فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Microplastics (MPs) have become a symbol of modern life and their fate in the environment is an issue of great concern. MPs have attracted attention for their widespread distribution, especially in the aquatic ecosystems. MPs can act as a vector of various heavy metals in the environment and pose a threat to marine and freshwater organisms as well as human health. The MP surfaces play a defining role in the adsorption of heavy metal. Aged or biofouled MPs further induce the adsorption of metals.  Particular microplastic (MPs) polymers have a higher tendency for adsorption of some metals specifically. Evidence shows that MPs are vectors for persistent organic pollutants (POPs), pharmaceuticals, and especially heavy metals. MP surfaces can retain chemical contaminants over six-fold higher than the surrounding environment. Since plastic materials offer different surface characteristics, therefore chemical composition, functional groups, crystallinity, and carbon chains vary significantly. The differences between plastic materials determine how they interact and become vectors for chemicals in aquatic systems. MPs could be enriched with heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Pb, Mn, etc. The biofilms developed on the MP surface can enhance the adsorption capacities of heavy metals. It is urgent to understand the pattern of interactions of MPs with heavy metals in various aquatic systems. This allows us to understand the severity of ecotoxic effects which in turn helps regulate these pollutants. The adsorption of heavy metals on MPs increases their bioaccumulation. In this paper, we summarize the occurrence of MPs in a given aquatic ecosystem and patterns of interaction with heavy metals.