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Ecotoxicology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Ecotoxicology is an interdisciplinary field that draws from knowledge and techniques in the fields of ecology and toxicology to study the effects of toxic chemical or biological agents on biological organisms at the population, community or ecosystem level.

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CeO 2 nanoparticle dose and exposure modulate soybean development and plant-mediated responses in root-associated bacterial communities

• Jay R. Reichman
• Matthew R. Slattery
• Stacey L. Harper

Oligomer nanoparticle release from polylactic acid plastics catalysed by gut enzymes triggers acute inflammation

A large-scale pharmacophore model supported by in vitro ligand-binding studies suggests polylactic acid oligomer toxicity in a mouse model is due to the inhibition of matrix metallopeptidase 12.

• Mengjing Wang
• Qianqian Li
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Polymer nanoparticles pass the plant interface

Nanoplastic contamination is a serious environmental concern and could have implications on plant life depending upon interactions. Here, the authors study the effect of size and charge on the accumulation and uptake of model polymer nanoparticles by plant roots which has implications for environmental exposure and nanoparticle delivery to plants.

• Sam J. Parkinson
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• Richard M. Napier

Particle number-based trophic transfer of gold nanomaterials in an aquatic food chain

Biological fate of nanomaterials in organisms is an important topic, however, limitations of analytical techniques has hampered understanding. Here, the authors report on a study into the fate of model, gold nanoparticles in an aquatic food chain using an analytical workflow and range of analytical methods.

• Fazel Abdolahpur Monikh
• Latifeh Chupani
• Willie J.G.M. Peijnenburg

Ambient black carbon particles reach the fetal side of human placenta

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• Hannelore Bové
• Eva Bongaerts
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A One Health approach to managing the applications and implications of nanotechnologies in agriculture

The development of nano-enabled agriculture will require proper safety regulations. This Perspective outlines the need for a combined approach to regulate health and environmental risks under the same framework.

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News and Comment

Plastic not so fantastic

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A different view of the environment

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Environmental Toxicology

(3 reviews)

Kees van Gestel, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

Copyright Year: 2020

Publisher: Environmental Toxicology

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Bailey Bowers, Visiting Assistant Professor, Earlham College on 12/13/22

Overall, the text is very comprehensive and all relevant subjects are covered. I appreciate that both the environmental aspects as well as the toxicology are given similar attention - often there is more focus on one vs. the other in textbooks... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, the text is very comprehensive and all relevant subjects are covered. I appreciate that both the environmental aspects as well as the toxicology are given similar attention - often there is more focus on one vs. the other in textbooks like this. My only misgiving is that there is a focus on European chemical regulations, but not any mention or detail on non-European regulations. Obviously this is understandable given that the author(s) are European, but I could envision having to supplement this portion of the text when I teach a course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

All content is accurate and error-free to my knowledge. All content is referenced appropriately.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book captures the current state of understanding in this field quite well, and I feel it will stand the test of time. The main section that would likely need to be updated is the one that outlines specific classes of chemicals that are used, but this would be straightforward to update.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written well for an undergraduate science audience - it assumes little prior knowledge of the relevant basic chemistry and biology concepts, and explains these at a good level before discussing their application in environmental toxicology.

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology and framework within the book is internally consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is readily divided into smaller sections, and even includes some short reflection/assessments at the end of each section. This would be really apt for assigning reading in a course. I could envision using portions of this book rather than the entire thing, with little adverse consequence.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is excellently organized. Beginning with basic environmental concepts and introducing classes of chemical contaminants before delving into toxicology is a great way to organize the text.

Interface rating: 3

The interface and typesetting is the book's biggest weakness. Several tables are split across pages. Mathematical and chemical equations are not formatted properly, which leads to confusion. The latter half of the book is in italic font for some reason. Some chemical structures are rather large, while others are small. Also, the table and figure numbering is not conducive for a book of this page length - each table/figure should really have a unique identifier and ideally, there should be an index of tables and figures.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive, and in fact, in the history section, the text made very clear that Indigenous people have important local knowledge relevant to environmental toxicology, and are not in the past, but rather still here in the present.

Overall, I could envision using this book in a course. Many environmental toxicology books miss the mark, and despite the formatting issues here, the content is excellent.

Reviewed by Sarah Commodore, Assistant Professor, Indiana University - Bloomington on 5/18/21

Overall the topics covered in this text are broad and provide a great overview for current relevant topics such as POPs, metals, pharmaceuticals and many more. Some modules have short clips or animations that allow for more illustration of the... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Overall the topics covered in this text are broad and provide a great overview for current relevant topics such as POPs, metals, pharmaceuticals and many more. Some modules have short clips or animations that allow for more illustration of the topic introduced. The YouTube video with the experts was quite enlightening and unique. The final chapter focuses on regulatory toxicology in Europe - while this is great for students in Europe, there may be the need to consider shorter sections for other continents (even a brief mention will do) to give the text even more international relevance.

The text is quite accurate and there are no unfounded statements. There are appropriate references for the main ideas. The references section is rather short and the reader can check those out for further reading and detailed information.

Certainly, this text covers very relevant topics in the field of environmental toxicology. For instance, primary and secondary microplastics, nanomaterials as well as complex mixtures are current hot topics and this text introduces the reader to current literature on these.

Considering that this work is still in progress, the usage of technical terminology is adequate. The language is easy to read and sections are presented using normal, easy to follow wording.

The text is very consistent in its framework. Terms are defined appropriately. While it may have been helpful to group terms and definitions preferably at the end of each chapter, definitions are interspersed throughout each section and that also works well.

This text is divided into sections that are manageable that can be assigned for reading (even during class) to help address in-class discussions and to answer short answer/1-2 paragraph type questions for homework assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

This text is well organized and modules are introduced in a decent order. The final section on page 823/824 of this current version seems to be in Dutch and needs to be translated into English to help English readers find other important materials (e.g. the YouTube video appears to be referenced on this page as well)

Interface rating: 4

While the figures are informative and help drive home key points, the labels and clarity can be improved. For instance, some figures seem to be truncated (at the time of this review) and individual chapter labels can be provided to help orient the leader (eg Fig 1 in Chapter 4 can be labelled as Fig 4.1 while figure 1 in chapter 3 can also be labelled as Fig 3.1).

No significant grammatical errors were observed.

The text is not offensive in any way and examples provided are suitable and appropriate.

Excellent book that covers broad relevant and timely topics.

Reviewed by Kan Shao, Associate Professor, Indiana University - Bloomington on 5/16/21

This textbook provides comprehensive coverage on the areas and topics of Environmental Toxicology. Unlike some other textbooks of Environmental Toxicology, which are primarily built upon textbooks of Toxicology with some additional sections on... read more

This textbook provides comprehensive coverage on the areas and topics of Environmental Toxicology. Unlike some other textbooks of Environmental Toxicology, which are primarily built upon textbooks of Toxicology with some additional sections on environmental contaminations and toxicants, this book truly emphasizes both keywords, i.e., “environmental” and “toxicology”, and integrates the contents harmonically. Some chapters, like “environmental chemistry” and “fate to exposure” are very useful and bridge the environment with toxicology.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The contents are relatively accurate, but a few improvements will make the textbook even better. For example, on Page 60, two of the box plots shown in Figure 2 don’t have the bottom line. Reasons for the missing line should be explained in the caption. Another example is on pages 527 to 529, the table has been cut out by the edge of the page. Moreover, the page numbering at the bottom left corner on each page should be in English. Some of the sections are still under development (e.g., Section 4.3.9).

The textbook should be applauded for its contemporality. Many new but important topics are included in the textbook, including various toxicity testing techniques described in Section 4.3 and regulatory frameworks discussed in Section 6.5. The textbook doesn’t organize the contents based on toxicological effects like many other textbooks in toxicology do, but based on the major components in environmental toxicology (e.g., exposure, toxicity testing, risk assessment, regulations), therefore, it is much easier for the textbook to be updated when the knowledge and technologies evolved.

Clarity rating: 4

The numbering system used in the book for figures and tables should be modified. For a textbook of this size, each table and figure should have a unique number for quick tracking, a similar numbering method should be applied to the equations as well (currently the equations were indexed in some of the chapters).

Consistency rating: 4

Regarding terminology and framework, the text is relatively consistent. However, the book should keep the format and style of the figures with the captions consistent. For example, the color of the words of figure numbers should be consistent. Additionally, for plots that were generated by authors (not directly cited from other publications), the textbook should keep the style as consistent as possible (e.g., the color of the curve, the font of the plot caption).

The textbook did an excellent job separating the contents in a very organized way. Instead of organizing the sections according to various types of toxicities, the book presents the topics based on the related components in environmental toxicology, namely environmental chemistry, environmental exposure sciences, toxicology, population and ecosystem ecotoxicology, risk assessment and regulation. Each of the sections can be used independently or used as supporting materials in other courses/subjects.

The organization of the topics has been appreciated many times in this review. The topics have been organized in an uncommon way but very reasonable way. I would recommend such an organizational method being applied to other specific areas of toxicology.

Tables on pages from 527 to 529 are cut by the page edge. Other than that, everything looks well laid out.

No culturally offensive or inappropriate contents or examples were observed in the textbook.

Table of Contents

• Chapter 1: Environmental toxicology
• Chapter 2: Environmental Chemistry, Chemicals
• Chapter 3: Environmental Chemistry, from Fate to Exposure
• Chapter 4: Toxicology
• Chapter 5: Population, Community and Ecosystem Ecotoxicology
• Chapter 6. Risk assessment & regulation

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This open online textbook on Environmental Toxicology aims at covering the field in its full width, including aspects of environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, toxicology and risk assessment. With that, it will contribute to improving the quality, continuity and transparency of the education in environmental toxicology. We also want to make sure that fundamental insights on fate and effects of chemicals gained in the past are combined with recent approaches of effect assessment and molecular analysis of mechanisms causing toxicity.

The book consists of six chapters, with each chapter being divided into several sub-chapters to enable covering all aspects relevant to the topic. All chapters are designed in a modular way, which each module having clear training goals and being flagged with a number of keywords. Most modules have an average length of 1000-2000 words, a limited number of references, and 3-5 figures and/or tables. A few modules are enlighted with short clips, animations or movies to allow better illustration of the theory. The introduction chapter of the book, for instance, contains a short interview with two key experts reflecting on the development of the field over the past 30 years.

The book contains tools for self-study and training, like a (limited) number of questions at the end of each module. For the future we foresee the addition of separate exercises and other tools that may help the student in understanding the theory.

About the Contributors

Cornelis A.M. (Kees) van Gestel is professor of Ecotoxicology of Soil Ecosystems at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He has been working on different aspects of soil ecotoxicology, including toxicity test development, bioavailability, mixture toxicity, toxicokinetics, multigeneration effects and ecosystem level effects. His main interest is in linking bioavailability and ecological effects.

Contribute to this Page

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Toxicity and Human Health Review: Current State of Knowledge and Strategies for Informing Future Research

Affiliations.

• 1 National Toxicology Program Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
• 2 West Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
• 3 Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
• 4 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
• 5 Public Health and Integrated Toxicology Division, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
• 6 Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
• 7 Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA.
• 8 Center for Environmental & Human Toxicology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
• PMID: 33017053
• PMCID: PMC7906952
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.4890

Reports of environmental and human health impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have greatly increased in the peer-reviewed literature. The goals of the present review are to assess the state of the science regarding toxicological effects of PFAS and to develop strategies for advancing knowledge on the health effects of this large family of chemicals. Currently, much of the toxicity data available for PFAS are for a handful of chemicals, primarily legacy PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate. Epidemiological studies have revealed associations between exposure to specific PFAS and a variety of health effects, including altered immune and thyroid function, liver disease, lipid and insulin dysregulation, kidney disease, adverse reproductive and developmental outcomes, and cancer. Concordance with experimental animal data exists for many of these effects. However, information on modes of action and adverse outcome pathways must be expanded, and profound differences in PFAS toxicokinetic properties must be considered in understanding differences in responses between the sexes and among species and life stages. With many health effects noted for a relatively few example compounds and hundreds of other PFAS in commerce lacking toxicity data, more contemporary and high-throughput approaches such as read-across, molecular dynamics, and protein modeling are proposed to accelerate the development of toxicity information on emerging and legacy PFAS, individually and as mixtures. In addition, an appropriate degree of precaution, given what is already known from the PFAS examples noted, may be needed to protect human health. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:606-630. © 2020 SETAC.

Keywords: Contaminants of emerging concern; Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; Perfluorooctane sulfonate; Perfluorooctanoic acid; Persistent compounds.

© 2020 SETAC.

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• Adverse Outcome Pathways*
• Alkanesulfonic Acids*
• Fluorocarbons* / toxicity
• Reproduction
• Alkanesulfonic Acids
• Fluorocarbons

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A Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental Implications, Ecotoxicity and Bioaccumulation Potential of Repurposed Drug Hydroxychloroquine: From Challenges to Sustainability

• Published: 10 May 2024
• Volume 262 , article number  10 , ( 2024 )

Cite this article

• Priyadarshini Gupta 1 &
• Vibha Rani 1  

An unprecedented rise in the demand for the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) worldwide and its utilisation has resulted in its upscale manufacturing. Being ecologically persistent and bioaccumulative, HCQ has come up as an emerging pollutant intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic occurring in low concentration in different environmental matrices due to improper treatment of waste and no proper legislation. Administration and excretion of HCQ, along with its toxic metabolites, contaminate surface and groundwater. This raises long-term toxic concerns from cellular biochemical changes to mortality in target and non-target organisms. To understand the potential environmental consequences of the indiscriminate use of HCQ, we reviewed some significantly unexplored sources, environmental behaviour, hazards, and the fate of pharmacological HCQ. We also discuss the potential risks of the degradation mechanism of the drug, its metabolite toxicity and the stress between ecological equilibrium with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Additionally, the review also emphasizes bioremediation and sustainable methods for treating industrial wastewater to reduce the ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceutical effluent. The present study is necessary to understand the severity and possible future scenarios by adopting the uncontrollable use of hazardous drugs and serve as a benchmark for prioritising environmentally safe concentrations in the absence of specific legislation.

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Data Availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Not Applicable.

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We acknowledge Jaypee Institute of Information and Technology, Noida, India for providing the infrastructure and literature support.

The work was supported by the DST-INSPIRE grant awarded to Ms Priyadarshini Gupta (DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2019/IF190735; Mentor: Prof. Vibha Rani).

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Gupta, P., Rani, V. A Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental Implications, Ecotoxicity and Bioaccumulation Potential of Repurposed Drug Hydroxychloroquine: From Challenges to Sustainability. Reviews Env.Contamination (formerly:Residue Reviews) 262 , 10 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44169-024-00061-5

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Received : 02 September 2023

Accepted : 09 April 2024

Published : 10 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s44169-024-00061-5

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