Isolation and Characterization of Marine Toxins

Dear Colleagues,

Typical fishery products such as fish and shellfish are important as human food, in particular as an animal protein source. However, some species of fish and shellfish contain toxins that may cause food poisoning to humans. Many naturally occurring biotoxins are produced in many species of organisms, including toxic microalgae species associated with “harmful algal blooms (HAB)”, such as paralytic shellfish poison (PSP)-producing dinoflagellate, and other organisms inhabiting the hydrosphere. These toxins have a severe impact on fisheries, their related industries and human health, because they can be transferred and accumulate on marine and freshwater vertebrates and invertebrates through a more complicated pathway including the food chain. This is exemplified by the paralytic shellfish poisoning of humans on eating PSP contaminated shellfish. It is necessary for us to isolate and characterize these marine biotoxins, to prevent tragic food poisoning incidents and severe damage to aquaculture around the world. This Special Issue call for papers deals with structure and analytical chemistry studies of toxins in aquatic habitats, characterization of new toxins isolated from marine and freshwater organisms, case studies of seafood poisonings, biotransformation/accumulation of toxins from aquatic organisms, and novel targets or modes of action for aquatic toxins. The editors will also consider reviews that summarize current thinking or present controversial viewpoints for further discussion. Short communications that report important self-contained observations are also welcome.

Prof. Tamao Noguchi
Prof. Manabu Asakawa
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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins 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 2700 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.