Insight into combined pollution of antibiotics and microplastics in aquatic and soil environment: Environmental behavior, interaction mechanism and associated impact of resistant genes

At present, antibiotics and microplastics are two emerging pollutants which widely exist in the water environment. The interaction between antibiotics and microplastics forms combined pollution, which poses potential adverse effects to organisms. Due to its ability to enrich antibiotics, microplastics have received significant attention from the academic circle. This article systematically reviews the interaction of microplastics with antibiotics and the antibiotic resistant genes in microbes. Also, the environmental impacts of the composite pollutants are described. In addition to water media, this article also describes the composite pollution in soil and provides a deeper understanding of the adsorption-desorption of the combined contaminant. Furthermore, the mechanism between antibiotics and microplastics is summarized with different interactions and molecular effects. Moreover, future research directions and solutions are provided for the combined pollution, through the full understanding of the antibiotic resistant ecosystems formed by microplastics. In conclusion, the review provides useful information about antibiotic-microplastic complex pollutants at the micro scale.