Metal-Based Compounds: Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action and Toxicity
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Toxicology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2025) | Viewed by 1032
Special Issue Editor
Interests: in vivo toxicity; nephrotoxicity; hepatotoxicity; metal ions; metal nanoclusters; drug development; ATPase targets for pharmacological and toxicological action
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metal toxicity is mainly associated with heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium, that have been most frequently reported to induce human poisonings. Lighter metals and essential trace elements may also result in toxic action if applied in overdoses. Mechanisms of toxicity involve the metal-induced generation of free radicals and consequently oxidative stress, enzyme activation, attenuating antioxidant defence, and selective binding to essential macromolecules, which lead to irreversible cell damage. In addition, metal-based compounds have been used as standard chemotherapeutics in clinical practice, whereas numerous novel metal complexes have been designed and synthesized as promising next-generation metallodrug candidates. This Special Issue aims to report new advancements in metal toxicity, putative modes of resulting toxic effects, pharmacologically active metal-containing compounds, and in vitro as well as in vivo toxicity assessment as one of key limitations in their potential biomedical application. The Guest Editors invite original research articles and reviews on the molecular mechanisms of metal-resulting toxicity and the pharmacological benefits as well as toxicity of promising metal-based medical agents. Understanding metal toxicity at the molecular level will contribute to the development of novel metal-based compounds with considerable efficacy and safety profiles as potential candidates for biomedical applications.
For this Special Issue, supervised by the Guest Editor and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member, Dr. Mirjana B. Čolović (University of Belgrade). We welcome papers related (but not limited) to the following specific topics:
- Molecular mechanisms of the pharmacological action of (promising) metallodrugs.
- Mechanisms of metal and metal-based compound toxicity.
- In vitro and in vivo toxicity evaluation of (promising) metallodrugs.
- Interaction of metal-containing compounds with target molecules.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Danijela Z. Krstić
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- metal elements and ions
- metal complexes
- metal nanoclusters
- pharmacology andpharmacokinetics
- in vitro toxicity
- in vivo toxicity
- toxicity biomarkers
- enzymes as pharmacological and toxicity targets
- toxicity mechanisms
- metallodrugs
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