Insights into Toxicological Effects of Micro- and Nano-Plastics
A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 March 2026 | Viewed by 2171
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Due to the wide uses of plastics, micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) have become emerging environmental pollutants and hold broad research interests for their potential toxicity to humans. MNPs can originate directly from industrial production as primary particles, or may form by the degradation of larger plastics into secondary particles. The toxicity of MNPs is influenced by many factors, such as concentrations, exposure durations, particle sizes, their interactions with other molecules, and the models used for evaluation. This Special Issue will share the latest developments in the understanding of MNPs’ toxicity and mechanisms. The potential topics may include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) prediction of the acute and chronic toxicity of MNPs; (2) investigation of the toxicological mechanisms of MNPs, such as oxidative stress, autophagy and/or endoplasmic reticulum stress, and microflora dysbiosis; (3) evaluation of the current models to study MNPs’ toxicity, including cell cultures, model organisms, alternative models, and computational models—combining multiple models for better prediction of human risk is highly encouraged; (4) how the interactions between MNPs and other molecules, such as nutrient molecules in vivo, impact the biological effects of MNPs; (5) investigation of the role of particle size in determining the toxicological effects of MNPs. Both original articles and review/perspectives that reflect the latest developments in this field are welcome.
Prof. Dr. Yi Cao
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. 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
- micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs)
- acute toxicity
- chronic toxicity
- alternative models
- toxicological mechanisms
- MNP and nutrient molecule interactions
- size-dependent effects
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