Natural Products and Modern Drug Discovery: Emerging Strategies Targeting Cancer- and Disease-Related Molecular Mechanisms
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 31
Special Issue Editor
Interests: hepatocarcinoma; natural bioactives and phytochemicals; cancer invasion and metastasis; single nucleotide polymorphism; anti-aging
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural products have been at the heart of drug discovery for centuries, serving as both therapeutic agents and blueprints for the development of novel drugs. With advances in analytical chemistry, biosynthetic engineering, and computational tools, the exploration and development of natural products have entered a new era—where traditional knowledge meets modern innovation. This Special Issue focuses on the utilization and development of natural products as a foundation for modern drug discovery, particularly in addressing the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer and other diseases. We aim to highlight the latest research on how natural compounds are identified, modified, and optimized through innovative technologies to become effective, targeted therapeutics.
We invite submissions in areas including, but not limited to, the following:
- Isolation, structural elucidation, and bioactivity profiling of novel natural products.
- Strategies for sourcing and screening natural compounds (e.g., microbial, marine, and plant-based).
- Biosynthetic pathway engineering and synthetic biology approaches.
- Semisynthetic and total synthesis of natural product derivatives.
- Structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of natural molecules.
- Natural product libraries and high-throughput screening platforms.
- Integration of AI, molecular docking, or pharmacophore modeling in natural product-based design.
- Role of natural products in overcoming drug resistance or targeting novel disease mechanisms.
This Special Issue aims to showcase how nature-inspired molecules continue to inspire the development of next-generation therapeutics, as well as how cutting-edge techniques are expanding their therapeutic potential.
We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspective pieces that contribute to the scientific advancement of natural product-based drug discovery.
Prof. Dr. Chia-Jui Weng
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. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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
- natural products
- phytochemicals
- drug discovery
- bioactivity profiling
- pharmacophore modeling
- synthetic biology
- cancer therapy
- microbial metabolites
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