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Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry: Analysis, Synthesis and Application

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 1376

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Nursing and Midwifery (Division of Life Sciences), University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
Interests: plant bioactive compounds; chemical analysis; pharmacological effects on health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico
Interests: pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; drug metabolism; bioavailability

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Guest Editor
Escuela de Ciencias Químicas Sede Ocozocoautla, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, Ocozocoautla de Espinosa 29140, Mexico
Interests: pharmacology; experimental therapeutics; metabolic diseases; drug development; therapeutic innovations; metabolic pathways; drug mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced pharmaceutical chemistry plays a crucial role in the research, development and production of innovative medicines. Its fundamental pillars, such as analysis, synthesis and application, are essential to guarantee quality, i.e., their preparation under correct manufacturing standards, their efficacy in treating the disease they are used to cure or alleviate, their safety in terms of not producing adverse effects (undesirable or secondary) and their availability for use in treatments that improve the quality of life of patients. In this sense, pharmaceutical products developed for therapeutic use can be of synthetic origin or derived from plants and/or foods naturally.

This multidisciplinary field requires a deep knowledge of medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug formulation, drug administration, clinical trials, regulatory aspects and various scientific techniques to develop new and improved medicines that address the global challenge of treating various diseases.

Therefore, we invite authors and members of their research groups to submit an article tot his Special Issue of Applied Sciences, entitled “Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry: Analysis, Synthesis and Application”, with articles addressing active compounds of synthetic or plant, vegetable, and/or fruit origin, as well as their possible pharmacological potential (in vitro and in vivo) for treating health conditions.

Dr. Osmar Antonio Jaramillo-Morales
Dr. Juan Ramón Zapata-Morales
Dr. Josué V. Espinosa-Juárez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pharmaceutical analysis
  • bioactive compounds
  • pharmacological properties
  • plants
  • synthetic compounds

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1635 KiB  
Article
Chemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Potential Assessment of Wild Laurel from the National Park Skadar Lake, Montenegro
by Dragica Bojović, Miomir Šoškić, Ana Žugić, Marina T. Milenković, Iva Ljumović and Vanja M. Tadić
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(12), 6741; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15126741 - 16 Jun 2025
Viewed by 465
Abstract
In light of the increasing demand for laurel, driven by renewed interest in natural products and traditional medicinal usage of this plant, our study aimed to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of essential oils from leaves and fruits of laurel (EOL and [...] Read more.
In light of the increasing demand for laurel, driven by renewed interest in natural products and traditional medicinal usage of this plant, our study aimed to investigate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of essential oils from leaves and fruits of laurel (EOL and EOF, respectively) collected in the National Park Skadar Lake, Montenegro, as it related to their chemical composition, assessing the possibility of their usage in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Also, fatty oil from the remaining laurel fruit after EOF isolation was investigated as a possible source of bioactive compounds. The most abundant components in EOL and EOF were 1,8-cineol (35.1% and 33.3%, respectively) and α-terpinyl acetate (10.4% and 7.0%, respectively). Linalool (7.6%) was found in EOL, while α- pinene (5.8%) and β-elemene (5.7%) were present in significant amounts in EOF. Antibacterial and antifungal properties of EOL and EOF showed strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacillus subtilis, and potent antifungal effects against Candida albicans, opening the door for their application as antimicrobial agents. Chemical analysis of fatty oil unexpectedly revealed prominent content of sesquiterpene lactone dehydrocostunolide and phenylpropanoid derivative (E)-2-hexyl-cinnamaldehyde (21% and 5%, respectively), suggesting further investigations of this waste material as the source of valuable compounds with proven health benefits. Full article
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16 pages, 1665 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Doxorubicin Efficacy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Multi-Target Role of Muscari comosum Extract
by Alessandro Pistone, Ilenia Matera, Vittorio Abruzzese, Maria Antonietta Castiglione Morelli, Martina Rosa and Angela Ostuni
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(12), 6509; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15126509 - 10 Jun 2025
Viewed by 544
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, characterized by poor prognosis and limited therapeutic efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutics such as doxorubicin. Phytochemicals are promising adjuvants in cancer therapy due to their multi-targeted effects. In this in vitro study, [...] Read more.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, characterized by poor prognosis and limited therapeutic efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutics such as doxorubicin. Phytochemicals are promising adjuvants in cancer therapy due to their multi-targeted effects. In this in vitro study, we investigated the impact of a methanol–water extract (70:30 v/v, MET70) from Muscari comosum bulbs, rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, on doxorubicin-treated HepG2 human hepatoma cells. Co-treatment with MET70 increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) associated with downregulation of Nrf2 signaling, suppression of antioxidant enzymes (SOD2, GPX-1) and decreased mitochondrial UCP2 expression. MET70 modulated the inflammatory response induced by doxorubicin by decreasing TNF-α and increasing IL-6 expression. MET70 also promoted protein homeostasis through PDIA2 upregulation without exacerbating endoplasmic reticulum stress and inhibited autophagy by reducing Beclin-1 levels, contributing to increased chemosensitivity. Moreover, MET70 downregulated ABCC1 expression, suggesting a role in overcoming multidrug resistance. All these findings demonstrate that Muscari comosum extract enhances doxorubicin efficacy by targeting redox balance, inflammatory signaling, autophagy, and drug resistance, offering a promising redox-based strategy for improving HCC therapy. However, further studies should be performed in vivo. Full article
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