Effect of environmental factors on attachment of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to polypropylene microplastics.

Polypropylene microplastics show the highest attachment of Escherichia coli, with attachment efficiency linked to hydrophobicity (water contact angle 98.4°) and weak negative charge (zeta potential −16.6 mV).

• Why it matters: Environmental conditions can change how pathogens colonize microplastics, affecting their transport in aquatic systems; species-specific responses remain insufficiently quantified across realistic factors.
• What they did: Attachment of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to five microplastic polymers was tested on polypropylene MPs while varying pH (4.5–8.6), temperature (20–35 °C), hydrodynamics, NOM, and NaCl.
• The result: Escherichia coli attachment fell with increasing pH and temperature, peaked at 150 rpm under hydrodynamic changes, and dropped from 79.72% in sterilized water to 17.10% in lake water and 4.87% in WWTP effluent.

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