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Advances in Drug Discovery and Synthesis: 2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 2514

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: amyloid proteins; medicinal chemistry; degenerative diseases; drug design; X-ray crystallography; chemical synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: medicinal chemistry; drug discovery; metalloenzyme inhibitors; neurodegenerative diseases; anticancer drugs; CNS agents; chemical synthesis; structure–activity relationship; natural products

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Drugs of both natural and synthetic origin interact with specific targets in the body to prevent or cure diseases/disorders.

Drug discovery starts with identifying an unsatisfied therapeutic need, including assessing the adequacy of the available therapies and researching a cure for new emerging diseases. Drug discovery and development is a highly expensive process that can be performed using different approaches: serendipity, screening a great number of molecules via high-throughput screening (HTS), the selective optimization of the activity of drugs or natural products, the repurposing of known drugs, rational drug design, and the synthesis of new molecular entities using the information derived from X-ray crystal structures and in silico modeling techniques. The use of these strategies may lead to the discovery of a result that will require an optimization process to improve its properties (such as increasing the affinity and selectivity for the target, non-toxicity, bioavailability, etc.) to obtain a lead compound that will become a drug.

In this Special Issue, “Advances in Drug Discovery and Synthesis: 2nd Edition”, we focus on all aspects involved in the discovery of new drug candidates, e.g., the design and synthesis of biologically active molecules, new synthetic routes leading to the discovery and optimization of lead compounds, molecular modeling, bioinformatics, structure-based drug design, and crystal structure analysis. Research articles, comprehensive reviews, and short communications are welcome, with the aim of collecting the most recent insights and results involving multidisciplinary approaches in the research on biologically active new molecules.

Dr. Lidia Ciccone
Dr. Susanna Nencetti
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • medicinal chemistry
  • drug discovery
  • design and synthesis of bioactive compounds
  • molecular modeling
  • X-ray crystallography
  • structure–activity relationships
  • structure-based drug design

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 3099 KiB  
Article
Nitazoxanide Analogs: Synthesis, In Vitro Giardicidal Activity, and Effects on Giardia lamblia Metabolic Gene Expression
by Laura Morales-Luna, Beatriz Hernández-Ochoa, Abigail González-Valdez, Montserrat Vázquez-Bautista, Roberto Arreguin-Espinosa, Verónica Pérez de la Cruz, Sergio Enríquez-Flores, Ignacio De la Mora De la Mora, Elizabeth Hernández-Urzúa, Rosa Angélica Castillo-Rodríguez, Noemí Cárdenas-Rodríguez, Víctor Martínez-Rosas, Gabriel Navarrete-Vázquez and Saúl Gómez-Manzo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(10), 4504; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26104504 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 413
Abstract
Giardiasis is a common intestinal infection caused by Giardia lamblia. The standard treatment for this parasitic infection involves the administration of nitroimidazoles, albendazoles, and nitrothiazoles. However, in recent years, Giardia lamblia strains resistant to these treatments have been reported. Additionally, the current [...] Read more.
Giardiasis is a common intestinal infection caused by Giardia lamblia. The standard treatment for this parasitic infection involves the administration of nitroimidazoles, albendazoles, and nitrothiazoles. However, in recent years, Giardia lamblia strains resistant to these treatments have been reported. Additionally, the current therapies exhibit considerable side effects, highlighting the need for new compounds that specifically target this parasite. The aim of this study was to evaluate nitrothiazole analogs and assess their impact on the metabolic, redox, and structural gene expression of this parasite. First, the compounds CNZ-7, CNZ-8, FLP-2, FLP-6, and FLP-8 were tested at concentrations ranging from 0 to 50 µM to determine their IC50 in G. lamblia cultures. Subsequently, gene expression changes and structural cell damage in trophozoites were analyzed following incubation with the IC50 of each compound. The giardicidal activity of the compounds was also evaluated in a nitazoxanide-resistant strain. The results showed that FLP-2, FLP-6, and FLP-8 exhibited a stronger effect on trophozoite viability compared to nitazoxanide (NTZ) and metronidazole (MTZ). Both compounds induced an increase in the expression of phosphofructokinase (PFK), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), pyruvate kinase (PK), pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK), and pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR). Additionally, FLP-2 caused ultrastructural alterations in trophozoites. Furthermore, FLP-2, FLP-6, and FLP-8 demonstrated efficacy against drug-resistant strains. These findings suggest that FLP-2, FLP-6, and FLP-8 are promising candidates for the treatment of giardiasis, as they effectively reduce parasite viability, modify gene expression, and exhibit activity against drug-resistant G. lamblia strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Drug Discovery and Synthesis: 2nd Edition)
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Review

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22 pages, 7009 KiB  
Review
A Snapshot of the Most Recent Transthyretin Stabilizers
by Carlo Marotta, Lidia Ciccone, Elisabetta Orlandini, Armando Rossello and Susanna Nencetti
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(18), 9969; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25189969 - 16 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1617
Abstract
In recent years, several strategies have been developed for the treatment of transthyretin-related amyloidosis, whose complex clinical manifestations involve cardiomyopathy and polyneuropathy. In view of this, transthyretin stabilizers represent a major cornerstone in treatment thanks to the introduction of tafamidis into therapy and [...] Read more.
In recent years, several strategies have been developed for the treatment of transthyretin-related amyloidosis, whose complex clinical manifestations involve cardiomyopathy and polyneuropathy. In view of this, transthyretin stabilizers represent a major cornerstone in treatment thanks to the introduction of tafamidis into therapy and the entry of acoramidis into clinical trials. However, the clinical treatment of transthyretin-related amyloidosis still presents several challenges, urging the development of new and improved therapeutics. Bearing this in mind, in this paper, the most promising among the recently published transthyretin stabilizers were reviewed. Their activity was described to provide some insights into their clinical potential, and crystallographic data were provided to explain their modes of action. Finally, structure–activity relationship studies were performed to give some guidance to future researchers aiming to synthesize new transthyretin stabilizers. Interestingly, some new details emerged with respect to the previously known general rules that guided the design of new compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Drug Discovery and Synthesis: 2nd Edition)
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