Current research trends on micro- and nano-plastics as an emerging threat to global environment : A review

• Micro-and nano-plastics (MNPs) (size < 5 mm/<100 nm) epitomize one of the emergent environmental pollutants with its existence all around the globe. Their high persistence nature and release of chemicals/additives used in synthesis of plastics materials may pose cascading impacts on living organism across the globe. Natural connectivity of all the environmental compartments (terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric) leads to migration/dispersion of MNPs from one compartment to others. Nevertheless, the information on dispersion of MNPs across the environmental compartments and its possible impacts on living organisms are still missing. This review first acquaints with dispersion mechanisms of MNPs in the environment, its polymeric/oligomeric and chemical constituents and then emphasized its impacts on living organism. Based on the existing knowledge about the MNPs’ constituent and its potential impacts on the viability, development, lifecycle, movements, and fertility of living organism via several potential mechanisms, such as irritation, oxidative damage, digestion impairment, tissue deposition, change in gut microbial communities’ dynamics, impaired fatty acid metabolism, and molecular damage are emphasized. Finally, at the end, the review provided the challenges associated with remediation of plastics pollutions and desirable strategies, policies required along with substantial gaps in MNPs research were recommended for future studies.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Chemicals and additives

Food chain

Health impact

Microplastics

Nano-plastics

Elastomers

Fatty acids

Life cycle

Plastics

Pollution

Chemical constituents

Dispersion mechanisms

Environmental compartment

Environmental pollutants

Fatty acid metabolism

Global environment

Microbial communities

Potential mechanism

Biology

chemical compound

drug additive

microplastic

monomer

nanoplastic

oligomer

organic compound

polymer

river water

plastic

additive

chemical composition

chemical pollutant

digestive system

fatty acid

literature review

microbial activity

microbial community

aquatic environment

Article

atmospheric transport

digestion

dispersion

environmental impact

environmental policy

fertility

forecasting

health impact assessment

human

intestine flora

life cycle assessment

microplastic pollution

migration

nonhuman

oligomerization

organisms

oxidative stress

polymerization

river ecosystem

sea

theoretical study

environmental monitoring

pollutant

toxicity

water pollutant

Environmental Pollution

Water Pollutants

Chemical

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

for (ämneskategori)