Photosensitizers and Photodynamic Therapy

Dear Colleagues,

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used as a cure since ancient times. At the present time, PDT has been clinically approved as an antitumor and anti-infection therapy, and for health care more broadly. The characteristics of its unique mechanisms of action and its rapid effect have left this method in need of further research and development to consider new challenges. The current problems with drug resistance and the need for an emergency approach for acute and persistent diseases reinforce the need for more advanced scientific studies. The novel photosensitive compounds in PDT and other biomedical light-associated applications are characterized by more complex structures. They lead to strong absorption in the optical region between the visible and infra-red spectral region and reduce the limits of the present clinical drugs. Additional efforts are required in relation to the high hydrophobicity, limited drug-delivery, inadequate uptakes, and selectivity of the known photosensitizers.

This Special Issue aims to explore the novelty in synthesis, chemical characterization, and studies on the main photo-physicochemical properties and the photobiological effectiveness of the third-generation photosensitizers for PDT. The newly structured porphyrinoid compounds and other structures of photo-active compounds are of interest for this Special Issue. All new original studies on photosensitizers in the scientific field of PDT, beyond the research of the new molecules, are very welcome.

We look forward to your submissions.

Dr. Vanya Mantareva
Guest Editor

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-anonymized 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.