Artificial Intelligence-Driven Research into Functional Proteins and Peptides
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 3
Special Issue Editors
Interests: in silico prediction of protein/peptide physiological functions; machine learning-driven structure–activity relationship analysis; AI-aided optimization of bioactive peptide delivery systems; nutrigenomics data mining for functional proteins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: AI-driven functional peptide screening; structure–activity relationships; physiological mechanisms; marine protein high-value utilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Functional proteins and bioactive peptides derived from food have attracted attention in nutraceutical and functional food research due to their diverse physiological functions. These bioactive molecules have great potential for preventing chronic diseases and promoting human health. Traditional functional protein/peptide research involves time-consuming novel sequence discovery, extensive function validation of complex SAR and inefficient bioavailability screening.
In recent years, AI technologies (machine learning, deep learning, NLP, and in silico modeling) have emerged as transformative tools. They address key research bottlenecks by enabling prediction of high-throughput physiological functions. They accelerate SAR analysis and simulate in vivo digestion and absorption. They mine large-scale omics data to reveal molecular mechanisms. Integrating AI with traditional research reduces costs, shortens cycles and unlocks new opportunities for functional proteins/peptides.
This Special Issue of Foods highlights cutting-edge AI-functional protein/bioactive peptide research, focusing strictly on physiological functions (excluding processing properties like emulsification). We invite authors to submit original research, reviews and short communications covering the following topics:
- AI-driven discovery of food-derived functional proteins/peptides;
- In silico structure–activity relationship analysis of functional peptides/proteins;
- AI-aided evaluation of physiological functions;
- AI-simulated digestion, absorption and metabolism of functional proteins/peptides;
- Omics/clinical data mining for health benefits of functional proteins/peptides;
- Development of AI-based high-throughput screening platforms;
- AI-optimized production of functional proteins/peptides for enhanced physiological activity.
Welcoming researchers in food science, nutrition, bioinformatics and computer science to share innovations, this issue fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, advances AI applications and facilitates high-value findings on nutraceutical development.
Dr. Shuzhen Cheng
Prof. Dr. Ming Du
Prof. Dr. Hong Yu
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Foods 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 2900 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
- artificial intelligence
- functional proteins
- bioactive peptides
- physiological functions
- structure–activity relationship
- machine learning
- in silico prediction
- high-throughput screening
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