Announcements

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. Dr. Farid Chemat, Editor-in-Chief of Molecules, in January 2023.

Our collaboration with Prof. Dr. Chemat began in 2015 when he served as a Guest Editor for a successful Special Issue in Green Chemistry. His approachable and charismatic personality led us to invite him to join the editorial board in 2017. Shortly after, he was promoted to Section Editor-in-Chief for Green Chemistry in 2018. Subsequently, he actively strived for the development of the section and published several successful Special Issues. We were honored to welcome him as the Editor-in-Chief for Molecules in January 2021. During his tenure as Editor-in-Chief, he worked closely with the editorial members and staff to guide the journal through its development and growth. He was one of the undisputed pillars of the journal. We were privileged to have his enthusiasm guiding us through the journal’s milestones. His contributions to the scientific community are acknowledged and his legacy will be preserved within the journal.

Prof. Dr. Chemat was a full chemistry professor and laboratory director for green extraction techniques of natural products (GREEN) at the Université d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, France. After earning his Ph.D. in 1994 from the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, he worked in postdoctoral research with Prolabo-Merck (1995–1997) and as a senior researcher at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands (1997–1999). He then moved to the University of La Réunion, France as an Assistant Professor. Since 2006, he held a Professor of Chemistry at Université d’Avignon, France.

His research focused on innovative and sustainable extraction techniques (i.e., microwave, ultrasound, and bio-based solvents) for different fields such as food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications. His research activities were decorated with more than 200 scientific peer-review papers, books, and patents.

His death is a significant loss to the academic and scientific community and anyone close to him. We offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

Molecules Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

  Name: Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei
  Email: xglei@pku.edu.cn
  Affiliation: Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, China

Warm congratulations to Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei for winning the Molecules 2022 Tu Youyou Award.

Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei is currently the Boya Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Peking University. His laboratory at Peking University conducts research on the interface between chemistry and biology. He focuses on the function-oriented synthesis of structurally complex and bioactive natural products and systematically uses bioactive small molecules (either natural products or unnatural compounds) to study their biological functions, elucidate molecular mechanisms of the essential biological pathways, and develop novel therapeutic agents for currently intractable human diseases, such as cancers and infectious diseases. In addition, he has been exploring the biosynthesis of plant-derived bioactive natural products and developing efficient chemoenzymatic approaches to access these complex molecules. During his career to date, Prof. Dr. Lei has distinguished himself with numerous high-quality contributions in diverse areas of natural product synthesis, chemical biology, and drug discovery. His investigations into the molecular details and mechanisms at the interface between chemistry and biology have led to novel discoveries with potentially significant consequences for molecular medicine.

We conducted an interview with Prof. Dr. Xiaoguang Lei regarding his research and achievements. We hope you enjoy the interview.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

We are currently recruiting our Topical Advisory Panel Members for Molecules (ISSN: 1420-3049). The Topical Advisory Panel is composed of established researchers and early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Editors, Topic Editors and Section Board Members. Full details of the responsibilities of Topical Advisory Panel Members are available at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/editors#Supporting_Editor_Responsibilities.

The benefits of Topical Advisory Panel Members include the following:

• The opportunity to publish one paper per year with a discount in Molecules as well as potential discounts for additional papers you invite;
• A certificate of recognition for your position;
• Additional sponsorships for conferences organized by Topical Advisory Panel Members of Molecules;
• Travel grants for conferences that you attend or organize.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in a field related to Molecules;
• Have at least six published papers in the last 5 years as a first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this position, please apply via the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/topical_advisory_panel_application, or send an email to the Editorial Office (molecules@mdpi.com) with your academic CV.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Molecules Editorial Office

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

MDPI will be attending the 17th National Synthetic Organic Chemistry Symposium, held in Jinan, China. This conference is co-organized by the Organic Chemistry Discipline Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and Shandong University. It has been postponed twice due to the pandemic and is now scheduled to be held from 10 to 13 November 2022.

The theme of this conference is “Organic Synthesis and Drug Creation”. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. It provides an excellent opportunity for participants from industry and academia to keep up to date with the latest trends in organic synthesis.

During this conference, MDPI will welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest views as well as research with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Molecules;
• Symmetry;
• Pharmaceuticals;
• Organics;
• Sci.

If you plan on attending this conference, feel free to stop by our booth: #C4. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions that you may have.

For more information about the conference, please see the following link: https://www.chemsoc.org.cn/meeting/SOCS2021/.

Conference: Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022)
Date: 2–4 November 2022
Place: Palaiseau, France
Booth Number: 2

Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944) and Molecules (ISSN: 1420-3049) will be attending the Journées de Chimie Organique (JCO 2022) as exhibitors from 2 to 4 November in Palaiseau, France.

The JCO is organized every 3 years by the Organic Chemistry Division committee. It aims to be a great opportunity for the sharing of science, gathering organic chemists from all over the world.

This year, the meeting will include 13 plenary lectures and 5 invited lectures given by French and foreign researchers from both academic and industrial backgrounds, and will also highlight awardees of the DCO prizes.

Numerous oral communications are open to young researchers in various areas, such as the following:

• Catalysis;
• New methods in organic synthesis;
• Total synthesis of natural products;
• Sustainable chemistry;
• Medicinal chemistry;
• Bioorganic chemistry;
• Chemobiology;
• Supramolecular chemistry;
• Applications in materials and energy.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Materials;
• Molecules;
• Compos. Sci.;
• IJMS;
• Molbank;
• Symmetry.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you plan on attending this conference. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you might have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.jco2022.com/en/.

1. “Meso/Microporous Carbons from Conjugated Hyper-Crosslinked Polymers Based on Tetraphenylethene for High-Performance CO₂ Capture and Supercapacitor”
by Mohamed, M. G.; Ahmed, M. M. M.; Du, W.-T. and Kuo, S.-W.
Molecules 2021, 26(3), 738. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030738
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/3/738

2. “Factors Affecting Synthetic Dye Adsorption; Desorption Studies: A Review of Results from the Last Five Years (2017–2021)”
by Rápó, E. and Tonk, S.
Molecules 2021, 26(17), 5419. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175419
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/17/5419

3. “Green Synthesis and Applications of ZnO and TiO₂ Nanostructures”
by Gonçalves, R. A.; Toledo, R. P.; Joshi, N. and Berengue, O. M.
Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2236. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082236
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/8/2236

4. “Catechol-Containing Schiff Bases on Thiacalixarene: Synthesis, Copper (II) Recognition, and Formation of Organic-Inorganic Copper-Based Materials”
by Padnya, P.; Shibaeva, K.; Arsenyev, M.; Baryshnikova, S.; Terenteva, O.; Shiabiev, I.; Khannanov, A.; Boldyrev, A.; Gerasimov, A.; Grishaev, D.; Shtyrlin, Y. and Stoikov, I.
Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2334. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082334
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/8/2334

5. “Mono- and Mixed Metal Complexes of Eu³⁺, Gd³⁺, and Tb³⁺ with a Diketone, Bearing Pyrazole Moiety and CHF₂-Group: Structure, Color Tuning, and Kinetics of Energy Transfer between Lanthanide Ions”
by Gontcharenko, V. E.; Kiskin, M. A.; Dolzhenko, V. D.; Korshunov, V. M.; Taydakov, I. V. and Belousov, Y. A.
Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2655. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092655
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2655

6. “Spin Hamiltonians in Magnets: Theories and Computations”
by Li, X.; Yu, H.; Lou, F.; Feng, J.; Whangbo, M.-H. and Xiang, H.
Molecules 2021, 26(4), 803. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26040803
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/4/803

7. “Towards Reversible High-Voltage Multi-Electron Reactions in Alkali-Ion Batteries Using Vanadium Phosphate Positive Electrode Materials”
by Boivin, E.; Chotard, J.-N.; Masquelier, C. and Croguennec, L.
Molecules 2021, 26(5), 1428. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051428
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/5/1428

8. “Graphene Oxide-Based Stimuli-Responsive Platforms for Biomedical Applications”
by Patil, T. V.; Patel, D. K.; Dutta, S. D.; Ganguly, K. and Lim, K.-T.
Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092797
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2797

9. “Spin Exchanges between Transition Metal Ions Governed by the Ligand p-Orbitals in Their Magnetic Orbitals”
by Whangbo, M.-H.; Koo, H.-J. and Kremer, R. K.
Molecules 2021, 26(3), 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030531
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/3/531

10. “Cinnamal Sensing and Luminescence Color Tuning in a Series of Rare-Earth Metal−Organic Frameworks with Trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate”
by Demakov, P. A.; Vasileva, A. A.; Volynkin, S. S.; Ryadun, A. A.; Samsonenko, D. G.; Fedin, V. P. and Dybtsev, D. N.
Molecules 2021, 26(17), 5145. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175145
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/17/5145

1. “An Overview of the Synthesis and Antimicrobial, Antiprotozoal, and Antitumor Activity of Thiazole and Bisthiazole Derivatives”
by Anca-Maria Borcea, Ioana Ionuț, Ovidiu Crișan and Ovidiu Oniga
Molecules 2021, 26(3), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030624
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/3/624

2. “Functional Pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines: Current Approaches in Synthetic Transformations and Uses As an Antitumor Scaffold”
by Andres Arias-Gómez, Andrés Godoy and Jaime Portilla
Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2708; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092708
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2708

3. “Synthesis of α-Aminophosphonates and Related Derivatives; The Last Decade of the Kabachnik–Fields Reaction”
by Petra R. Varga and György Keglevich
Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2511; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092511
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2511

4. “Modern Synthetic Methods for the Stereoselective Construction of 1,3-Dienes”
by Raquel G. Soengas and Humberto Rodríguez-Solla
Molecules 2021, 26(2), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26020249
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/2/249

5. “Laccases: Versatile Biocatalysts for the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Cores”
by Ana Catarina Sousa, Lígia O. Martins and M. Paula Robalo
Molecules 2021, 26(12), 3719; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123719
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/12/3719

6. “Pyridine Scaffolds, Phenols and Derivatives of Azo Moiety: Current Therapeutic Perspectives”
by Tehreem Tahir, Muhammad Ashfaq, Muhammad Saleem, Muhammad Rafiq, Mirza Imran Shahzad, Katarzyna Kotwica-Mojzych and Mariusz Mojzych
Molecules 2021, 26(16), 4872; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26164872
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/16/4872

7. “Recommended Tests for the Self-Disproportionation of Enantiomers (SDE) to Ensure Accurate Reporting of the Stereochemical Outcome of Enantioselective Reactions”
by Jianlin Han, Alicja Wzorek, Karel D. Klika and Vadim A. Soloshonok
Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2757; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092757
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/9/2757

8. “Modern Approaches to the Synthesis and Transformations of Practically Valuable Benzothiazole Derivatives”
by Larisa V. Zhilitskaya, Bagrat A. Shainyan and Nina O. Yarosh
Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2190; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082190
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/8/2190

9. “Aggregation-Induced Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species: Mechanism and Photosensitizer Construction”
by Juechen Ni, Yijia Wang, Haoke Zhang, Jing Zhi Sun and Ben Zhong Tang
Molecules 2021, 26(2), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26020268
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/2/268

10. “New 1,2,3-Triazole-Containing Hybrids as Antitumor Candidates: Design, Click Reaction Synthesis, DFT Calculations, and Molecular Docking Study”
by Islam H. El Azab, Hamdy S. El-Sheshtawy, Rania B. Bakr and Nadia A. A. Elkanzi
Molecules 2021, 26(3), 708; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030708
Full text available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/3/708