ArticleNature nanotechnology2024
Microplastic fragmentation by rotifers in aquatic ecosystems contributes to global nanoplastic pollution.
Article in Nature nanotechnology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 186 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Polarization Holographic 4D Phenotyping Reveals Nanoplastic Induced Dysfunction in Zooplankton.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Food: Dietary Toxicology Beyond Particle Counts.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2026Review
- Adverse Effects of Carbon Black Nanoparticles on Maternal and Fetal Lungs in Pregnant Mice: Insights From a Metabolomics Perspective.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Preparing and characterizing environmentally aged microplastics.Nature protocols · 2026Review
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- Single-Particle Mid-Infrared Photothermal Imaging Reveals Hidden Heterogeneity in Real-World Micro- and Nanoplastics.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Evolutionarily conserved mucus-mediated nanoplastic bioflocculation in Tetrahymena.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Article
- Trophic transfer and egestion dynamics of microplastics in the Brachionus-Asplanchna rotifer system.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2026Article
- Formation and Transformation of Micro(nano)plastics: Mechanisms and Environmental Health Implications.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Root wounds facilitate the uptake of microplastics in crop plants.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Reconfigurable Acoustofluidic Microvortices for Selective Microcargo Delivery.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Trophic transfer of CeOEco-Environment & Health · 2025Article
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- How soon will landfilled plastics integrate into the geological carbon cycle?Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2025Article
- MPs Entering Human Circulation through Infusions: A Significant Pathway and Health Concern.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
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- Effect of polystyrene nanoplastics on its toxicity and reproduction in Philodina roseola.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The role of aquatic organisms in the biological fragmentation of microplastics and their contribution to global nanoplastic pollution are poorly understood. Here we present a biological fragmentation pathway that generates nanoplastics during the ingestion of microplastics by rotifers, a commonly found and globally distributed surface water zooplankton relevant for nutrient recycling. Both marine and freshwater rotifers could rapidly grind polystyrene, polyethylene and photo-aged microplastics, thus releasing smaller particulates during ingestion. Nanoindentation studies of the trophi of the rotifer chitinous mastax revealed a Young's modulus of 1.46 GPa, which was higher than the 0.79 GPa for polystyrene microparticles, suggesting a fragmentation mechanism through grinding the edges of microplastics. Marine and freshwater rotifers generated over 3.48 × 10
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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.