Biotechnological methods to remove microplastics: a review

Uttpal Anand, Satarupa Dey*, Elza Bontempi, Serena Ducoli, A. Dick Vethaak, Abhijit Dey*, Stefania Federici*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Microplastics pollution is major threat to ecosystems and is impacting abiotic and biotic components. Microplastics are diverse and highly complex contaminants that transport other contaminants and microbes. Current methods to remove microplastics include biodegradation, incineration, landfilling, and recycling. Here we review microplastics with focus on sources, toxicity, and biodegradation. We discuss the role of algae, fungi, bacteria in the biodegradation, and we present biotechnological methods to enhance degradation, e.g., gene editing tools and bioinformatics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1787-1810
Number of pages24
JournalEnvironmental Chemistry Letters
Volume21
Issue number3
Early online date8 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Authors sincerely apologize to colleagues/researchers whose work could not be discussed and cited in this manuscript due to space limitations. The authors are thankful to their respective departments/institutes for providing space and other necessary facilities which helped to draft this manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Funding

Authors sincerely apologize to colleagues/researchers whose work could not be discussed and cited in this manuscript due to space limitations. The authors are thankful to their respective departments/institutes for providing space and other necessary facilities which helped to draft this manuscript.

Keywords

  • Biodegradation
  • Biotechnological interventions
  • CRISPR
  • Incineration
  • Microplastic degrading microorganisms
  • Microplastics
  • Synthetic biology

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