Molecular Research on Novel Anticancer Drugs: From Structure to Molecular Targets
A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioorganic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 37
Special Issue Editor
Interests: natural and synthetic anti-tumor and anti-viral compounds; tumor microenvironment; natural and synthetic pro-osteogenic compounds; neutral endopeptidase (NEP) as therapeutic target
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Conventional chemotherapeutic drugs are still widely used for cancer treatment. Although most of the currently used anticancer drugs are effective, their administration leads not only to overall toxicity but also to the initiation of metastasis and the development of chemotherapy resistance. Hence, there remains a need for effective and safe strategies in cancer treatment, including the discovery of new anticancer agents. The latter should deliver effective molecules at a cost-effective price, be efficient, and comply with sustainability standards. Several approaches are relevant to these outlines. One approach is to search for novel anticancer compounds from natural sources (e.g., plants, fungi, microbes, and marine organisms). In contrast, drug repurposing entails using a well-known drug or candidate for a new treatment or medical condition for which it was not previously indicated. Furthermore, the compounds generated by implementing these approaches can serve as starting points for new semi-synthetic or synthetic molecules with anticancer potential. To ensure safety and effectiveness, their molecular targets should be involved in cancer development and progression. This can be addressed by drug design based on pharmacophores, i.e., identified key structural motifs responsible for a desired biological response, which are incorporated into new molecular frameworks.
Hence, this Special Issue is open to submissions of recent studies or literature reviews on newly discovered anticancer agents, with a focus on their design, purification/synthesis, characterization, and investigation of their complex molecular mechanisms of action.
Best regards,
Dr. M. Mizerska-Kowalska
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- cancer therapy
- anticancer agents
- natural sources
- drug design
- drug repurposing
- drug synthesis
- molecular mechanisms
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