ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2022
Environmental Degradation of Microplastics: How to Measure Fragmentation Rates to Secondary Micro- and Nanoplastic Fragments and Dissociation into Dissolved Organics.
Article in Environmental science & technology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Micro- and Nanoplastics in the Human Exposome: Environmental Pathways, Kidney Toxicity, and Implications for Public Health Risk Assessment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Bacteria-nanoplastic interactions: mechanisms, ecological consequences, and advances in biodegradation technologies.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Preparing and characterizing environmentally aged microplastics.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- From Aquatic Pollution to Drinking-Water Exposure: Analytical Challenges in Detecting Nanoplastics in Drinking Water-A PRISMA-Guided Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- GSH-responsive polyurethane/PBAT blend films: degradation kinetics, ecotoxicity screening, and governance-carbon couplingRSC advances · 2026Article
- Molecular Fingerprinting for Source Attribution of Nanoplastics in Drinking-Water Systems.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Single-Particle Mid-Infrared Photothermal Imaging Reveals Hidden Heterogeneity in Real-World Micro- and Nanoplastics.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Abiotic Hydrolysis of Microplastics: Influence of Polymer Chain Scission on Particle Fragmentation and Dissolved Organic Carbon Release.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Diverse origins and chemical complexity of nanoplastics.Nature nanotechnology · 2026Review
- Impact of Micro and Nanoplastics on Reproductive Cancer and the Potential Anticancer Benefits of Prolonged Ginger, Garlic, and Turmeric Consumption: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Review
- Release Assessment Methodology for Safe, Sustainable, and Recyclable By-Design Practices for Plastics: The Epoxy-Resin Composite Case Study.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Testing the biodegradability of difficult compounds: a future challenge for the OECD/ISO standardization.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Toxic effects of microplastics in aquatic environments and the pathways to sustainable management.RSC advances · 2026Review
- Micro- and nanoplastic exposure as an emerging risk factor for depressive-like phenotypes across species: a systematic review.Frontiers in toxicology · 2026Review
- Microplastic Pollution in the Environment: A Chemical Engineering Perspective on Sources, Fate, and Mitigation Strategies.Polymers · 2025Review
- Microplastic biofilm as hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes and potential pathogens.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Review
- Are Microplastic (∼25-1000 μm) and Plasticizer Concentrations Correlated in Sediments of an Urbanized UK Estuary?Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplastic Exposure Triggers an Activation and Stress Response in Human Astrocytes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Microplastic Contamination from Ready-to-Cook Clams: Implications for Food Safety and Human Exposure.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the environmental fate of microplastics is essential for their risk assessment. It is essential to differentiate size classes and degradation states. Still, insights into fragmentation and degradation mechanisms of primary and secondary microplastics into micro- and nanoplastic fragments and other degradation products are limited. Here, we present an adapted NanoRelease protocol for a UV-dose-dependent assessment and size-selective quantification of the release of micro- and nanoplastic fragments down to 10 nm and demonstrate its applicability for polyamide and thermoplastic polyurethanes. The tested cryo-milled polymers do not originate from actual consumer products but are handled in industry and are therefore representative of polydisperse microplastics occurring in the environment. The protocol is suitable for various types of microplastic polymers, and the measured rates can serve to parameterize mechanistic fragmentation models. We also found that primary microplastics matched the same ranking of weathering stability as their corresponding macroplastics and that dissolved organics constitute a major rate of microplastic mass loss. The results imply that previously formed micro- and nanoplastic fragments can further degrade into water-soluble organics with measurable rates that enable modeling approaches for all environmental compartments accessible to UV light.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.