Application of Zebrafish Model in Pharmacology and Toxicology

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2026

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Plataforma Zebrafish of the Laboratory of Applied Toxinology (CeTICS/FAPESP), Butantan Institute, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
Interests: zebrafish; toxicology; microbiome; animal toxins; environmental medicine; one health

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plataforma Zebrafish of the Laboratory of Applied Toxinology (CeTICS/FAPESP), Butantan Institute, São Paulo 05503-900, Brazil
Interests: zebrafish; toxicology; drug discovery; animal toxins; scientific dissemination
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this new Special Issue of the journal Pharmaceuticals, which aims to gather the latest research findings and innovative insights on the use of the zebrafish model in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology.

Over the past decades, zebrafish have emerged as a remarkably versatile alternative model, helping scientists uncover toxicological, cellular, and molecular aspects of drugs under development, pharmaceutical degradation products—within the body and in the ecosystems– and environmental toxicants that form part of the human exposome.

Thanks to key advantages such as rapid development, high fecundity (enabling high-throughput screening), optical transparency, and high genetic homology to humans, zebrafish have proven invaluable in pharmacology and toxicology research. These endeavors support advances in drug development pipelines, regulation of discarded pollutants, and the elucidation of the mechanisms of action of chemical substances that impact human, animal, and environmental health.

Looking towards promoting and expanding the application of the zebrafish model in the areas of pharmacology and toxicology, this Special Issue aims to publish high-quality contributions—including original research and review articles—covering, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Drug discovery and development;
  • High-throughput screening of pharmaceutical compounds;
  • Behavioral pharmacology;
  • Zebrafish to model human diseases for drug screening;
  • Preclinical safety and efficacy assessments;
  • Investigations of drug-induced organ toxicity;
  • Developmental and reproductive toxicity;
  • Assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals;
  • Pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism in zebrafish;
  • Microbiome-drug interaction studies;
  • Evaluation of environmental toxicants and pollutants;
  • Omics approaches in zebrafish pharmacology and toxicology;
  • CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing in zebrafish for target validation.

We are looking forward to receiving your submission.

Dr. Geonildo Rodrigo Disner
Prof. Dr. Mônica Lopes-Ferreira
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. Pharmaceuticals 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 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.

Keywords

  • chemical safety assessment
  • translational research
  • drug screening
  • human exposome
  • environmental contaminants

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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