Hybrid Molecules in Medicinal Chemistry: Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 413
Editors
Interests: drug discovery; medicinal chemistry; natural product research; chromatography; spectroscopy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Hybrid molecules have long been a powerful and versatile strategy in medicinal chemistry, offering effective solutions to address complex biological systems and unmet therapeutic needs. By integrating two or more pharmacophoric elements within a single molecular scaffold, hybrid compounds can enable multi-target modulation, enhance target engagement, improve therapeutic efficacy, overcome drug resistance and optimise pharmacokinetic and safety profiles.
This Special Issue, “Hybrid Molecules in Medicinal Chemistry: Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation”, aims to highlight contemporary advances across the full breadth of hybrid-molecule-based medicinal chemistry and therapeutic development. We welcome original research articles, reviews, communications and selected project or conference reports presenting innovative design concepts, synthetic strategies and biological or the mechanistic evaluation of hybrid molecules across diverse therapeutic areas.
Submissions may include, but are not limited to, classical medicinal chemistry studies encompassing rational design, organic synthesis and biological evaluation, as well as structure–activity relationship (SAR) investigations, proof-of-concept studies and exploratory or translational research. Contributions integrating biological, biophysical, computational or systems-level approaches to characterise target engagement, mechanism of action or therapeutic potential are particularly encouraged. Studies employing established or emerging experimental and data-driven methodologies to support hybrid molecule development are also within scope.
Topics of interest include hybrid molecules derived from small-molecule drugs, natural products, peptides or metal-based scaffolds; multitarget-directed ligands; prodrug and conjugate strategies and hybrid systems addressing antimicrobial resistance, oncology and other complex diseases.
By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives from medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical biology and therapeutic development, this Special Issue provides a flexible and forward-looking platform to advance hybrid-molecule-based innovation and foster collaboration across the research community.
We look forward to your valuable contributions.
Dr. Tao Zhang
Dr. John J. Walsh
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 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. 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
- hybrid molecules
- medicinal chemistry
- drug discovery
- drug development
- structure–activity relationships (SAR)
- multitarget-directed ligands
- natural products
- synthetic chemistry
- biological evaluation
- therapeutic innovation
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.
