Toxic Threats to Sustainability: Mechanisms and Impacts of Environmental Contaminants on Health and Ecosystems

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1247

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Interests: toxicology; metal; zebrafish; arsenic; neurotoxicity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Health Sciences, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
Interests: autism spectrum disorder; preclinical model developments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental contaminants represent a major barrier to achieving sustainable development. From industrial chemicals and heavy metals to microplastics and emerging pollutants, these substances continue to accumulate across ecosystems, disrupting ecological balance and posing significant risks to human health. Their presence threatens the success of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

This Special Issue aims to explore how environmental pollution through air, water, soil, and food systems compromises health, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability. We seek contributions that investigate the direct and indirect effects of contaminants on living organisms, as well as broader implications for environmental resilience and socio-economic development. The goal is to understand how pollution-driven degradation affects community well-being, natural resource availability, and the global push for a more sustainable and equitable future.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and case studies on topics including the following:

  1. Environmental fate and transport of contaminants;
  2. Impacts of pollution on human and ecological health;
  3. Contaminant-induced disruptions in water and food systems;
  4. Linkages between environmental degradation and SDG implementation;
  5. Community or policy-based approaches to pollution mitigation;
  6. Innovations in monitoring and managing environmental pollutants.

This Special Issue offers a platform for interdisciplinary research that connects environmental science with public health, sustainability, and policy. By examining the toxic legacy of pollution and its ripple effects across generations and ecosystems, we hope to foster informed strategies that support both planetary and population health in the context of sustainable development.

Dr. Mahesh Rachamalla
Dr. Shubham Dwivedi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • environmental contaminants
  • toxic burden
  • pollution and sustainability
  • chemical pollution
  • ecological health
  • human health impacts
  • SDG 3
  • SDG 6
  • SDG 14
  • environmental degradation
  • pollutant exposure
  • sustainable development
  • contaminant pathways
  • environmental resilience

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1578 KB  
Article
Cobinamide, a Vitamin B12 Analog, Attenuates Benzo[a]pyrene and Pyrene Toxicity Through Selective Redox Modulation
by Anirudh Kalyanaraman, Connor B. Stauffer, Weirui Gao, Tong Zhong, Alexandra Nguyen, Darren E. Casteel, Renate B. Pilz, Gerry R. Boss, Hema Kalyanaraman and John Tat
Toxics 2026, 14(5), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14050439 - 15 May 2026
Viewed by 695
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are common environmental contaminants formed during the incomplete combustion of organic material. Their persistence, bioaccumulation, and metabolic activation contribute to mutagenic and cytotoxic outcomes. Among these are benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), the most studied PAH and a benchmark compound for PAH [...] Read more.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are common environmental contaminants formed during the incomplete combustion of organic material. Their persistence, bioaccumulation, and metabolic activation contribute to mutagenic and cytotoxic outcomes. Among these are benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), the most studied PAH and a benchmark compound for PAH carcinogenicity, and pyrene, a PAH whose urinary metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene is widely used as a biomarker of PAH exposure. B[a]P undergoes CYP1A1-mediated oxidation to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) via epoxide and quinone redox cycling, whereas pyrene produces ROS primarily through pyrene-quinone redox cycling. We investigated cobinamide, a vitamin B12/cobalamin analog with potent antioxidant properties, for mitigating benzo[a]pyrene- and pyrene-induced injury. In H9C2 rat embryonic cardiomyoblasts and A549 human lung epithelial cells exposed to B[a]P (10 μM) or pyrene (10–100 μM), cobinamide (5–10 μM) attenuated PAH-induced reductions in cell number in both models, while in H9C2 cells, it also attenuated decreases in metabolic activity and reduced apoptosis. Cobinamide also returned JNK/p38 phosphorylation to near baseline levels, decreased DNA and protein oxidation and DNA strand breaks. Transcriptionally, cobinamide suppressed inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and oxidative stress genes (HMOX1 and NOX4), while enhancing oxidative response (SOD2) and xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A1). In Drosophila melanogaster exposed to 5 mM B[a]P/pyrene, 2 mM cobinamide improved survival and fully restored locomotion, outperforming cobalamin (minimal benefit) and N-acetylcysteine (partial rescue). Spectroscopic analyses showed no direct cobinamide-PAH binding. These findings demonstrate that cobinamide efficiently limits ROS-mediated PAH injury through redox modulation while preserving xenobiotic metabolism, suggesting its potential therapeutic use to mitigate PAH-induced toxicity. Full article
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