The Folding and Misfolding of Proteins

Dear Colleagues,

Proteins are the molecular machines of life, and their function is dependent on their folding into precise three-dimensional shapes. When folding goes right, these structures carry out vital tasks in every cell. When it goes wrong, the consequences can be devastating, leading to conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, certain cancers, and prion disorders.

Over the past decade, advances in biophysics, structural biology, and computational modeling have revealed new layers of complexity in both folding and misfolding. We now appreciate that protein folding is not a simple “one-path” event—it is influenced by molecular chaperones, cellular crowding, post-translational modifications, and environmental stress. Misfolding, once considered rare, is now recognized as a widespread challenge across biology and medicine.

A Special Issue dedicated to The Folding and Misfolding of Proteins is timely because the field is at a turning point. New experimental techniques, such as cryo-electron microscopy and single-molecule spectroscopy, combined with AI-driven structural prediction, are presenting unprecedented opportunities to understand folding pathways, aggregation mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions. By gathering leading research from multiple disciplines, this Special Issue will highlight breakthroughs, stimulate cross-field collaboration, and help translate molecular insights into strategies for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of misfolding-related diseases.

Dr. Bidisha Sengupta
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-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.