Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

The Combined Effects of Cadmium and Microplastic Mixtures on the Digestion, Energy Metabolism, Oxidative Stress Regulation, Immune Function, and Metabolomes in the Pearl Oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii)

Researchers studied the combined effects of cadmium and microplastics on pearl oysters, measuring impacts on digestion, energy use, immune function, and metabolism. They found that co-exposure to both pollutants caused more severe damage than either alone, disrupting the oysters' antioxidant defenses and metabolic processes. The study highlights the compounding threat that metal and microplastic pollution together pose to marine shellfish.

2025 Fishes 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Isolated and combined toxicity of PVC microplastics and copper on Pinctada fucata martensii: Immune, oxidative, and metabolomics insights

Researchers studied the individual and combined toxic effects of PVC microplastics and copper on pearl oysters over 13 days. They found that combined exposure caused more severe immune suppression, oxidative damage, and metabolic disruption than either pollutant alone. The study demonstrates that microplastics and heavy metals can interact to amplify their harmful effects on marine organisms.

2025 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-Biomarker Responses of Asian Clam Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia, Corbiculidea) to Cadmium and Microplastics Pollutants

Researchers exposed Asian clams to cadmium, microplastics, and their mixtures, then measured a battery of biomarkers including oxidative stress, energy metabolism, and neurotoxicity indicators. They found that the combined exposure to cadmium and microplastics produced interactive effects that differed from exposure to either contaminant alone. The study demonstrates that microplastics can modify the toxicity of heavy metals in freshwater bivalves, highlighting the importance of studying pollutant mixtures rather than individual contaminants.

2021 Water 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Microplastics and Cadmium Exposure Induces Persistent Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata martensii

Researchers examined the combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the gut microbiome of pearl oysters over a 48-hour exposure followed by a 5-day recovery period. The study found that co-exposure caused persistent shifts in gut microbial community composition that did not fully recover, suggesting that combined pollutant exposure may have lasting effects on the gut health of marine aquaculture species.

2026 Fishes
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Microplastics, Cadmium, and Their Mixtures on Biochemical Biomarkers in the Freshwater Bivalve Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia, Corbiculidea)

This study evaluated the combined impacts of microplastics and cadmium on biochemical biomarkers in a freshwater organism, finding that co-exposure caused greater oxidative stress and cellular damage than either contaminant alone. Microplastics appear to enhance cadmium bioavailability and toxicity.

2024 Diversity 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Immunotoxicity of microplastics and polychlorinated biphenyls alone or in combination to Crassostrea gigas

Researchers exposed oysters to microplastics and PCBs (industrial chemicals) both alone and together, finding that the combination caused significantly worse immune damage than either pollutant on its own. The pollutants reduced the oysters' ability to fight infection, increased cell damage, and triggered cell death pathways. This synergistic effect is concerning because microplastics in the ocean often carry other toxic chemicals, potentially making contaminated seafood a greater health risk.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Adverse Effects of Co-Exposure to Cd and Microplastic in Tigriopus japonicus

Researchers exposed the marine copepod Tigriopus japonicus to combined cadmium and polystyrene microplastic exposure using a full concentration-response design. Co-exposure increased toxicity compared to either contaminant alone, with effects on survival, reproduction, and development, indicating synergistic or additive interactions between cadmium and microplastics.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Evaluating Toxic Interactions of Polystyrene Microplastics with Hazardous and Noxious Substances Using the Early Life Stages of the Marine Bivalve Crassostrea gigas

Researchers examined how polystyrene microplastics interact with cadmium and phenanthrene, two common coastal pollutants, using Pacific oyster larvae as a test species. They found that microplastics generally reduced the toxicity of these pollutants but could also act as carriers that alter how the toxins are delivered to the organisms. The study highlights the complex and sometimes unpredictable ways microplastics can change the impact of other pollutants on marine life.

2025 Nanomaterials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the cadmium accumulation, antioxidant defence and innate immunity of the discus fish (Symphysodon aequifasciatus)

Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics interact with cadmium toxicity in discus fish and found that the presence of microplastics actually reduced cadmium accumulation in the fish's body. However, the microplastics independently caused oxidative stress and altered immune responses. The study reveals that the combined effects of microplastics and heavy metals on aquatic organisms are complex and do not simply add together.

2018 Environmental Pollution 414 citations
Article Tier 2

Response and adaptation mechanisms of Apostichopus japonicus to single and combined anthropogenic stresses of polystyrene microplastics or cadmium

Researchers examined how sea cucumbers respond to polystyrene microplastics, cadmium, and their combination over an extended exposure period. They found that combined exposure caused more severe effects on growth, immune function, and oxidative stress than either stressor alone, and that the animals activated specific molecular defense pathways. The study reveals that the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals in marine environments can create compounding stress on commercially and ecologically important species.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)

Researchers found that combined exposure to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium in juvenile grass carp caused greater physiological stress than either pollutant alone, with microplastics enhancing cadmium accumulation and intensifying oxidative stress and immune responses.

2022 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of cadmium and microplastics on Neocaridina denticulata sinensis: Survival, growth, biochemistry, histopathology and gut microbiome

Researchers exposed freshwater shrimp to varying concentrations of microplastics and cadmium, both alone and in combination, to study their toxic effects and the organisms' recovery ability. They found that microplastics acted as cadmium carriers, promoting metal transport across gill barriers and causing oxidative stress, tissue damage, and gut microbiota imbalance. After seven days in clean water, most damage indicators and microbial diversity returned to near-normal levels, suggesting some recovery capacity.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological and biochemical responses to caffeine and microplastics in Mytilus galloprovincialis

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to caffeine and microplastics both separately and together to measure their combined effects. The combination caused greater oxidative stress and changes in cell function than either pollutant alone. While focused on mussels, the study is relevant to human health because mussels are widely eaten as seafood and can accumulate both microplastics and chemical contaminants.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing microplastic (MP)-derived dissolved organic matter in the infiltration of MP-contaminated sand system and its disinfection byproducts formation

Researchers investigated the combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and cadmium on the freshwater snail Bellamya aeruginosa, finding that co-exposure produced greater oxidative stress and tissue damage than either contaminant alone. The microplastics enhanced cadmium bioavailability in tissues.

2022 Water Research 53 citations
Article Tier 2

The bioaccumulation characteristics and combined toxicity effects of aged microplastics with adsorbed Hg(II) in oysters

Researchers investigated how mercury-adsorbed microplastics accumulate in oysters and affect their health. They found that aged tire microplastics showed accumulation levels three to six times higher than polyethylene microplastics, and that mercury was primarily delivered to the oysters through the microplastics as carriers via food pathways. Medium and high concentrations of these contaminated microplastics induced oxidative damage, immune dysfunction, and changes in gene expression in the oysters.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Simultaneous exposure to microplastics and heavy metal lead induces oxidative stress, histopathological damage, and immune dysfunction in marine mussel Mytilus coruscus

When marine mussels were exposed to both microplastics and the heavy metal lead together, the combined effect was worse than either pollutant alone. The combination caused more severe tissue damage, higher oxidative stress, and greater immune system disruption, which is concerning because in real ocean environments, microplastics and heavy metals commonly occur together.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 20 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of different types of microplastic and acute cadmium exposure on the Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819)

This study examined how different types of microplastics, alone and combined with cadmium, affect Mediterranean mussels that are widely consumed as seafood. Exposure to microplastics and cadmium caused oxidative stress, tissue damage, and neurotoxicity in the mussels, with combined exposure being worse than either pollutant alone. The health risk calculations for human consumers exceeded safety limits, suggesting that microplastic-contaminated mussels could pose a real food safety concern.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioaccumulation of microplastics and its in vivo interactions with trace metals in edible oysters

Scientists collected oysters from a Chinese coastal city and found microplastics in all samples, then investigated how microplastics interact with trace metals in vivo, finding that plastic particles and metals co-accumulated in tissues and that plastics may alter metal bioavailability.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics and Cadmium on Growth of Microcystis aeruginosa

Researchers examined what happens when polyethylene microplastics and the heavy metal cadmium are both present in freshwater, focusing on their effects on a bloom-forming algae species. Evidence indicates that the combination caused greater stress on the algae than either pollutant alone, though microplastics partially reduced cadmium toxicity by adsorbing some of the metal.

2024 Toxics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Acute co-exposure to microbeads and cadmium enhances accumulation and alters plasma biochemical markers and stress indicators in Korean rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli

Researchers found that combined acute exposure of Korean rockfish to microbeads and cadmium enhanced heavy metal accumulation in fish tissues more than cadmium alone, with microplastics facilitating metal adsorption and transport in ways that increase contaminant bioavailability.

2025 Fish Physiology and Biochemistry
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of exposure to polymethyl methacrylate and polyvinyl chloride microplastics in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas)

Researchers exposed Pacific oysters to two types of microplastics and found significant signs of oxidative stress, DNA damage, and metabolic disruption after 30 days. Polymethyl methacrylate microplastics caused the most severe effects, reducing a key protective enzyme by 59% and triggering the highest levels of DNA damage markers. The study provides important toxicological data showing that different plastic types can have varying degrees of harm on marine shellfish.

2024 Environmental Pollution 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics Associated with Triclosan on the Oyster Crassostrea brasiliana: An Integrated Biomarker Approach

Brazilian oysters (Crassostrea brasiliana) were exposed to microplastics alone and in combination with the antibacterial chemical triclosan, with combined exposure causing greater oxidative stress, immune disruption, and genotoxicity than either stressor alone.

2020 Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological response and oxidative stress of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) under single and combined toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and cadmium

Researchers examined the individual and combined toxicity of polystyrene microplastics and cadmium on grass carp. The study found that fish mortality increased with higher concentrations and that the presence of microplastics elevated cadmium concentration effects, with combined exposure inducing greater oxidative stress than either contaminant alone.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure to Microplastics and Cadmium: Effects on DNA Damage in Mytilus Galloprovincialis

This study investigated how co-exposure to microplastics and cadmium affects DNA damage in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Microplastics acted as vectors for cadmium, and combined exposure resulted in greater genotoxic effects than either pollutant alone.

2025 Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale