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Toxics
Special Issues
Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk...
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Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk Assessment

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Toxicology and Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 720

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiang Zeng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, 548 Binwen Road, Hangzhou 310053, China
Interests: e-waste; disposable plastics; fast food; takeaway food; health risk; heavy metals; emerging contaminants; microbiota; metabolomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shaoyou Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: environmental contaminants; human exposure; organic pollutants; risk assessment; early life
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xia Huo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environment and Climate, Jinan University, Xingye Avenue East, Panyu District, Guangzhou, China
Interests: environmental pollution; child health; early life exposure to pollutants; neuro-endocrine-immunotoxicology; environmental toxicology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue “Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk Assessment” confronts the critical public health challenges presented by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). It focuses specifically on advancing our understanding of human exposure pathways, internal dosimetry, and the health risks associated with pollutants, such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The scope includes the development of novel analytical methods for detecting CECs in human biomatrices, innovative modeling for exposure reconstruction, and integrated frameworks for characterizing risks from complex, low-dose, chronic exposures. The overarching purpose is to compile cutting-edge research that effectively bridges the gap between environmental occurrence and quantifiable human health outcomes. It seeks to consolidate a currently fragmented field by providing an interdisciplinary platform that synergizes environmental science, exposure science, toxicology, and epidemiology. This Special Issue, "Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk Assessment," provides a vital forum for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to share cutting-edge findings and advance the application of human biomonitoring in assessing the health risks of emerging chemicals.

Dr. Xiang Zeng
Dr. Shaoyou Lu
Prof. Dr. Xia Huo
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 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. Toxics 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 2600 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

  • human biomonitoring
  • risk assessment
  • exposure assessment
  • emerging contaminants
  • human exposure
  • heavy metal
  • e-waste
  • child health
  • organic pollutants
  • environmental contaminants
  • early life exposure to pollutants
  • environmental toxicology

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

20 pages, 1621 KB  
Review
Emerging Environmental Contaminants Targeting Cardiovascular Ion Channels: Exposure Effects, Underlying Mechanisms, and Implications for Cardiovascular Health Risks
by Dingshan Zhan, Dan Li, Shulin Guo, Xuyang Chai, Rongkai Cao, Weicong Deng, Kaihan Wu, Yu Li, Suk Ying Tsang, Zongwei Cai and Zenghua Qi
Toxics 2026, 14(5), 450; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14050450 - 21 May 2026
Abstract
Emerging contaminants (ECs) encompass a wide spectrum of pollutants, from endocrine disruptors and persistent organic pollutants to microplastics and pharmaceutical residues. These contaminants often exhibit distinct chemical and physical properties compared with traditional pollutants and potentially pose risks to human health, especially as [...] Read more.
Emerging contaminants (ECs) encompass a wide spectrum of pollutants, from endocrine disruptors and persistent organic pollutants to microplastics and pharmaceutical residues. These contaminants often exhibit distinct chemical and physical properties compared with traditional pollutants and potentially pose risks to human health, especially as they have become pervasive in environmental and biological systems. ECs can also pose a significant threat to cardiovascular health, as they may target the ion channels that are critical to regulating cardiac excitability and contraction. However, the impact of ECs on the cardiovascular system, particularly on cardiac ion channels, remains elusive. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the knowledge base concerning the impact of emerging contaminants on cardiac ion channels, with an emphasis on the effects of these compounds on cardiac excitability, contractility, and overall cardiovascular function. We first outline the structural and functional characteristics of ion channels, along with how these transmembrane proteins regulate cardiac physiology. Subsequently, we detail how typical ECs directly or indirectly interact with various ion channels—including sodium, calcium, potassium channels, as well as ion transporters and exchangers. Special attention is given to studies that have demonstrated cell-level responses or examined how pollutant concentration and chemical structure affect the modulation of ion channels. This review compiles recent research reports to elucidate the mechanisms by which EC exposure disrupts cardiac ion channels, potentially leading to cardiotoxicity. Moreover, the insights gathered herein illuminate critical research gaps and outline essential directions for future investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk Assessment)
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23 pages, 1620 KB  
Review
Environmental Micro(nano)plastic Exposure and Associated Human Health Risks: A Comprehensive Review
by Weike Hu, Dongling Liu, Jianing Wang, Xia Huo and Xiang Zeng
Toxics 2026, 14(5), 442; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14050442 - 18 May 2026
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Abstract
Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) represent a pervasive and escalating threat to global ecosystems and human health. This review provides a critical synthesis of MNPs’ exposure risks across marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial compartments, with a distinct emphasis on identifying cross-media linkages and methodological inconsistencies that limit [...] Read more.
Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) represent a pervasive and escalating threat to global ecosystems and human health. This review provides a critical synthesis of MNPs’ exposure risks across marine, atmospheric, and terrestrial compartments, with a distinct emphasis on identifying cross-media linkages and methodological inconsistencies that limit current risk assessments. Within marine environments, pollution hazard indices reveal significant spatial heterogeneity, yet their utility is constrained by the absence of toxicity weighting and particle characteristic integration. Atmospheric exposure profiles show variable risks, and the MNPs’ concentration in indoor air (up to 15.8 particles/m3) is significantly higher than in outdoor environments, posing a greater inhalation risk to infants and children who spend more time indoors. A marked increase in MNPs’ concentrations within agricultural soils is identified, where the MNP content in mulched soils (average: 570.2 particles/kg) is more than twice that of non-mulched soils (259.6 particles/kg). Critically, studies have now detected MNPs within human tissues, including the blood, intestines, liver, kidneys, tonsils, and brain, highlighting an urgent need to elucidate their multi-organ toxicity mechanisms, with a novel synthesis of gut–brain axis disruption and transgenerational effects. By integrating exposure dynamics with mechanistic toxicity data, this review advances a cross-system framework that identifies priority research directions, namely standardized detection methodologies, combined pollutant toxicity, and cross-system toxicity mechanisms, which are essential for informing mitigation strategies amid this escalating public health crisis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Exposure to Emerging Pollutants: Toxicological Effects and Health Risk Assessment)
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