Entomologia Generalis: Call for papers for Special issue: Nanoparticles: Use and Side Effects on Arthropods

Special issue: Nanoparticles: Use and Side Effects on Arthropods

Nanoparticles tend to evoke both expectation and unease. Their promise is difficult to dismiss, yet their behavior, particularly in biological systems, remains only partially resolved. Enthusiasm is abundant, but so are hints of something less predictable: a faint Crichton-like shadow, perhaps, where utility and unintended consequences coexist. One might think of a Pandora’s set of nested boxes, each layer revealing not only function but also new uncertainties—or, less poetically, of a highly targeted tool that may not always remain so.

This Special Issue, “Nanoparticles: Use and Side Effects on Arthropods,” invites contributions that engage with this duality. The goal is to bring together studies that deepen our understanding of how nanoparticles are applied, how they interact with arthropod systems, and what their broader ecological implications may be. As nanotechnology continues to expand across agriculture, environmental science, and pest management, a more critical and integrative perspective appears not only timely, but necessary.

We welcome work exploring the use of nanoparticles in arthropod research and management, including applications in pest control, pesticide delivery, pathogen detection, and molecular and physiological studies. Their potential as carriers, sensors, or active agents is often highlighted and sometimes justified, but comparative, mechanistic, and context-dependent evaluations remain uneven and deserve closer attention.

Equally important are contributions addressing side effects and toxicity. Submissions may examine lethal and sublethal responses in target and non-target species, spanning survival, development, reproduction, behavior, physiology, immunity, and molecular pathways. Attention to cascading effects across higher levels of biological organization — populations, communities, and ecosystems — is particularly encouraged. Studies involving beneficial arthropods, including pollinators, detritivores, predators, parasitoids, and even competitors, are especially welcome, as their responses may quietly reshape how safety is perceived.

We also invite work on environmental fate and risk assessment, including persistence, bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and impacts on arthropod communities and ecosystem services. Contributions that help inform regulatory frameworks or support more consistent evaluation protocols will be especially valuable.
Rather than resolving the tension between promise and risk, this issue aims to examine it more closely. In doing so, it may help clarify where nanoparticles genuinely advance arthropod science—and where caution, or recalibration, still seems warranted.

Submission deadline for Nanoparticles: Use and Side Effects on Arthropods is October 30, 2026.

If you are interested in submitting a paper to the Nanoparticles: Use and Side Effects on Arthropods Special Issue, please check the Entomologia Generalis general guidelines.
To submit your paper, please register as an author in the journal's manuscript submission system. Please select the section "Nanoparticles" there in order to submit your paper.