Evaluation of the Biocompatibility and Toxicity of Nanoparticles

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology occupies a prominent position among diverse fields of science, e.g. medicine, economy and industry, resulting in the interaction of nanoparticles (NPs) with natural systems and living organisms. Despite the obvious benefits that NPs offer, there are open questions about how they can affect the environment and organisms like plants, animals and humans. Both positive and negative impacts of NPs on living organisms have been described, often being dependent on the nature of the NPs, the surface area, the dose, and exposure conditions, nevertheless there are still many gaps on the literature concerning the impact of NPs on organisms, including their effect on plants and animals metabolism. In order to understand the NPs biocompatibility and toxicity, it is mandatory that toxicological research of NPs evolves towards mechanistic comprehension of the toxicological pathways.

This special issue aims to provide a concentrated venue to publish up-to-date and relevant research on the field of NPs impact on living organisms, taking in particular consideration their biocompatibility vs toxicity, the mechanism of action involved in each one, and a comprehensive point of view of their major targets in organisms.

In this Special Issue, authors are invited to submit original research papers, reviews and short communications.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• NPs uptake, accumulation and effects in plants species, namely in plants metabolism
• Evaluation of NPs toxic activity in plants, animals and humans
• NPs mode of action in mitigating plants stress
• Assessment of the effects of NPs on humans, including in-vitro toxicological assays
• NPs as therapeutic agents and drug delivery systems
• Impact of NPs on biota

Dr. Sónia Silva
Dr. Maria Celeste Dias
Dr. Helena Oliveira
Guest Editors

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. Nanomaterials 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 2900 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.

• nanoparticles
• phytotoxicity
• mode of action
• cytotoxicity
• genotoxicity