Advances in Extraction, Biological Activity of Natural Products and Their Derivatives
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1253
Special Issue Editors
Interests: absolute configuration; vibrational circular dichroism; electronic circular dichroism; optical rotation; stereochemistry; asymmetric synthesis; natural products; computational chemistry
Interests: natural bioactive substances; spectroscopy; isolation; structure determination; structure–activity relationships; mode of action
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The exploration of natural products has become increasingly significant in the quest for novel therapeutic agents and new biopesticides for application in agriculture, forests, and urban and historical gardens. Recent advances in extraction techniques, such as microwave-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, and ultrasonic extraction, have revolutionized the efficiency and selectivity of isolating bioactive compounds from natural sources. These innovative methods not only enhance yield, but also preserve the integrity of sensitive compounds, paving the way for a more sustainable approach to sourcing natural products.
Moreover, understanding the biological activity of these natural compounds and their derivatives is essential for their application in various fields, including medicine, agriculture, and cosmetics. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of natural products to exhibit antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and anticancer properties, making them promising candidates for drug development. In particular, research has been focused on isolating compounds with new carbon skeletons to overcome the emergency linked to the development of resistance to antibiotics, as well as providing anticancer properties and resistance to synthetic pesticides to significantly reduce or completely eliminate the environmental pollution that affects climate change. The interplay between structure, in particular the absolute configuration, and biological activity offers a rich area for research, particularly in the context of optimizing these compounds through synthetic modifications and derivative synthesis on the basis of structure–activity relationship study results.
This Special Issue invites contributions that delve into the latest advancements in extraction methodologies, the assessment of biological activities, and the potential applications of natural products and their derivatives. We encourage researchers to share their insights on innovative extraction techniques, novel bioactive compounds, their mechanisms of action, and their absolute configuration assignment. By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, we aim to advance the field of natural product research and highlight the significance of these compounds in addressing contemporary health and environmental challenges.
We look forward to receiving your submissions that contribute to this exciting and rapidly evolving area of study.
Dr. Ernesto Santoro
Prof. Dr. Antonio Evidente
Guest Editors
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. 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.
Keywords
- novel extraction
- absolute configuration
- supercritical fluid
- microwave-assisted extraction
- natural products
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