Introduction

Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, pharmacology and medicine that involve the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants. The relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed organism is of high significance in toxicology.  Some refer to toxicology as the “Science of Safety” because as a field it has evolved from a science focused on studying poisons and adverse effects of chemical exposures, to a science devoted to studying safety.

Factors influencing toxicology

Factors that influence chemical toxicity include the dosage, duration of exposure (whether it is acute or chronic), route of exposure, species, age, sex, and environment. Toxicologists are experts on poisons and poisoning. There is a movement for evidence-based toxicology as part of the larger movement towards evidence-based practices. Toxicology is currently contributing to the field of Cancer research, since some toxins can be used as drugs for killing tumor cells. One prime example of this is Ribosome Inactivating Proteins, tested in the treatment of Leukemia.

Not everyone will respond to substances in exactly the same way. Many factors, including the amount and duration of exposure, an individual’s susceptibility to a substance, and a person’s age, all impact whether a person will develop a disease or not. There are times in a person’s life when he or she may be more susceptible to chemicals. These times may include periods of active cell differentiation and growth in the womb and in early childhood, as well as during adolescence, when the brain is continuing to develop. Just because someone is exposed to a harmful substance, does not always mean they will get sick from it. The dose of the chemical or substance a person is exposed to is another important factor in toxicology. All substances have the potential to be toxic if given to humans and other living organisms in certain conditions and at certain doses or levels.

Toxicologist

Toxicologists study the safety and biological effects of drugs, chemicals, agents, and other substances on living organisms. They develop methods to determine harmful effects, the dosages that cause those effects, and safe exposure limits. They may also investigate the relationship between dose and effect, which can be influenced by factors such as the dosing regimen (single large exposure vs. continuous smaller exposures), route of exposure (oral, dermal, nasal), age, gender, and environment.

Chemical toxicology is a subspecialty of toxicology that focuses on the structure of chemical agents and how it affects their mechanism of action on living organisms. It is a multidisciplinary field that includes computational and synthetic chemistry, in addition to people who specialize in the fields of proteomics, metabolomics, drug discovery, drug metabolism, bioinformatics, analytical chemistry, biological chemistry and molecular epidemiology. It relies on technological advances to help understand the chemical components of toxicology more comprehensively.

The Journal of “Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Research” is using Editorial Tracking System to maintain quality and transparency to the author in the peer-review process. Review processing will be performed by the editorial board members of the Journal of “Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Research” or by Reviewers (outside experts in the field). Two independent reviewer’s approval (Minimum reviewer’s approval) followed by editor approval is obligatory for acceptance of any manuscript excluding an editorial.

Regards

Mary Wilson

Editorial office

Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Research

E-mail: pharmatoxicol@eclinicalsci.com