Plastic pollution ranks among the most severe environmental disasters caused by humans, generating millions of tonnes of waste annually. The extensive and unregulated use of plastics has led to ecotoxicity and environmental imbalance. Microplastics (MPs) are prevalent in aquatic environments, and these MPs further degrade into even smaller particles known as nano-plastics (NPs). Both MPs and NPs impact the environment by readily absorbing organic pollutants and pathogens from their surroundings, owing to their bigger surface area to volume ratio. This review focuses on the source of origin, bioaccumulation, and potential impact of MPs and NPs on aquatic organisms and human health. Additionally, the review explores various methods employed for identification and quantification of these particles in aquatic ecosystems. Sufficient information is available on their characteristics, distributions, and effects on marine ecosystems compared with freshwater ecosystems. For plastic particles <10 μm, more toxicological effects were observed compared with larger size particles, in aquatic life. Understanding the mechanism of action and ecotoxicological effects of micro/nano-plastics on the health of aquatic life across various trophic levels, as well as human health, is of utmost importance. We address knowledge gaps and provide insights into future research approaches for a better understanding of the interactive mechanisms between binary pollutants.

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揭示微米和纳米塑料对水生生物和人类健康的生态毒理学影响

塑料污染是人类造成的最严重的环境灾难之一，每年产生数百万吨废物。塑料的广泛且不受管制的使用导致了生态毒性和环境失衡。微塑料 (MP) 在水生环境中普遍存在，这些 MP 进一步降解成更小的颗粒，称为纳米塑料 (NP)。由于 MP 和 NP 的表面积与体积之比较大，因此它们很容易吸收周围环境中的有机污染物和病原体，从而影响环境。本综述重点关注 MP 和 NP 的来源、生物累积性以及对水生生物和人类健康的潜在影响。此外，该综述还探讨了用于识别和量化水生生态系统中这些颗粒的各种方法。关于它们的特征、分布以及与淡水生态系统相比对海洋生态系统的影响，已有足够的信息。对于<10μm的塑料颗粒，与较大尺寸的颗粒相比，在水生生物中观察到更多的毒理学效应。了解微/纳米塑料对不同营养级水生生物健康以及人类健康的作用机制和生态毒理学影响至关重要。我们解决知识差距并提供对未来研究方法的见解，以更好地理解二元污染物之间的相互作用机制。