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Life
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Structural Biology of Pathogens and Drug Development
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Structural Biology of Pathogens and Drug Development

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2025) | Viewed by 845

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Litao Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
Interests: structural biology; drug discovery and design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to compiling articles that highlight the most recent advancements in the creation of antiviral and antibacterial medications. Addressing the challenge of emerging infectious diseases and drug-resistant pathogens has been a persistent pursuit in scientific research. The swift progress in structural biology has equipped scientists with the ability to quickly and precisely pinpoint promising antiviral and antibacterial agents. Additionally, structure-based drug discovery and design methodologies have facilitated a reduction in associated costs and an enhancement in the efficiency of the drug development pipeline. In essence, the incorporation of structural biology into drug discovery and design has transformed research approaches within medicinal chemistry and redefined drug screening and optimization techniques. This Special Issue will focus on the latest research in the field of infectious diseases, especially the application of structural biology in drug discovery and design.

Prof. Dr. Litao Sun
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. Life 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 2600 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

  • antiviral and antibacterial medications
  • emerging infectious diseases
  • drug-resistant pathogens
  • structural biology
  • drug discovery and design
  • medicinal chemistry
  • drug screening

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1440 KiB  
Article
Antimicrobial Investigation of Phthalimide and N-Phthaloylglycine Esters: Activity, Mechanism of Action, Synergism and Ecotoxicity
by Francinara S. Alves, Abraão P. Sousa, Alexandre Almeida-Júnior, Priscila S. V. Lima, Marcelo F. R. Silva, José L. F. M. Galvão, Edeltrudes O. Lima, Helivaldo D. S. Souza, José A. S. Luis, Petrônio F. Athayde-Filho and Gabriela F. Fiss
Life 2025, 15(4), 518; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15040518 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 379
Abstract
Motivated by the search for novel antimicrobials against opportunistic resistant pathogens and based on the reported antimicrobial activity of phthalimides, two series of phthalimide and N-phthaloylglycine esters were designed to investigate whether the addition of butyl and aryl groups enhances their antimicrobial [...] Read more.
Motivated by the search for novel antimicrobials against opportunistic resistant pathogens and based on the reported antimicrobial activity of phthalimides, two series of phthalimide and N-phthaloylglycine esters were designed to investigate whether the addition of butyl and aryl groups enhances their antimicrobial properties. Thus, in vitro antimicrobial activity, antifungal mechanism of action, effect combined with Chloramphenicol, in silico/vitro toxicity, and a docking molecular were studied. Phthalimide and N-phthaloylglycine aryl esters were obtained in yields of 75–98%. Phthalimide aryl ester 3b (R = Me) showed the best results against Gram-(+) and Gram-(−) bacteria, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, respectively, and yeast fungi, C. tropicalis and C. albicans, with MIC values equal to 128 µg·mL−1. Regarding the antifungal mechanism of action on C. albicans, the MIC values of compound 3b changed from 128 to 1024 µg·mL−1 in the presence of ergosterol. Furthermore, compound 3b showed synergy with Chloramphenicol against P. aeruginosa, with a FICI value equal to 0.5. Finally, the four most promising compounds had their in silico/vitro toxicity evaluated, which showed moderate toxicity to non-toxicity on Artemia salina larvae. With the exception of Chloramphenicol, all selected compounds, including Fluconazole, are potentially hepatotoxic, but they were predicted not to cause skin sensitization, suggesting a potential application for topical use. Molecular docking revealed that compound 3b exhibits superior binding affinity and stability with the 50S ribosomal subunit (−92.69 kcal·mol−1) compared to Chloramphenicol, and a unique π–sulfur interaction with CYP51, suggesting its potential as a dual-action antibacterial and antifungal candidate against resistant pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Biology of Pathogens and Drug Development)
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