contaminants and their ecological risk assessment in beach sediments and water along the Maharashtra coast of India: A comprehensive approach using microplastics, heavy metal(loid)s, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and plasticisers

Researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of multiple contaminant types along India's Maharashtra coast, including microplastics, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and plasticizers in both water and sediment. They found widespread contamination with microplastics present at all 17 sampling stations, alongside concerning levels of other pollutants. The study highlights how coastal communities face exposure to a cocktail of emerging contaminants, with microplastics potentially acting as carriers for other harmful substances.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in Indian marine environment: sources, effects and solutions

This review provides a comprehensive look at microplastic pollution in India's marine environment, covering sources, transport, effects on marine life, and potential solutions. Microplastics are being ingested by organisms at every level of the food chain, causing inflammation, hormonal disruption, and reproductive problems that eventually affect humans through seafood. The authors call for stronger policies, better waste management, and public awareness to address this growing threat to both marine ecosystems and human health.

2024 Frontiers in Marine Science 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging pollutants-a potential threat to the marine environment

This review catalogs emerging marine pollutants — including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, hormones, and industrial chemicals — and discusses their sources and potential ecological impacts. The diversity of these contaminants poses complex and poorly understood threats to ocean and human health.

2020 Scientific Bulletin of Naval Academy 1 citations
Article Tier 2

(Bio)monitoring of pharmaceuticals in the Mediterranean aquatic environment and interactive effect with microplastics. Insights from field and laboratory studies

This biomonitoring study surveyed the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in Mediterranean aquatic environments, measuring concentrations in water, sediment, and biota across multiple sampling sites. Several drugs were detected at levels of potential concern for aquatic organisms.

2024 Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya)
Systematic Review Tier 1

Micro(nano)plastics as a vector of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystem: Historical review and future trends

This systematic review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in water can absorb and carry pharmaceutical drugs, creating a combined pollution threat. When medications attach to tiny plastic particles in rivers and oceans, they may become more harmful to aquatic life and potentially to humans who consume contaminated seafood or water. The research traces how this emerging double-threat has grown since 2018 and identifies key knowledge gaps.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Aquatic Environment: How Can Regions at Risk be Identified in the Future?

This review discusses the growing concern over pharmaceuticals and personal care products as environmental contaminants in aquatic systems, particularly in regions with limited monitoring infrastructure. Researchers outline key research priorities for the next decade, including improving predictions of where these chemicals pose the greatest risk. The study emphasizes the need for better global surveillance and risk assessment models to protect both ecosystems and human health.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as vectors of pharmaceuticals in aquatic organisms – An overview of their environmental implications

Researchers reviewed how microplastics act as "vectors" for pharmaceutical contaminants in aquatic environments, absorbing drugs onto their surfaces and then releasing them inside organisms after ingestion — potentially amplifying the toxicity of pharmaceuticals throughout the food web.

2021 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Selected widely prescribed pharmaceuticals: toxicity of the drugs and the products of their photochemical degradation to aquatic organisms

Researchers reviewed the environmental fate of widely prescribed pharmaceuticals in surface waters, examining both the parent drugs and their photochemical degradation products. The study found that some breakdown products may be more toxic to aquatic organisms than the original drugs, highlighting how pharmaceutical pollution interacts with other contaminants including microplastics in water systems.

2024 Journal of Applied Biomedicine 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrences, distribution and sources of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the mangrove dominated estuaries in the central part of the Indian Sundarbans, a world heritage site.

Researchers investigated the occurrence of five emerging contaminant classes — phenols, triclosan, NSAIDs, phthalates, and parabens — in surface waters of two Sundarbans estuaries in India using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, providing baseline data on pharmaceutical and personal care product contamination in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Determination of the pharmaceuticals–nano/microplastics in aquatic systems by analytical and instrumental methods

Researchers reviewed analytical and instrumental methods for detecting pharmaceutical compounds associated with nano- and microplastic particles in aquatic systems. They examined how pharmaceuticals bind to plastic particles and the combined environmental risks these mixtures pose to water sources and marine life. The study identifies gaps in current detection capabilities and calls for improved methods to assess the combined impact of these co-occurring pollutants.

2022 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Emerging Environmental Contaminants of Global Concern

This review covers major categories of emerging environmental contaminants including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, pesticides, and endocrine disruptors, summarizing their sources, ecological effects, and detection methods. Recent advances in sensitive analytical techniques have accelerated the identification and monitoring of these pollutants.

2023 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutically active micropollutants: origin, hazards and removal

This review summarizes existing research on pharmaceutical pollutants -- such as antibiotics, painkillers, and hormones -- found in water systems around the world. While focused on drug contamination, the paper notes that microplastics can act as carriers for these pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially concentrating them and increasing human exposure through drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods are often unable to fully remove these micropollutants.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Saving the pharmacy of the sea: How does global change affect species with bioactive potential in the Mediterranean?

This study examined how human activities — including pollution, fishing, and climate change — threaten Mediterranean marine species that produce potentially useful bioactive compounds. Microplastic contamination is among the stressors affecting these species and their ability to produce molecules of pharmaceutical interest.

2020 Mètode Revista de difusió de la investigació 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceuticals and Microplastics in Aquatic Environments: A Comprehensive Review of Pathways and Distribution, Toxicological and Ecological Effects

This review examines how pharmaceuticals and microplastics travel through the environment and accumulate in aquatic food chains, with drug residues found at measurable levels in surface waters and microplastics reaching densities of up to a million particles per cubic meter in some water systems. When aquatic organisms absorb these combined pollutants, the contaminants can biomagnify up the food chain to humans, affecting growth, reproduction, and immune function.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aquatic Environments: A Concise Review of Environmental Impacts and Bioremediation Systems

This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs are polluting waterways worldwide because conventional wastewater treatment cannot effectively remove them. The authors focus on bioremediation approaches, especially using fungi, as a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to break down these drug residues. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics can carry pharmaceutical compounds in water, and better water treatment would address both contaminants.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 315 citations
Article Tier 2

A comprehensive review of emerging contaminants in water sources

This comprehensive review examines the origins and environmental significance of emerging contaminants in water sources, including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, endocrine disruptors, and PFAS chemicals. Researchers found that these persistent pollutants exhibit complex behaviors in aquatic systems and pose threats to both ecosystem and human health. The study highlights the need for advanced monitoring and treatment technologies to address the growing challenge of emerging contaminant pollution in water supplies.

2024 International Journal of Advanced Chemistry 2 citations
Review Tier 2

A critical review on various trophic transfer routes of microplastics in the context of the Indian coastal ecosystem

This review examines how microplastics accumulate along the Indian coastline through ingestion and bioaccumulation across species including plankton, fish, turtles, and seabirds. The findings highlight India's coastal biodiversity as being at significant risk, with implications for the millions of people who rely on marine fisheries for food.

2020 Watershed Ecology and the Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

An assessment of the concentration of pharmaceuticals adsorbed on microplastics

This study developed and validated an analytical method to measure pharmaceutical compounds adsorbed onto microplastic particles in marine water samples. Microplastics can concentrate pharmaceuticals from water and carry them through marine food chains, potentially delivering drug compounds to fish and other organisms at elevated concentrations.

2020 Chemosphere 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental and Health Effects of Emerging Contaminants –A Critical Review

Researchers reviewed the environmental and health effects of emerging contaminants including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics commonly found in water and soil samples. The study suggests that these contaminants can cause endocrine disruption in exposed organisms and may contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment.

2023 International Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in Kerala's coastal ecosystems: a review of sources, distribution, and ecological implications

Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in Kerala's coastal waters and sediments, finding concentrations as high as 200 particles per liter in some areas, with pollution disrupting mangrove and coral reef ecosystems, entering the food chain through seafood, and posing inflammation and endocrine disruption risks to humans.

2025 Discover Geoscience 6 citations
Article Tier 2

How to decrease pharmaceuticals in the environment? A review

This review examines strategies for reducing pharmaceutical pollution in the environment, which is relevant to microplastic research because pharmaceuticals often co-occur with plastic contaminants in waterways. The authors ranked approaches from upstream solutions like greener drug design and better prescription practices to downstream technologies like advanced water treatment. The study concludes that preventing pharmaceutical pollution at its source is more effective and sustainable than relying solely on end-of-pipe treatment technologies.

2021 Environmental Chemistry Letters 156 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradação e biorremediação de fármacos, cosméticos e produtos de higiene pessoal

This chapter reviews biological degradation and bioremediation techniques for removing pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals from wastewater, as these compounds are regularly discharged into water sources and harm aquatic ecosystems. Complete removal of these emerging contaminants remains technically challenging and represents an active area of environmental research.

2022 Mérida Publishers eBooks