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Toxics
Special Issues
Toxicity and Safety Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals
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Toxicity and Safety Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Metals and Radioactive Substances".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 November 2025 | Viewed by 1075

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cristina Carvalho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), University of Lisbon, 1600-049 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: risk assessment and exposure assessment of risky populations; molecular mechanisms of toxicity; thioredoxin and glutaredoxin systems; mercury, methylmercury and thimerosal; drug repurposing; cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Michael Aschner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA
Interests: neurotoxicology; metals; neurodegeneration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As organizers of this Special Issue, we intend to provide insight into the sources of heavy metals and metalloids and their effects on the environment and living organisms, covering traditional and modern faces of exposure as described below.

Heavy metals and metalloids toxicity has proven to be a major threat, and there are several health risks associated with it. Heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, aluminum, iron, arsenic, lead, and chromium imbalance ROS production and the defense redox systems, leading to toxicity in target organs that depend upon the absorbed dose, the route of exposure, and the duration of exposure, i.e., acute or chronic.

We look with particular interest to recently identified forms of exposure to metals, such as the metals associated with micro- and nanoplastics. Metal-based imaging agents containing gallium and gadolinium are also important for this topic.

Supplementation of iron, zinc, copper, and selenium, among others, prevents diseases, but the excess of these elements is also deleterious to the organisms and is also linked to health problems, and this constitutes another facet of this Special Issue.

The use of metals for health and healing, such as platinum compounds, gold, ruthenium, osmium, iridium, rhodium, silver, and rhenium complexes, has been the subject of intensive investigation and they are drug candidates for cancer and infectious diseases as well as antirheumatic, antimalarial, and antimicrobial drugs. Nevertheless, the use of these metallodrugs is not exempt from risk, and papers reporting either their toxicity or safety assessment are very welcome.

Finally, ways to counterbalance the toxicity of metals and metalloids are considered contributions of great interest.

Dr. Cristina Carvalho
Prof. Dr. Michael Aschner
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. 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 exposure to metals
  • environmental contamination
  • metals’ biogeochemistry
  • food metal contaminants
  • toxic effects of metals
  • metals’ mechanisms of toxicity
  • risk assessment
  • biomarkers
  • metallodrugs
  • metal ion chelators

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1047 KiB  
Article
Heavy Metal Contamination in Yogurt from Lebanon: Evaluating Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) Concentrations Across Multiple Regions
by Sandra Sarkis, Rayan Kashmar, Nikolaos Tzenios, Maha Hoteit, Tony Tannous and Joseph Matta
Toxics 2025, 13(6), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060499 - 13 Jun 2025
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Abstract
The toxicity of metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) makes heavy metal contamination in food products a major health concern. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of Pb and Cd in yogurt samples that were collected from [...] Read more.
The toxicity of metals such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) makes heavy metal contamination in food products a major health concern. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of Pb and Cd in yogurt samples that were collected from 11 distinct Lebanese locations and determine their compliance with the legal limits set by the European Commission (0.02 mg/kg for Pb and 0.005 mg/kg for Cd). A total of 165 yogurt samples were examined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Interestingly, the findings showed that 10.9% of samples had Pb concentrations over the allowable limit; the highest amounts were observed in Baalbeck-Hermel (0.118 mg/kg), North Area (0.125 mg/kg), and South Lebanon (0.115 mg/kg). In addition, the highest detected concentrations of Cd were found in North Area (0.094 mg/kg), Baalbeck-Hermel (0.076 mg/kg), and Akkar (0.042 mg/kg), with 14.5% of samples above the limit. The results show regional differences in contamination, which are probably caused by industrial emissions, agricultural activities, and environmental pollution. To better understand the potential health implications, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of Pb and Cd through yogurt consumption was calculated and compared to international health-based guidance values. Although the EDI values suggest a low risk from yogurt alone, the findings highlight the importance of cumulative exposure and emphasize the necessity of regular monitoring and stricter implementation of food safety laws to decrease exposure to heavy metals through dairy intake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Safety Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals)
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17 pages, 2189 KiB  
Article
The Metal Oxidation State in Cu, CuO, and Cu2O Nanoparticles Plays a Key Role in Toxicity to Sea Urchin Arbacia lixula, Paracentrotus lividus, and Sphaerechinus granularis Embryos
by Ivana Čarapar, Lara Jurković, Dijana Pavičić-Hamer, Andrej Jaklin, Maja Dutour Sikirić, Bojan Hamer and Daniel Mark Lyons
Toxics 2025, 13(6), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13060469 - 1 Jun 2025
Viewed by 415
Abstract
Copper-based nanoparticles (as Cu2O) are a key component in marine antifouling paints and, as coatings degrade, release nanoparticles that can affect a wide range of non-target organisms. This study investigates the impact of Cu2O nanoparticles on the early development [...] Read more.
Copper-based nanoparticles (as Cu2O) are a key component in marine antifouling paints and, as coatings degrade, release nanoparticles that can affect a wide range of non-target organisms. This study investigates the impact of Cu2O nanoparticles on the early development of urchins Arbacia lixula, Paracentrotus lividus and Sphaerechinus granularis, and benchmarks their toxicity against similarly sized Cu and CuO nanoparticles and ionic copper. Concentration-dependent toxicity was noted for all forms of copper at concentrations in the 1 to 5000 µg L−1 range. EC50 values after Cu2O exposure indicated that A. lixula (99 µg L−1) was generally more sensitive than the other two species, with EC50 values of 371 µg L−1 and 606 µg L−1 noted for S. granularis and P. lividus, respectively. The same trend across species was noted for both Cu and CuO, although these nanoparticles generally showed higher EC50 values, indicating lower toxicity compared to Cu2O. LC50 values qualitatively parallel the corresponding EC50 values, with Cu2O consistently the most toxic, while Cu was less harmful, and CuO did not reach LC50 at any concentration. Again, greatest lethality was noted in A. lixula. While copper ion release from Cu was much greater than from CuO and Cu2O, the latter showed similar or greater toxicity to developing embryos compared to Cu. This indicates that copper ions are not the sole driver of toxicity of Cu2O, but there may also be a contribution derived from Cu2O redox activity within cells or at membranes that negatively impact oxidative stress defence mechanisms and metabolic pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Safety Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals)
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Review

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38 pages, 456 KiB  
Review
Lithium—Occurrence and Exposure—A Review
by Manfred Sager
Toxics 2025, 13(7), 567; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13070567 (registering DOI) - 4 Jul 2025
Abstract
This review contains a compilation of data about the occurrence, mining, refining, and biological actions of lithium, without claiming completeness of knowledge. This should give a baseline for judging future pollutions of environmental and agricultural items and human nutrition and may show still [...] Read more.
This review contains a compilation of data about the occurrence, mining, refining, and biological actions of lithium, without claiming completeness of knowledge. This should give a baseline for judging future pollutions of environmental and agricultural items and human nutrition and may show still existing gaps of screening. Emerging electromobility and use of computers leads to a steep increase in Li-based batteries, which are a source of hazardous waste unless recycled. Lack of recovery methods from effluents and sewage, however, will increase pollution with soluble Li-salts from increasing mining and waste in the future; therefore, biochemical effects of levels out of ambient range have been included. Many published data are hidden in multi-element tables, including the data of the author. Mobile fractions of soils and soil-to-plant transfer, as well as retainment in animal tissues, are low. A lot of data, starting from geology via soils, plants, water, and human nutrition, lead to a largely unknown average daily intake for men. With respect to nutrition of dairy cows, the contribution of Li from water was highest among all elements investigated, but only 4% of intake. Main sources for human nutrition are mineral water and table salt. Li is not labelled on mineral water bottles, nor table salt, which are the main sources. Though some data have been gathered, for human nutrition, the average daily intake is uncertain to estimate because some mineral waters are quite high in Li. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity and Safety Assessment of Exposure to Heavy Metals)
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