The concentrations of cadmium and zinc on microplastic surface get hold of
22841.05 Æ 8329.96 μg per g and 8242.52 Æ 4020.63 μg per g, respectively.
Organic contaminants such as antibiotics are widespread in aquatic environments.
The affinity of these contaminants for microplastics is conditioned in many cases by
their polarity and hydrophobicity. The sorption capacities of nonpolar organic
contaminants are higher on nonpolar than polar polymers (Hüffer and Hofmann
2016). Some authors synthesized concentrations on freshwater in order to study the
adsorption of organic contaminants in microplastics. Some of the published results
are shown in Table 1.3.
The sorption capacity of organic compounds on microplastics is high, although
the sorption capacities of different antibiotics on a specific type of plastic differed
greatly. Sorption of antibiotics studied on microplastics decreased in the following
order: ciprofloxacin > amoxicillin > trimethoprim > tetracycline (Li et al. 2018).
Sorption affinities vary depending on the polymer type and the nature of the
pollutants. Thus, different types of polymers have different adsorption behaviors for
the same pollutant. This could be attributed to the differences in the polarity and the
functional groups of each polymer (Guo et al. 2012).
1.6.1 Effects of Microplastics on Freshwater Organisms
There is reasonably extensive evidence related to the harm caused by plastic waste in
aquatic ecosystems. This can have a range of negative impacts on infrastructure and
fishing. In addition, this could affect a wide range of freshwater organisms as a
consequence of entanglement and ingestion. According to Scherer et al. (2017),
there are some freshwater species that ingested microplastics with demonstrated
effects on them, such as L. varigatus, C. riparius, G. pulex, Gammarus fossarum,
P. acuta, or D. magna. Some studies on fish have shown that microplastics and
associated toxins are bioaccumulated and cause problems such as intestinal damage
and changes in metabolic profiles or are even lethal. Some of these effects on
freshwater organisms are presented in Table 1.4.
30
V. Godoy et al.
22841.05 Æ 8329.96 μg per g and 8242.52 Æ 4020.63 μg per g, respectively.
Organic contaminants such as antibiotics are widespread in aquatic environments.
The affinity of these contaminants for microplastics is conditioned in many cases by
their polarity and hydrophobicity. The sorption capacities of nonpolar organic
contaminants are higher on nonpolar than polar polymers (Hüffer and Hofmann
2016). Some authors synthesized concentrations on freshwater in order to study the
adsorption of organic contaminants in microplastics. Some of the published results
are shown in Table 1.3.
The sorption capacity of organic compounds on microplastics is high, although
the sorption capacities of different antibiotics on a specific type of plastic differed
greatly. Sorption of antibiotics studied on microplastics decreased in the following
order: ciprofloxacin > amoxicillin > trimethoprim > tetracycline (Li et al. 2018).
Sorption affinities vary depending on the polymer type and the nature of the
pollutants. Thus, different types of polymers have different adsorption behaviors for
the same pollutant. This could be attributed to the differences in the polarity and the
functional groups of each polymer (Guo et al. 2012).
1.6.1 Effects of Microplastics on Freshwater Organisms
There is reasonably extensive evidence related to the harm caused by plastic waste in
aquatic ecosystems. This can have a range of negative impacts on infrastructure and
fishing. In addition, this could affect a wide range of freshwater organisms as a
consequence of entanglement and ingestion. According to Scherer et al. (2017),
there are some freshwater species that ingested microplastics with demonstrated
effects on them, such as L. varigatus, C. riparius, G. pulex, Gammarus fossarum,
P. acuta, or D. magna. Some studies on fish have shown that microplastics and
associated toxins are bioaccumulated and cause problems such as intestinal damage
and changes in metabolic profiles or are even lethal. Some of these effects on
freshwater organisms are presented in Table 1.4.
30
V. Godoy et al.