Dehradun, Jan. 14 -- Scientists at IIT Roorkee have developed a nano-enabled technology that can rapidly remove toxic plastic pollutants from water, offering a promising solution for environmental clean-up, according to the statement issued by premier institute on Tuesday. The study, published in ACS ES&T Water (American Chemical Society Environmental Science and Technology Water), demonstrates that specially engineered nutrient-loaded nanophosphates can stimulate pollutant-degrading bacteria to eliminate phthalates, widely used plastic additives, within just a few hours, even in nutrient-poor water, officials said. Phthalates, commonly found in rivers, groundwater and wastewater, are known endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can interfere with hormone function, reproduction and development. While certain bacteria can naturally degrade these compounds, remediation efforts are often slow because contaminated water bodies typically lack the nutrients required to sustain microbial activity. Conventional nutrient addition can also cause eutrophication, further harming water quality. To address this challenge, the IIT Roorkee research team designed multinutrient nanophosphate particles that act as microscopic nutrient reservoirs. These nanoparticles slowly release essential elements such as phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and trace metals, providing targeted nourishment to bacteria exactly when and where it is needed....