Advanced Methods and Technologies in Drug Discovery

A special issue of Methods and Protocols (ISSN 2409-9279).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 603

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
2. Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: antimicrobial peptides; solid-phase chemistry; combinatorial chemistry; drug delivery systems; peptide drug conjugates; orthogonal chemistry; drug discovery; biomaterials
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Guest Editor
1. Agency for Drugs and Drug Products of the Republic of Croatia (HALMED), Ksaverska Cesta 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2. Faculty of Biotechnology and Drug Development, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
Interests: organic chemistry; pharmacology; photochemistry; drug development
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Drug discovery is a constantly evolving field with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic agents for a wide range of diseases with unmet medical needs. The process of drug discovery and development is complex and costly and includes various chemical and pharmaceutical strategies. These can even include serendipitous discovery, high-throughput screening of target molecule libraries, selective optimization of existing drugs or natural products, repurposing of known drugs, rational drug design, or the synthesis of new molecular entities based on information derived from crystal structures or in silico modeling techniques (QSAR). The process constantly evolves, with new technologies opening new and unprecedented entrance points. 

The application of drug identification strategies can, yield promising candidates that, subsequently, require an optimization process to enhance their properties, such as increasing affinity and selectivity for the target, ensuring non-toxicity and improving bioavailability, and enabling transformation into lead compounds and, ultimately, effective and safe drug products.

In this Special Issue, “Advanced Methods and Technologies in Drug Discovery”, we aim to focus on the most recent and most significant technical advancements in the field of drug discovery. Methods and Protocols aims to predominantly attract the submission of high-quality protocols, reviews, and original articles in the scope of this topic. This compendium aims to provide valuable insights from every angle of drug discovery and to highlight cutting-edge trends for the future of medicine.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Albericio
Dr. Philip Hublitz
Dr. Ivana Šagud
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • drug discovery
  • drug development
  • medicinal chemistry
  • disease prevention
  • therapeutic innovation
  • artificial intelligence in drug discovery
  • high-throughput screening
  • omics technologies
  • drug delivery systems
  • novel therapeutic strategies
  • drug design
  • nanomedicine
  • methodology for drug synthesis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

21 pages, 1166 KB  
Review
Biodegradable Microneedle for Enhanced Transdermal Drug Delivery: Trends and Techniques
by Renuka Khatik, Jatin Kumar Sahu, Shuvadip Bhowmik, Isha Rai, Madhu Kumari and Monika Dwivedi
Methods Protoc. 2025, 8(6), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/mps8060134 - 4 Nov 2025
Abstract
The Transdermal Drug Delivery System (TDDS) offers several benefits, such as enhanced patient adherence, controlled release, reduced gastric irritation, and the bypassing of the first-pass metabolism. However, not all drugs can be delivered through this route in effective doses. Biodegradable microneedles (BMn) are [...] Read more.
The Transdermal Drug Delivery System (TDDS) offers several benefits, such as enhanced patient adherence, controlled release, reduced gastric irritation, and the bypassing of the first-pass metabolism. However, not all drugs can be delivered through this route in effective doses. Biodegradable microneedles (BMn) are designed to improve TDDS. This review outlines various types of BMn and their fabrication methods. BMn are produced in different forms, including hollow, solid, dissolve, and hydrogel-forming versions, which have garnered significant attention. These innovative BMn do not contain drugs themselves but instead absorb interstitial fluid to create continuous channels between the dermal microcirculation and a drug-containing patch. Several types of BMn have been tested and approved by regulatory bodies. The use of BMn technology is rapidly growing in point-of-care applications, attracting significant interest from both researchers and healthcare providers. BMn-based Point-of-care (POC) devices have high efficacy for finding various analytes of clinical interests and transdermal drug administration in a minimally invasive manner owing to BMn’ micro-size sharp tips and ease of use. Porous BMn technology may have a very rising future in the case of a vaccine delivery system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Methods and Technologies in Drug Discovery)
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