Separation Technology and Applications of Functional Natural Products and Pharmaceutical Molecules

Dear Colleagues,

Separation technology is pivotal in unlocking the potential of natural products and pharmaceutical molecules. Its applications drive innovation across diverse fields, contributing to health, sustainability, and industrial advancements. Furthermore, separation technology is crucial in isolating, purifying, and characterizing functional natural products and pharmaceutical molecules. Separation techniques include high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, membrane filtration, and green separation technologies, such as supercritical fluid extraction and bio-based solvents. Advances in these methods have significantly improved the efficiency, specificity, and scalability of separating desired molecules from unwanted impurities. Functional natural products derived from plants, marine organisms, and microorganisms are a rich source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. These include, among others, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and peptides, which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial properties. Similarly, pharmaceutical molecules often require precise separation techniques during drug development and manufacturing to meet stringent purity and regulatory standards. Advances in chromatographic techniques will thus be the cornerstone for the isolation and identification of these compounds.

This Special Issue invites original research and review articles on the use of separation technology for the isolation of bioactive molecules from all sources of natural products and pharmaceuticals. Emphasis is placed on the integration of advanced separation techniques with cutting-edge analytical tools like mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to isolate and identify functional compounds.

Dr. Susan L. Bonnet
Dr. Chika Ifeanyi Chukwuma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.