Biophysical Advances in Structure-Based Drug Design

A special issue of Biophysica (ISSN 2673-4125).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 12517

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Interests: structure-based drug design; crystallography; machine learning; computational chemistry; molecular dynamics; molecular modeling; fluorescent proteins; receptors; cancer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on the development and application of cutting edge biophysical approaches in structure-based drug design. The work can be either experimental or computational: hybrid approaches are especially welcome. Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to cryo-electron microscopy, artificial intelligence and deep learning, biophysical ligand screening, free energy calculations, new spectroscopic methods, and COVID-19. We welcome research from both industrial and academic groups.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ho Leung Ng
Guest Editor

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. Biophysica is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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

  • drug design
  • electron microscopy
  • crystal structure
  • crystallography
  • free energy calculation
  • artificial intelligence
  • deep learning
  • machine learning
  • biophysical methods
  • ligand screening
  • drug binding
  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research

2 pages, 163 KiB  
Editorial
Recent Biophysical Advances in Drug Discovery
by Ho Leung Ng
Biophysica 2022, 2(2), 121-122; https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica2020013 - 1 Jun 2022
Viewed by 1627
Abstract
In recent years, we have seen an explosion of technological progress related to drug discovery, including computing power, artificial intelligence, and electron microscopy [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophysical Advances in Structure-Based Drug Design)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 3867 KiB  
Article
Plasma-Activated Water Promotes Wound Healing by Regulating Inflammatory Responses
by Shuai Wang, Dehui Xu, Miao Qi, Bing Li, Sansan Peng, Qiaosong Li, Hao Zhang and Dingxin Liu
Biophysica 2021, 1(3), 297-310; https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica1030022 - 7 Jul 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4921
Abstract
Infection can hinder the process of wound healing, so it is important to begin antibacterial treatment quickly after a wound forms. Plasma activated water (PAW) can inactivate a variety of common wound infection bacteria. In this study, we compared the effects of PAW [...] Read more.
Infection can hinder the process of wound healing, so it is important to begin antibacterial treatment quickly after a wound forms. Plasma activated water (PAW) can inactivate a variety of common wound infection bacteria. In this study, we compared the effects of PAW prepared with portable surface discharge plasma equipment and medical alcohol on wound healing in a mouse full-thickness skin wound model. The effectiveness of wound healing processes in mice was ranked accordingly: PAW treatment group > medical alcohol treatment group > control group. In order to further understand the mechanism of PAW in promoting wound healing, we tested the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The results showed that PAW promoted the release of pro-inflammatory factors and anti-inflammatory factors from the wounds in mice, which allowed the mice in the treatment group to transition out of the inflammatory period early and enter the next stage of wound healing. The expression level of VEGF in the wounds of mice in the PAW treatment group was higher, which indicates that the microvessels around the wound in the PAW treatment group proliferated faster, and thus the wound healed faster. PAW biosafety experiments showed that PAW did not significantly affect the appearance, morphology, or tissue structure of internal organs, or blood biochemical indicators in mice. In general, PAW prepared via portable devices is expected to become more widely used given its convenience, affordability, and lack of side effects in promoting wound healing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophysical Advances in Structure-Based Drug Design)
Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 943 KiB  
Article
SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Derived Peptides Presented by HLA Molecules
by Andrea T. Nguyen, Christopher Szeto, Dhilshan Jayasinghe, Christian A. Lobos, Hanim Halim, Demetra S. M. Chatzileontiadou, Emma J. Grant and Stephanie Gras
Biophysica 2021, 1(2), 194-203; https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica1020015 - 19 May 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5064
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. With the remarkable advances in medical research, vaccines were developed to prime the human immune system and decrease disease severity. Despite these achievements, the fundamental basis of immunity [...] Read more.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. With the remarkable advances in medical research, vaccines were developed to prime the human immune system and decrease disease severity. Despite these achievements, the fundamental basis of immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still largely undefined. Here, we solved the crystal structure of three spike-derived peptides presented by three different HLA molecules, and determined the stability of the overall peptide–HLA complexes formed. The peptide presentation of spike-derived peptides can influence the way in which CD8+ T cells can recognise infected cells, clear infection, and therefore, control the outcome of the disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biophysical Advances in Structure-Based Drug Design)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop