Synthesis, Bioactivity and Structure–Activity Relationship 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: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1011
Special Issue Editors
Interests: antioxidants; DFT; molecular docking simulations; molecular dynamics simulations; drug design
Interests: medicinal plants; phytochemistry; herbal medicine; antioxidants; anti-inflammatory natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural products and their derivatives have been a cornerstone of pharmaceutical research, serving as a rich source of bioactive compounds with diverse chemical structures and therapeutic properties. These naturally occurring molecules, often derived from plants, microorganisms, and marine organisms, provide unique scaffolds that inspire synthetic modifications to enhance their efficacy, stability, and selectivity. The study of these compounds continues to bridge traditional medicine and modern drug discovery, offering promising solutions to address unmet medical needs.
This Special Issue explores the transformative potential of natural products in drug discovery and development. Emphasizing their synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies, it aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects and optimize their efficacy. Natural products, derived from diverse biological sources, have long been integral to pharmaceutical innovation, offering unique molecular frameworks for novel drug development.
For this Special Issue, we welcome contributions highlighting advanced methodologies for isolating, synthesizing, and modifying natural compounds. It also focuses on evaluating their bioactivities, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory properties, and how structural modifications can enhance these effects. Integrating synthetic chemistry, computational modeling, and modern bioanalytical techniques is especially encouraged to provide a comprehensive understanding of these compounds’ mechanisms of action.
Targeted at researchers and professionals in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and biotechnology, this Special Issue seeks to foster collaboration across disciplines. Authors are encouraged to submit original research articles that contribute to advancing the field. Submission guidelines and deadlines are available on the journal's online platform.
The Special Issue will includes also articles from the 3rd International Conference on Chemo and BioInformatics (https://iccbikg.kg.ac.rs/), Kragujevac, Serbia, 25–26 September 2025.
Dr. Jelena R. Đorović Jovanović
Dr. Jelena S. Katanic Stankovic
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- natural products
- structure–activity relationship (SAR)
- semi-synthetic derivatives
- bioactivity
- drug discovery
- therapeutic potential
- pharmaceutical innovation
- bioactive compound modification
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