Medicinal Chemistry
A section of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049).
Section Information
The Medicinal Chemistry Section of the journal Molecules publishes original research and review articles that increase our understanding of how the chemical structure of bioactive molecules determines their pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and physicochemical properties and, hence, their therapeutic potential. In particular, this Section mainly invites contributions that report on:
-The design, synthesis, chemical characterization1, and biological evaluation of novel compounds against biological targets of therapeutic, diagnostic, or theranostic interest, and/or the assessment of their physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties;
-The isolation from herbal plants and separate biological characterization of individual bioactive compounds and/or their semisynthetic derivatives;
-Hit-to-lead projects that lead to a significant optimization of potency, or physicochemical and/or pharmacokinetic properties;
-Computational2, molecular biology, and/or structural biology studies that shed light on the structure and function of biological targets of therapeutic, diagnostic, or theranostic interest and on their interaction with known or novel compounds, thereby enabling the rational design of optimized ligands;
-Computational2 and biological studies of known drugs or their derivatives that address their interaction with novel biological targets for repositioning purposes;
-Novel synthetic, computational2, or biological methodologies of relevance in medicinal chemistry;
-Development and application of materials for medicinal chemistry purposes, such as drug delivery and drug targeting.
Manuscripts that report on the biological evaluation of mixtures of compounds, such as plant extracts, or purely pharmacological studies that look deeper into the standard action of well-established drugs will normally not be considered for publication in this Section.
1 Authors are encouraged to present additional data and files about the purity and characterization of new compounds that are auxiliary to the main content of the article. The goal is to keep the main body of the article concise but also provide detailed information that increases reproducibility and availability of presented research. Examples include (but are not limited to) NMR spectra, or routine preparations of substrates. All new entities must be fully characterized by appropriate analytical methods with sufficient evidence for composition, structure, and purity. The identity and bulk purity of compounds and materials should be verified with elemental analysis or other appropriate methods.
2 Manuscripts that mainly describe computational studies need to be accompanied by experimental validation. For QSAR or molecular docking modeling, a sufficient number of new compounds should be included and discussed. Molecular docking or other modeling methods that lead to predictions of bioactivity or other properties of interest must be accompanied by experimental data that demonstrate the reasonableness of the computation. As with chemical and biological methods, authors should present sufficient information to allow computational methods to be reproduced and tested in other laboratories.
Editorial Board
Topical Advisory Panel
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Targeted Functional Probe: Current Research Trends and Applications (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Synthesis, Biotransformation and Neuronal Effects of Heterocyclic Compounds (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Emerging Horizons in Drug Discovery: Unveiling the Synergy of Ligand-Based and Structure-Based Methods (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Bioactive Compounds in Food: Analysis and Human Health (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Multifunctional Nanomaterials for Bioapplications, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Antioxidants from Natural Sources: Identification and Biological Activities (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Anti-inflammatory Molecules (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Design, Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationship of Biologically Active Inhibitors (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Naturally Inspired Molecules as Inhibitors in Drug Discovery (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Development, Bioactivity, and Application of New Antimicrobial Peptides (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Small Molecule Hybrids for Anticancer and Antiviral Therapy (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Computational Approaches: Drug Discovery and Design in Medicinal Chemistry and Bioinformatics, 3rd Edition (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Chemical Synthesis of Radioligands for Therapeutics (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- The State-of-the-Art in Improving the Antitumor Efficacy of Platinum Drugs (Deadline: 20 October 2024)
- Antiproliferative Activities of Natural and Synthetic Compounds (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Bioactive Compounds for Brain Ischemia and Neurodegenerative Disease—Second Edition (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds via Cycloadditions: Applications in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Heterocyclic Bioactive Small Molecules: Advances in Structure Analysis and Drug Discovery in Heterocyclic Chemistry (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- New Insights into Radiopharmaceuticals (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Recent Approaches towards the Development of Novel Agents for Photodynamic Therapy (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Medicinal Chemistry Advances in Neurodegenerative Disease Therapy (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Synthesis of Anticancer Compounds (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Heteroaromatic Compounds: Design, Synthesis and Biological Activity (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Advances of Enzyme Inhibitors and Activators in Drug Research (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- The Discovery of Novel Anti-tumor Drugs (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Advanced Functional Nanomaterials in Medicine and Health Care (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Ligands and Conformational Changes in Receptors (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Design and Drug Screening of Targeted Proteins Inhibitor (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Application of Natural or Synthetic Products in Computer-Aided Drugs (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Novel Inhibitors: Design, Synthesis, Biological Activities and Modelling Studies (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Bioactive Small Molecules: Design, Synthesis, and Applications (Deadline: 15 November 2024)
- Synthesis and Structure–Activity Relationship of Anti-neurodegenerative Agents (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Lead Compounds Discovery and Antitumor Drug Design (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Developing Drug Strategies for the Neuroprotective Treatment: 2nd Edition (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Heterocyclic Compounds: Synthesis and Medicinal Chemistry Applications (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Fluorescence Probes as Disease Molecular Diagnosis (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Medicinal Potential Compounds (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Cutting-Edge Studies of Computational Approaches in Drug Discovery (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Activity of Novel Antitumor Drugs (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Breakthroughs in Medicinal Chemistry: New Targets and Mechanisms, New Drugs, and New Hopes, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Metal Complexes as Potential Therapeutic Agents (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Advances in Targeted Delivery of Nanomedicines (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Chemistry and Health: Nitrogen Heterocycle Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Discovering New Drug Targets for Neurodegenerative Disorders (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Natural Products and Microbiology in Human Health (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Advances in Antibacterial Molecules (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Drug Design and Development for Dementia, Epilepsy, and Other Neurological Disorder Diseases (Deadline: 15 December 2024)
- NSAIDs and Their Derivatives in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Novel Insights toward the Development of New Drugs (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Novel Design and Synthesis of Anticancer Agents (Second Edition) (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Progress in Drug Development for Inflammatory Diseases (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Unlocking the Formulation Potential of Cyclodextrins and Their Derivatives—2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Coordination Complexes of 3d Metals as Anticancer, Antiviral, Antimicrobial, Antifungal and Anti-inflammatory Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- G-quadruplexes in Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Metal Nanoparticles for a New Generation of Antibacterial Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Drug Candidates for Inflammatory Diseases (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- The Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity of New Drug Candidates (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Chemical Design and Synthesis of Antimicrobial Drugs (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Peptide Chemistry: Recent Trends and Advancements (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Small-Molecule Inhibitors: Synthesis, Cytotoxicity and Biological Activities (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Molecular Approaches to Drug Discovery and Development (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Recent Advances in Development of Small Molecules to Fight Cancer—2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Anticoagulant and Antithrombotic Therapy (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Strategies of Molecular Targeting in Research of Neglected Tropical Diseases with Chemical Compounds or Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Nature-Inspired Antitumor Agents, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Recent Advances in Lysozyme (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Synthesis of Bioactive Compounds: Spectroscopic, Crystallographic and Computational Studies (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Small Molecules in Drug Discovery: Screening Techniques and Drug Design (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- The Role of Peptides and Peptidomimetics in Drug Discovery (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Design, Synthesis, and Analysis of Potential Drugs, 3rd Edition (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Novel Compounds in the Treatment of the CNS Disorders, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Synthesis of Natural or Non-natural Molecules with Specific Activities (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Anticancer Computational Drug Discovery: New Approaches, New Targets, and New Treatments (Deadline: 15 January 2025)
- Molecular Targets and Drug Discovery for Metabolic Disorders: Challenges, Recent Developments, and Prospects (Deadline: 31 January 2025)
- Organic Synthesis and Medicinal Chemistry, Two Inseparable Partners: Recent Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry (Deadline: 31 January 2025)
- Synthesis and Evaluation of Bioactivity of Enzyme Inhibitors (Deadline: 31 January 2025)
- New Advances in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (Deadline: 31 January 2025)
- The Machine Learning, Applications in the Discovery of New Bioactive Molecules, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 January 2025)
- Strategies in the Design and Development of Antiviral Drugs (Deadline: 1 February 2025)
- 3D Printing Technique for the Manufacturing of Drug Delivery Systems (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- New Horizons for Antiviral Agents (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Application of Spectroscopy for Drugs (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Radiotracers in Drug Discovery and Development (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Advances in Chemistry of Cosmetics (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Small Molecules Inhibitors, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Exploring Analytical Techniques in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Research Progress of New Antimicrobial Drugs (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Biomimetic and Functional Materials for Biomedical and Dental Applications (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Heterocycles in Medicinal Chemistry III (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- G Protein Coupled Receptors (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- An Insight into Medicinal Chemistry of Anticancer Drugs (Deadline: 28 February 2025)
- Design, Synthesis and Evaluation of Small Molecule Drugs (Deadline: 1 March 2025)
- Design, Synthesis and Applications of Bioactive Compounds (Deadline: 31 March 2025)
- Discovery of Antibacterial Drugs (Deadline: 30 April 2025)
- Enhanced Bioapplications of Biomolecules Mediated by Nanomaterials (Deadline: 30 April 2025)
- New Therapeutic Tools against MDR Tumors: Discovery, Synthesis and Evaluation of Bioactive Compounds (Deadline: 31 May 2025)
- Molecular Imaging in Drug Research (Deadline: 30 June 2025)
- New Strategies for Drug Development (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
Topical Collections
Following topical collections within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Antibiotics & Superbugs: New Strategies to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
- Breakthroughs in Medicinal Chemistry: New Targets and Mechanisms, New Drugs, New Hopes (Closed)
- Efficient Pharmaceutical and Chemical Approaches for Anticancer Therapy: Design, Preliminary Evaluations, and Further Developments
- Herbal Medicine Research (Closed)
- Molecular Docking (Closed)
- Molecular Medicine (Closed)
- Nanomedicine (Closed)
- Novel Approache of Anticancer Therapy (Closed)
- Poorly Soluble Drugs (Closed)