Environmental and Biological Risks of Micro and Nanoplastics: A Systematic Review of Key Mechanisms

ABSTRACT Plastic pollution is a systemic environmental challenge of the modern era. Micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) are the most insidious that have emerged as the most pervasive environmental contaminants, requiring a systematic analysis of their persistence, chemical stability, and global prevalence. Their environmental ramifications are multifaceted, affecting aquatic life and terrestrial organisms via bio‐accumulation, which poses documented risks to biodiversity and human health. Emerging evidence suggests MNP exposure leads to cytotoxicity, metabolic alterations, immunological reactions, and translocation into the human placenta. This review critically examines the sources, classification, and release pathways of MNPs. Further, it explores the current detection and removal strategies, highlighting advanced filtration techniques, such as membrane filtration, electrocoagulation, nanotechnology‐based approaches, and biological remediation. By amalgamating findings from contemporary research and technological advancements, we aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of the ecotoxicological risks posed by MNPs and the feasible and emerging solutions to mitigate their environmental footprint. Nonetheless, significant disparity remains between detection sensitivity and ecological risk assessment. While the conventional analytical techniques fail to capture the smallest and most toxic fractions of nanoplastics, resultantly leading to under estimations of environmental risks. Further research needs to prioritize highly sensitive detection protocols as well as long‐term ecotoxicological modeling to bridge this gap.