Novel Anticancer Drug Development and Toxicity Reduction Strategies
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2025 | Viewed by 138
Special Issue Editor
Interests: anticancer activity; plant phenolics; leukemia; apoptosis; cell cycle; DNA repair; flow cytometry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Oncologists have emphasized that the possibilities of conventional cancer therapy in using cytotoxic drugs are reaching the limits of effectiveness. Therefore, intensive research is underway on new therapeutic strategies that can increase the effectiveness of treatment and at the same time reduce side effects. One means of achieving this is to use innovative synthetic methodologies that allow for the modification of bioactive molecules and the creation of new compounds with strong anticancer activity. Molecular docking is also used to find the best orientation of the ligand in the binding site of the molecule and form a stable complex, which allows the acceleration of the identification of molecules with increased specificity towards molecular targets in anticancer therapy. A combination treatment strategy is also being developed, using drugs already in use and natural bioactive compounds to achieve synergy of action in cancer cells. Furthermore, attempts are being made to use methods that allow the drug to reach the target more precisely. An example of this is the use of tumour-targeted nanocarriers, which enable increased intracellular drug uptake and accumulation in the tumour. Another interesting application is the use of hydrogels sensitive to specific properties of the microenvironment that promote tumour growth, which can be used to increase the effectiveness of anticancer therapy. With this, the aim of this Special Issue is to publish original or review articles on the latest strategies used to improve the selective action of drugs on cancer cells while limiting their toxicity to healthy tissues.
Dr. Monika Papież
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- cancer
- targeted therapy
- anticancer drug
- structure-based computational technique
- combination therapy
- nanocarriers
- hydrogels
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