New Era in Antimicrobial Strategies
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cell biophysics; antimicrobial agents; cancer therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
The new era in antimicrobial strategies needs to integrate rapid detection technologies, optimized use of existing drugs, and the development of innovative therapeutics. Advances in biosensors, microfluidics, next-generation sequencing, and artificial intelligence now enable the precise and timely detection of resistant infections, guiding targeted interventions and reducing empirical overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Alongside the search for novel therapies, emphasis should also be placed on maximizing the efficacy of available antibiotics through stewardship programs, combination regimens, and the optimization of dosing strategies. The use of drug repositioning is another current explored strategy that further expands the therapeutic options while reducing development costs and timelines. Complementary approaches, including bacteriophage therapy, antimicrobial peptides, quorum-sensing inhibitors, microbiome modulation, nanomaterials, and CRISPR-based gene-editing technologies, are advancing toward clinical translation.
The convergence of rapid diagnostics, rational use of available antibiotics, drug repurposing, and next-generation antimicrobials heralds a shift from reactive to precision-driven infection management. In this context, this Special Issue seeks to uncover novel strategies and/or chemicals that can help improve the success of bacterial treatment.
This Special Issue invites the contributions of original research articles and reviews on nano-enabled approaches that advance bacterial infection management from detection to treatment, including drug repurposing and combination therapies.
- Nanotechnology in rapid detection and diagnostics;
- Nanoparticle-enabled antimicrobial delivery;
- Nanotechnology in novel and adjunct antimicrobial strategies;
- Integration with artificial intelligence and precision medicine;
- Safety, regulatory, and translational considerations.
Pharmaceutics invites submissions related to drug delivery systems and innovative formulations, while Future Pharmacology encourages contributions centered on drug metabolism/molecular pharmacology aspects. I look forward to receiving your contributions.
We encourage you to submit your manuscripts to our Joint Special Issue in Future Pharmacology.
Dr. Sandra N. Pinto
Guest Editor
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. 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
- artificial intelligence
- phage therapy
- microbiome
- host-directed therapy
- nanoparticles
- precision medicine
- antimicrobial agents
- drug repositioning
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