REVIEW article
Front. Cell Death
Sec. Cellular Stress and Survival: Crosslinks, Intersections, and Pathways
This article is part of the Research TopicWomen in Cell Death Research: Volume IIView all articles
Hazard identification and harmful effects of organophosphates and carbamates in bioethical models: a review
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
- 2Universita degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy
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Pesticides are a category of emerging contaminants employed in agriculture or for domestic use. Among them, the anti-cholinesterase insecticides are the most extensively applied; they are neurotoxic compounds released into the environment in amounts estimated in millions of tons per year, posing serious risks to both environmental and human health. This review examines the current literature on hazard identification and effects assessment of two major classes of neurotoxic compounds – namely organophosphates (OPs) and carbamates (CBs) - in relation to human and environmental health. We report the harmful effects of OPs and CBs on humans and on bioethical models as alternatives to vertebrates in toxicological testing. We therefore describe the most used bioassays employing a range of experimental models (cells, monolayer cultures, spheroids, whole organisms) exposed to different doses of OPs and CBs, to identify and quantify the most sensitive biological responses (endpoints, biomarkers). This novel approach aims to improve predictive capacity and strengthen risk assessment of human and environmental health. In conclusion, in-vitro or non-mammalian models are promising alternatives to assess human health risks caused by OPs and CBs, in line with the Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (3R) principle.
Keywords: bioassays, bioethical models, biomarkers, Carbamates, organophosphates
Received: 05 Aug 2025; Accepted: 23 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Gambardella, Soro, Paladino, Falugi, Misurale and Faimali. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chiara Gambardella
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