There is a growing awareness that the large number of environmental pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis are causing major health problems. Compared to traditional studies that focus on individual pollutants, there are relatively few studies on how pollutants mixtures interact. Several studies have reported a relationship between environmental pollutants and the development of cancer, even when pollutant levels are below toxicity reference values. The possibility of synergistic interactions between different pollutants could explain how even low concentrations can cause major health problems. These intricate that molecular interactions can occur through a wide variety of mechanisms, and our understanding of the physiological effects of mixtures is still limited. The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent reports that address possible synergistic interactions between different types of environmental pollutants that could promote cancer development. Our literature studies suggest that key biological pathways are frequently implicated in such processes. These include increased production of reactive oxygen species, activation by cytochrome P450, and aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling, among others. We discuss the need to understand individual pathological vulnerability not only in relation to basic genetics and gene expression, but also in terms of measurable exposure to contaminants. We also mention the need for significant improvements in future studies using a multitude of disciplines, such as the development of high‐throughput study models, better tools for quantifying pollutants in cancer patients, innovative pharmacological and toxicological studies, and high‐efficiency computer analysis, which allow us to analyze the molecular mechanisms of mixtures.

Nucleic acids in the form of aptamers play a growing and significant role in the targeted and rapid analysis of environmental sample composition and medical analyses. In this paper, the review of both aptamers synthesis methods as well as application of these short chain oligonucleotides (with critical comments on their strong and weak features) are given. The first ones include: systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), high throughput aptamer identification screen (HAPIscreen), and a non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixture (NECEEM). Afterwards, manuscript describes variety of sensors and biotests utilizing aptamers as active part of its action starting from electrochemical aptasensors, through optical to piezo-electric ones. Described biotests present basic developments in enzyme-linked apta-sorbent assays (ELASA) that can be performed with different variations (enzyme-linked aptamer assay (ELAA), enzyme-linked oligonucleotide assay (ELONA) and aptamer-linked immobilized sorbent assay (ALISA)). Next, the review presents advantages and drawbacks of recent aptameric developments in versatile laboratory applications, namely medical ones, as well as analytical and bioassays. Utilitarian development of aptasensors and aptamers would strongly benefit from an assembly of interdisciplinary teams containing chemists, physicists, biologists, medical doctors, and material and electronic scientists, to determine the most effective application methodologies.