Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
12:04
Assessment of the Cytotoxic and Immunomodulatory Effects of Substances in Human Precision-cut Lung Slices
Published on: May 9, 2018
13.9K
Assessing How Chemical Exposures Affect Human Health
1The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
LC GC Europe
|October 30, 2023
Summary
Characterizing human chemical exposure requires advanced methods. New tools are needed for measuring small molecules to understand their health impacts.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health sciences
- Toxicology
- Biomolecular analysis
Background:
- Human exposure to diverse anthropogenic molecules presents measurement challenges.
- Understanding chemical impacts on health necessitates multi-omics approaches.
- Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analysis tools have advanced significantly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the need for improved methods in chemical exposure assessment.
- To emphasize the importance of non-targeted small molecule measurements for human health studies.
Main Methods:
- Review of current multi-omics measurement techniques.
- Identification of technological gaps in xenobiotic and endogenous metabolite analysis.
Main Results:
- Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses are well-developed.
- Significant advancements are required in instrumentation and computation for small molecule analysis.
Conclusions:
- Further development in non-targeted small molecule measurement is crucial for comprehensive chemical exposure assessment.
- Enhanced analytical capabilities will improve understanding of chemical exposures and human health outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
01:36Types of Toxins
1.7K
Humans continually engage with an environment rich in potentially harmful chemicals. These are introduced to our bodies through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact. These chemicals exist in various forms, such as air and environmental pollutants, agricultural chemicals, organic solvents, and heavy metals.
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
1.7K
01:26Toxic Reactions: Overview
991
When toxic substances penetrate the human body, they disseminate to various tissues, undergoing metabolic changes. This process yields reactive metabolites that may covalently bind with specific target molecules, resulting in toxicity.
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...
991
01:27Effects of Chemicals: Overview
1.3K
Drugs, encompassing various chemical compounds from natural sources, lab synthesis, or genetic engineering, elicit different biological responses in living organisms. Some of these responses are desirable or therapeutic, while others are undesirable. The primary goal of administering a drug is to achieve a therapeutic effect, that is, to address a specific disease or health condition. Any concurrent effects outside of this therapeutic outcome are considered undesirable. These undesirable...
1.3K
01:25Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity
1.3K
Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity refer to the ability of drugs to cause genetic defects and induce cancer, respectively. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies agents into four groups based on their carcinogenic potential. Group 1 agents are known human carcinogens; group 2A agents are probably carcinogenic to humans; group 3 agents lack data to support their role in carcinogenesis; and group 4 includes agents for which data support that they are not likely to be...
1.3K
02:59Biological Effects of Radiation
15.5K
All radioactive nuclides emit high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves. When this radiation encounters living cells, it can cause heating, break chemical bonds, or ionize molecules. The most serious biological damage results when these radioactive emissions fragment or ionize molecules. For example, α and β particles emitted from nuclear decay reactions possess much higher energies than ordinary chemical bond energies. When these particles strike and penetrate matter, they...
15.5K
01:25Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
104
Confounding is a critical issue in epidemiological studies, often leading to misleading conclusions about associations between exposures and outcomes. It occurs when the relationship between the exposure and the outcome is mixed with the effects of other factors that influence the outcome. Given that, addressing confounding is of high importance for drawing accurate inferences in research.
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
104