Journal of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology · ISSN 2641-7669
Aims and Scope
The Journal of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology publishes peer-reviewed research on how toxic substances act on biological systems, and on how poisoning is recognized, assessed, treated and prevented.
This page is the journal’s subject boundary, written so that a fit can be judged in a few minutes.
The remit
What the journal covers
Its record spans mechanistic and cellular investigation, toxicokinetics and metabolism, organ-specific and environmental toxicology, analytical and clinical assessment, and the care of people who have been exposed.
A study contained entirely within experimental toxicology and a study contained entirely within clinical practice each belong here on their own terms, and neither is asked to carry the other. A mechanistic study with no clinical component is in scope; so is a clinical report with no laboratory work.
Experimental models establish mechanism and plausibility. Demonstrated clinical benefit is established separately, in studies conducted in patients, and the journal keeps that distinction visible in how findings are reported.
Judging fit quickly
- The work concerns a substance, exposure or poisoning and its effect on a biological system.
- The toxicological question is substantive rather than incidental to the study.
- Methods, exposure conditions and analysis are reported in enough detail to be assessed.
- Claims are kept to what the design supports.
Subject domains
Seven domains, one discipline
Manuscripts are welcome in any of these domains, and in work that crosses them. The list describes the field the journal serves; it is not a checklist a manuscript must satisfy.
Mechanisms of toxicity
How a substance injures a cell or a tissue: signaling disruption, oxidative and mitochondrial injury, genotoxicity and DNA-damage response, receptor-mediated effects and the pathways that end in cell death.
- Molecular and cellular toxicology
- Genotoxicity
- Oxidative stress
- Cell-death pathways
Toxicokinetics and metabolism
What the organism does with the substance: absorption, distribution, biotransformation and excretion, phase I and phase II metabolism, toxicant interactions, bioaccumulation and kinetic analysis.
- ADME
- Biotransformation
- Interactions
- Kinetic analysis
Organ and system toxicology
Target-organ injury and its markers across hepatic, renal, neurological, cardiac, pulmonary, immune, reproductive and developmental systems, including behavioral and sensory effects.
- Hepatotoxicity
- Neurotoxicity
- Cardiotoxicity
- Developmental toxicity
Environmental and occupational toxicology
Contaminants in water, air, soil and food, natural toxins and envenomation, ecotoxicological effects, and exposure in workplaces and communities.
- Contaminants
- Natural toxins
- Ecotoxicology
- Occupational exposure
Exposure, assessment and analysis
Measuring what reached the organism and what it did: analytical chemistry, biomonitoring, biomarkers of exposure and effect, dose–response characterization, and risk and hazard assessment.
- Analytical methods
- Biomonitoring
- Dose–response
- Risk assessment
Clinical toxicology
Poisoning and envenomation in people: recognition and assessment, antidotal and supportive management, adverse drug effects, prevention, and case-based reports that document presentation and course.
- Poisoning
- Antidotes
- Management
- Prevention
Methods that cross the domains
The techniques that serve every part of the field: in vitro platforms, new approach methodologies and alternatives to animal testing, toxicogenomics, QSAR and other predictive models, and adverse outcome pathway development. Methodological work is welcome in its own right.
- In vitro models
- New approach methods
- QSAR
- Adverse outcome pathways
Boundary
Where a manuscript sits outside the remit
The journal publishes work whose subject is toxicological. Biomedical, pharmacological or environmental research is in scope when a toxic substance, exposure or poisoning is central to the question being asked and to the evidence brought to answer it.
Manuscripts whose toxicological element is incidental — a passing mention of a compound, or a safety statement attached to an otherwise unrelated study — are better served by a journal in that field, and authors are encouraged to ask the editorial office before submitting when the fit is uncertain.
Ask before you submit
The editorial office answers scope questions directly, and a short description of the study is enough.
Contributions
Article types the journal accepts
- Original research article · up to 6,000 words
- Experimental or clinical investigation reporting new findings, excluding abstract, references, tables and figure legends.
- Review article · up to 8,000 words
- Systematic or narrative synthesis of a toxicological question; systematic reviews follow PRISMA.
- Methods paper · up to 5,000 words
- A new or improved approach to toxicity testing, biomarker detection or analysis, reported with validation data.
- Case report · up to 3,000 words
- An instructive clinical toxicology case, with presentation, management and course documented in full.
- Short communication · up to 2,500 words
- A brief report of a novel observation, with a maximum of two figures or tables.
Word limits exclude the abstract, references, tables and figure legends. Full preparation requirements are set out in the instructions for authors.
Assessment
How a submission is judged
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request.
Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Decisions remain independent of fees, membership, editorial roles and paid services.
Journal of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology · ISSN 2641-7669 · Published by Open Access Pub.