Development of Copper-Based Drugs: Synthesis, Characterisation and Biological Activity
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 October 2025 | Viewed by 1781
Special Issue Editors
Interests: medicinal chemistry; heterocyclic compounds; design and synthesis; anticancer activity; antimicrobial activity; structure–activity relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: medicinal chemistry; nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds; Cu(II) complexes; design and synthesis; anticancer activity; structure-activity relationship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Among transition metals, copper occupies a pivotal position due to its presence in living organisms and its role in physiological processes. As a trace element, copper is broadly distributed in biological tissues and is involved in protein formation and related physiological regulation. Since copper ions can adopt distinct redox states, oxidized Cu(II) or reduced Cu(I), the metal is capable of playing an essential role as a catalytic cofactor in the redox chemistry of enzymes, the mitochondrial respiratory chain, iron absorption, antioxidant defence, and other crucial life processes. Moreover, copper as a redox-active metal may form stable coordination compounds with diverse ligands containing donor atoms, such as nitrogen, sulphur, or oxygen. In the field of medicinal chemistry, it has been confirmed that metal complexes may possess higher biological activity, selectivity, and lower toxicity compared to free ligands.
Copper complexes constitute one of the prospective groups of metal-based anticancer drugs with various mechanisms of action and the potential to overcome drug resistance. For example, the antitumor activity of copper compounds may be the consequence of their ability to induce apoptosis and nonapoptotic cell death—paraptosis and cuproptosis—reactive oxygen species formation that triggers cancer cell death, and antiangiogenic properties. Furthermore, copper-containing coordination compounds attract considerable attention due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and their antiviral, antituberculosis, antifungal, or antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. This versatility of copper-based compounds has increased interest in these agents as potential drugs for therapeutic intervention in various diseases, giving them a strong position in the development of novel pharmaceuticals.
This Special Issue aims to explore the multifaceted effects of copper-based drugs and their implications for human health and disease, such as their potential use as antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor agents, enzyme inhibitors, or chemical nucleases. It also offers a range of radioisotopes suitable for nuclear imaging and radiotherapy. We invite investigators in the field to submit original research or review articles convergent on the importance of copper-based drugs.
Dr. Anita Kornicka
Dr. Łukasz Balewski
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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
- copper
- copper coordination compounds
- biologically active agents
- radiopharmaceuticals
- drug development
- drug design
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
