Xenobiotics in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Stages: Sources of Exposure and Effects

Dear Colleagues,

Research on xenobiotic exposure during the perinatal period and early childhood has advanced considerably, identifying these life stages as critical windows of vulnerability. Current evidence implicates a wide spectrum of contaminants, including heavy metals, pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, persistent organic pollutants, and emerging compounds such as PFAS and microplastics, in adverse effects on neurodevelopment, immune maturation, metabolism, and growth. Increasing attention is being paid to inadvertent sources of exposure, such as textiles, household dust, food packaging, and indoor air, which can contribute significantly to cumulative chemical burdens.

Despite this progress, substantial knowledge gaps persist. Exposure assessments often rely on limited biomarkers, single-time-point sampling, or self-reported data, with inadequate resolution to capture dynamic exposures or mixtures. Mechanistic understanding, particularly integrating epigenetic and multi-omics approaches, remains incomplete, and the literature is skewed toward high-income settings, leaving global inequities underexplored.

This Special Issue, Xenobiotics in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Stages: Sources of Exposure and Effects, invites contributions on innovative exposure assessment, longitudinal and mechanistic studies, socio-environmental determinants, and intervention strategies. By advancing methodological rigor and translational relevance, it will strengthen preventive action and protect vulnerable populations from the lifelong consequences of early-life xenobiotic exposure.

Dr. Fernando Vela-Soria
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Journal of Xenobiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 1600 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.

• emerging contaminants
• analytical method development
• neurodevelopmental and other adverse toxicological outcomes
• PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
• exposure assessment
• environmental health disparities
• non-target analysis and exposomics