Health and Environmental Effect of Advanced Materials and Fine Particles

Background

With the recent development in material sciences, advanced materials have become widely used terms for new materials. Advanced materials comprise biopolymers, active materials, hybrids, composites, nanomaterials, structural materials, particle systems, advanced fibers, metamaterials, and advanced manufacturing. EU also defines advanced materials as “An advanced material is any material that, through the precise control of its composition and internal structure, features a series of exceptional properties (mechanical, electric, optic, magnetic, etc.) or functionalities (self-repairing, shape change, decontamination, transformation of energy, etc.) that differentiate it from the rest of the universe of materials; or one that, when transformed through advanced manufacturing techniques, features these properties or functionalities.” OECD WPMN and biotechnology also interested in the safety and risk assessment of advanced materials, and several activities regarding advanced materials are ongoing. In addition, fine particles including ultrafine particles are gradually getting attention for the human health effect. Particle size in particular ranging from less than 2.5 microns (fine) or 100 nm (ultrafine) have been known to affect human health. Similar to advanced materials, their specific properties, such as high number concentration, large surface area, and their tendency to penetrate and translocate to the blood system and other organs, present a risk to human health. 

Aim

This Special Issue aims to discuss the health and environmental effects of advanced materials and fine particles and their relationships with various physicochemical properties. We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that seek to improve our understanding of advanced materials and fine particles’ environmental and health effects. Particularly, we are interested in articles that explore quantitative relationships among their physicochemical properties, biological reactivities, and health effects. 

Scope

Potential scopes and topics include but are not limited to: 

• Health effects and toxicity (in vivo and in vitro) of advanced materials and fine particles;
• Toxicokinetics and pharmacokinetics of advanced materials and fine particles;
• Environmental toxicity of advanced materials and fine particles;
• Exposure assessment in the workplaces producing or handling advanced materials and fine particles;
• Risk assessment of advanced materials and fine particles;
• Policies regarding the safe management of advanced materials and fine particles.

Dr. II Je Yu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.