Venom-Derived Ion Channel Modulators in Drug Discovery
A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Venoms".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 172
Special Issue Editors
2. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Minia University, El-Minia 61519, Egypt
Interests: animal venoms and toxins; drug discovery; ion channels and membrane receptors; electrophysiology; pharmacology; snakebite; antivenom production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: animal venoms and toxins; drug discovery; ion channels and membrane receptors; electrophysiology; pharmacology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Venom-derived peptides and proteins represent a unique class of bioactive molecules with exceptional molecular specificity toward ion channels and membrane transport systems. These molecules have evolved to precisely modulate transmembrane ion fluxes and cellular excitability, making them invaluable pharmacological probes for interrogating ion channel function and highly tractable scaffolds for rational drug design.
This Special Issue focuses on the discovery, functional characterization, and translational development of venom-derived ion channel modulators. By integrating contemporary advances in electrophysiology, structural biology, computational modeling, and peptide engineering, this Issue aims to bridge fundamental ion channel biophysics with therapeutic innovation.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Identification and characterization of venom peptides targeting ion channels and membrane transporters;
- Electrophysiological and biophysical interrogation of toxin–channel interaction mechanisms;
- Structure–activity relationships and molecular determinants of subtype selectivity and pharmacological potency;
- Functional and high-throughput screening approaches for ion channel-targeted drug discovery;
- Preclinical development and translational applications of venom-inspired therapeutics.
We welcome both original research articles and comprehensive reviews that provide novel mechanistic insights and advance the preclinical and translational development of ion channel-targeted therapeutics.
Dr. Tarek Mohamed Abd El-Aziz
Dr. Ahmed Al-Sabi
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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins 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 2700 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
- ion channels
- venom peptides
- drug discovery
- electrophysiology
- structure–activity relationship
- membrane transport
- pharmacology
- translational research
- toxin-based therapeutics
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