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Recent Advances in the Organic Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Compounds and Their Analogs

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 53

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
Interests: development of new synthetic methods; design and synthesis of organic molecules with pharmacological activity (antineoplastic, antiviral, antibacterial, trypanocidal, and central nervous system (CNS)); structural modification of bioactive natural products and their derivatives, aiming to improve their potency; synthesis of natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,15771 Athens, Greece
Interests: green chemistry and large-scale extraction of high added-value natural products; isolation of natural products; identification and structural elucidation of natural products; semi and total synthesis of natural products; characterization of natural extracts; design and synthesis of new molecules with pharmacological interest; structure–activity relationships
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural compounds have long played a fundamental role in drug discovery, offering structurally diverse and biologically active scaffolds that inspire the development of new therapeutics. Their unique molecular frameworks, often characterized by complex stereochemistry and distinct functional group arrangements, provide a valuable starting point for designing potent and selective agents against a wide range of diseases. However, limitations in their natural availability and structural complexity often necessitate organic synthesis to enable large-scale production and structural refinement. Advances in synthetic methodologies not only facilitate access to these bioactive molecules but also allow for the generation of analogs with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties, stability, and efficacy. The integration of natural product-inspired synthetic strategies remains a key focus in modern medicinal chemistry, bridging the gap between nature’s chemical space and rational drug design. This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the organic synthesis of bioactive natural compounds and their analogs, with an emphasis placed on approaches that contribute to the development of more reliable, target-specific, and pharmacologically active agents.

Dr. Ioannis Kostakis
Prof. Dr. Alexios Leandros Skaltsounis
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

  • bioactive natural compounds
  • organic synthesis
  • natural products
  • synthetic methodologies
  • medicinal chemistry
  • drug discovery
  • total synthesis

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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