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Adsorption properties and influencing factors of antibiotics on microplastics under simulated gastric fluid

Jie Jiang1,2, Jiaqian Zhang1, Boyan Liu1

  • 1School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology (Wei Hai), Weihai, 264209, Shandong, China.

Environmental Geochemistry and Health
|June 11, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Aged microplastics (MPs) like polypropylene, polylactic acid, and polystyrene adsorb more antibiotics (ATs) in simulated gastric fluid. Smaller MPs and lower ionic strength enhance this adsorption, particularly for amoxicillin.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Toxicology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Microplastics (MPs) and antibiotics (ATs) are pervasive environmental pollutants.
  • MPs can act as vectors for ATs, facilitating their transport and accumulation in organisms.
  • MP aging alters their pollutant adsorption properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the adsorption behavior of aged MPs (polypropylene, polylactic acid, polystyrene) for antibiotics in simulated human gastric fluid.
  • To determine the influence of pH, ionic strength, and particle size on MP-AT adsorption.
  • To identify the primary antibiotic adsorbed by aged MPs.

Main Methods:

  • Simulated human gastric fluid incubation of aged MPs (polypropylene, polylactic acid, polystyrene).
  • Adsorption experiments with four antibiotics: amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and sulfadiazine.
  • Analysis of adsorption kinetics (pseudo-second-order model) and isotherms (Freundlich model).

Main Results:

  • Adsorption capacity decreased with increasing pH and significantly with higher ionic strength.
  • Smaller MP particle sizes showed higher adsorption capacities.
  • Aged MPs exhibited significantly greater adsorption capacities than original MPs, with highest affinity for amoxicillin.

Conclusions:

  • Aging significantly enhances the adsorption of antibiotics onto microplastics in a simulated gastric environment.
  • Adsorption is influenced by environmental factors like pH, ionic strength, and particle size.
  • Findings are crucial for assessing the ecological risks of microplastic-antibiotic interactions in vivo.
Keywords:
Adsorption behaviorAgeingAntibioticsMicroplasticsSimulated gastric fluid

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