Biochemical and Molecular Toxicology

When toxic chemicals interact with living organisms, biochemical toxicology examines the processes that occur at the cellular and molecular levels. Biochemical toxicologists study enzyme mechanisms, drug metabolism gene control, genetic variables that produce individual variances in xenobiotic responsiveness, drug/drug interactions, and xenobiotic bioactivation to toxic intermediates. Toxicology's biochemical aspects have long played an important role in elucidating processes. New molecular and cellular approaches have substantially increased our understanding of how toxicants cause their adverse effects.

The science of Molecular Toxicology is the study of why things are harmful. Molecular toxicology is the study of the molecular mechanisms that generate toxicity in chemicals as well as the effects of diverse chemical components on living beings. This branch of toxicology looks at both natural and synthetic substances, as well as the effects of genetic, physiologic, and environmental factors on organisms. Toxicity processes can reveal fundamental features of biology, which makes this field particularly interesting. Decades of intensive toxicology study have greatly aided our knowledge of processes by delineating metabolic activation routes, macromolecular binding pathways, receptor interactions, and so on. Rapid breakthroughs have boosted the use of molecular biology in toxicology, and these technologies, like all branches of biological science, are propelling the subject forward at a breakneck speed. These breakthroughs provide toxicologists a once-in-a-lifetime chance.