New Approach Methodologies in Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemical Contaminants
A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecotoxicology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 June 2026 | Viewed by 601
Special Issue Editor
Interests: aquatic toxicology; environmental risk assessment; toxicogenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The impacts of environmentally relevant concentrations of chemicals and their mixtures on biological systems are challenging to assess. Many current approaches to assessing pollution focus on detecting chemicals and pollutants in the environment, as well as the abundance and diversity of fauna and flora, to inform water quality standards. Such approaches are weak in providing links between specific pollutants and their possible mechanisms of action and ecological effects, failing to produce diagnostic insight concerning the type of stressor or predict future impacts before ecological damage becomes precarious. These limitations shifted ecotoxicology towards New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), which provide new metrics for pollution assessment using in vitro cell-based assays, in silico approaches, organisms that comply with non-animal ethical constraints, and omic technologies. NAMs aim to provide mechanistic insights into chemical toxicity, enhance predictive risk assessments, and align with the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal testing). Regulatory bodies such as the OECD, EPA, and ECHA are increasingly incorporating NAMs into their decision-making frameworks to improve chemical safety assessments. This Special Issue welcomes submissions that highlight mechanistic toxicological studies using in silico, in vitro, and whole-organism responses in accordance with the 3Rs, as well as high-throughput screening methods such as omics and behavioral assays, and the application of NAMs to regulatory bodies.
Dr. Carlos Barata
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
- approaches for pollution assessment
- ecotoxicology
- ecological effects
- new approach methodologies
- chemical toxicity
- chemical contaminants
- risk assessment
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
