Metal-Based Therapeutics: Advances in Drug Design, Delivery, and Biomedical Applications
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2026 | Viewed by 98
Special Issue Editors
Interests: medicinal inorganic chemistry; metal-based therapeutics; metallodrugs; platinum complexes; anticancer agents; mechanisms of action of metal-based drugs; NMR spectroscopy; metabolomics in drug discovery
Interests: metal-based drugs; synthesis; bioinorganic chemistry; anticancer drugs; NMR-based metabolomics; coordination chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metal-based compounds have played a pivotal role in modern pharmacology, particularly since the discovery of the anticancer activity of platinum complexes. In recent years, the field of metal-based therapeutics has rapidly expanded, encompassing novel coordination compounds, innovative drug delivery systems, and new strategies aimed at improving selectivity, efficacy, and safety. Advances in medicinal inorganic chemistry, nanotechnology, and pharmaceutical sciences are creating new opportunities for the rational design of metal-containing drugs and their translation into clinical applications. Today, metallodrugs are being explored across a wide range of biomedical areas, including cancer therapy, antimicrobial treatments, anti-inflammatory strategies, and diagnostic and imaging applications. Despite significant progress, several challenges remain, including the optimization of pharmacokinetics, the reduction of systemic toxicity, and the development of targeted delivery approaches.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the design, development, delivery, and translational evaluation of metal-based therapeutics. We welcome original research articles and reviews addressing innovative strategies in medicinal inorganic chemistry, drug delivery systems for metallodrugs, mechanisms of action and emerging therapeutic applications. Contributions exploring interdisciplinary approaches that integrate chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and pharmaceutical technology are particularly encouraged.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Design and synthesis of metal-based drugs;
- Drug delivery systems for metal-containing therapeutics;
- Mechanisms of action of metallodrugs;
- Translational studies and preclinical evaluation;
- Nanotechnology approaches for metallodrug delivery.
Dr. Erika Stefàno
Dr. Federica De Castro
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceutics 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
- metal-based drugs
- metallodrugs
- metal complexes
- medicinal inorganic chemistry
- drug delivery systems
- nanomedicine
- translational medicine
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