The “Drug Targeting and Design” Section publishes cutting-edge research focused on the rational development of therapeutic agents with enhanced precision, efficacy, and safety. This Section emphasizes innovative strategies for drug discovery, molecular design, and targeted delivery systems that address unmet clinical needs. We welcome multidisciplinary contributions spanning computational drug design, structure–activity relationships, biomolecular engineering, and advanced carrier systems for site-specific drug action.

As all of the articles published in our journal are of open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full texts. We welcome you to read our most highly cited papers that were published in 2023, as listed below.

1. “Current Challenges and Opportunities of Photodynamic Therapy against Cancer”
by Ruben V. Huis in‘t Veld, Jeroen Heuts, Sen Ma, Luis J. Cruz, Ferry A. Ossendorp, and Martine J. Jager
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(2), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15020330
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/2/330

2. “Polymeric Micellar Systems—A Special Emphasis on “Smart” Drug Delivery”
by Irina Negut and Bogdan Bita
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(3), 976; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15030976
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/3/976

3. “Recent Studies in Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer Treatment: From Basic Research to Clinical Trials”
by Tae Eun Kim and Ji-Eun Chang
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(9), 2257; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15092257
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/9/2257

4. “PLGA Particles in Immunotherapy”
by Dennis Horvath and Michael Basler
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(2), 615; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15020615
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/2/615

5. “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Using Cell-Penetrating Peptide Conjugation, Chemical Modification, and Carrier-Based Delivery Strategies”
by Saeed Anwar, Farin Mir and Toshifumi Yokota
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(4), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15041130
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1130

6. “Current Treatments and New, Tentative Therapies for Parkinson’s Disease”
by Teresa Pardo-Moreno, Victoria García-Morales, Sami Suleiman-Martos, Antonio Rivas-Domínguez, Himan Mohamed-Mohamed, Juan José Ramos-Rodríguez, Lucía Melguizo-Rodrígue and Anabel González-Acedo
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(3), 770; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15030770
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/3/770

7. “Lutathera® Orphans: State of the Art and Future Application of Radioligand Therapy with 177Lu-DOTATATE”
by Luca Urso, Alberto Nieri, Licia Uccelli, Angelo Castello, Paolo Artioli, Corrado Cittanti, Maria Cristina Marzola, Luigia Florimonte, Massimo Castellani, Sergio Bissoli et al.
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(4), 1110; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15041110
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1110

8. “Optimizing Antiviral Dosing for HSV and CMV Treatment in Immunocompromised Patients”
by Daan W. Huntjens, Jacob A. Dijkstra, Lisanne N. Verwiel, Mirjam Slijkhuis, Paul Elbers, Matthijs R. A. Welkers, Agnes I. Veldkamp, Marianne A. Kuijvenhoven, David C. de Leeuw, Heshu Abdullah-Koolmees et al.
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(1), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15010163
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/1/163

9. “Hydroxyapatite Thin Films of Marine Origin as Sustainable Candidates for Dental Implants”
by Gabriela Dorcioman, Valentina Grumezescu, George E. Stan, Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc, Gratiela Pircalabioru Gradisteanu, Florin Miculescu, Elena Matei, Gianina Popescu-Pelin, Irina Zgura, Valentin Craciun et al.
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(4), 274; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15041294
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/4/1294

10. “Fc-Engineered Therapeutic Antibodies: Recent Advances and Future Directions”
by Dalia T. Abdeldaim and Katharina Schindowski
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(10), 2402; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15102402
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/15/10/2402