Microplastics as vectors of contaminants

Pollution by microplastics and antibiotics is an emerging environmental, human and animal health threat. In spite of several studies documenting the widespread occurrence of plastic debris in aquatic ecosystems, research focusing on occurrence and concentration of biological and chemical contaminants attached on microplastic surface as well as on possible interactions of these contaminants with microplastics is still at its beginning. The present note addresses the role of microplastics as vectors of contaminants in water bodies, stressing the need for future investigations on this hot topic. •Microplastics are potential substrates for biological and chemical contaminants.•They can act as vectors of contaminants also in extreme polar environments.•Microplastic-contaminants interaction and related health risks need further studies.