Tang Kuok Ho Daniel
Department of Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 86721, USA.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2025 Sep 5;14(9):896. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics14090896.
: Microplastics are ubiquitous pollutants that pose physical toxicity and serve as vectors for antimicrobial agents, altering their bioavailability and toxicity. Unlike previous reviews that focus solely on antibiotics and terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems, this review integrates recent findings on the combined impacts of microplastics and antimicrobials on both aquatic and terrestrial animals, highlighting their biological responses. : Recent experimental studies involving aquatic and terrestrial animals published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed. These studies employed co-exposure designs using microplastics of different sizes, aging conditions, and surface chemistries in combination with antimicrobial compounds. : Microplastics combined with antimicrobials cause species-specific and often synergistic toxicity in aquatic organisms, affecting reproduction, immunity, oxidative stress, gene expression, and microbiota, with co-exposure often amplifying adverse physiological and developmental effects. Similarly, co-exposure to microplastics and antimicrobials in rodents, amphibians, birds, and soil invertebrates frequently leads to synergistic toxicity, oxidative stress, disrupted gut microbiota, and enhanced accumulation and bioavailability of pollutants, promoting inflammation, neurotoxicity, metabolic dysfunction, and increased antibiotic resistance gene propagation. Particle size, aging, and antimicrobial type influence toxicity severity. Certain microplastic-antimicrobial combinations can exhibit antagonistic effects, though less frequently reported. : The interactions between microplastics and antimicrobials pose heightened risks to the health of organisms and ecological stability. These findings underscore the need to revise current risk assessment protocols to consider pollutant mixtures and microplastics-mediated transport. Future research should focus on environmentally relevant exposures, mechanistic studies using omics tools, and long-term ecological impacts. Integrated regulatory strategies are essential to address the compounded effects of microplastics and chemical contaminants.
微塑料是普遍存在的污染物，具有物理毒性，并可作为抗菌剂的载体，改变其生物有效性和毒性。与以往仅关注抗生素以及陆地或水生生态系统的综述不同，本综述整合了微塑料和抗菌剂对水生和陆生动物综合影响的最新研究结果，突出了它们的生物学反应。
对发表在同行评审期刊上的涉及水生和陆生动物的近期实验研究进行了综述。这些研究采用了共同暴露设计，将不同尺寸、老化条件和表面化学性质的微塑料与抗菌化合物结合使用。
微塑料与抗菌剂结合会在水生生物中造成物种特异性且往往具有协同作用的毒性，影响繁殖、免疫、氧化应激、基因表达和微生物群，共同暴露通常会放大不良的生理和发育影响。同样，在啮齿动物、两栖动物、鸟类和土壤无脊椎动物中，微塑料和抗菌剂的共同暴露经常导致协同毒性作用、氧化应激、肠道微生物群紊乱，以及污染物的积累和生物有效性增强，从而引发炎症、神经毒性、代谢功能障碍和抗生素抗性基因传播增加。颗粒大小、老化程度和抗菌剂类型会影响毒性的严重程度。某些微塑料 - 抗菌剂组合可能会表现出拮抗作用，不过此类报道较少。
微塑料和抗菌剂之间的相互作用对生物体健康和生态稳定性构成了更高的风险。这些研究结果强调需要修订当前的风险评估方案，以考虑污染物混合物和微塑料介导的传输。未来的研究应侧重于与环境相关的暴露、使用组学工具的机制研究以及长期的生态影响。综合监管策略对于应对微塑料和化学污染物的复合效应至关重要。
