Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry covers all areas of medicinal chemistry, including quantitative structure-function relationships, synthetic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, drug absorption, drug distribution, drug metabolism, new and emerging drug targets, pharmacogenomics, drug safety profile and drug-induced liver injury (DILI), drug discovery toxicology, high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, structural characterization and organic syntheses of naturally occurring compounds, "nanosystem and nanocarriers", as well as chemical and analytical techniques used in rational drug design.
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry is an essential journal for every medicinal and pharmaceutical chemist who wishes to remain informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments.
Editor-in-Chief:
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Davide Barreca Department of Chemical, Biological
Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences
University of Messina
Messina
Italy
ISSN: 1389-5575 (Print)
eISSN: 1875-5607 (Online)
Special Issues With Active Call for Papers
Research Developments in Enzyme-Activated Drugs, Photodynamic Therapeutic, Anticancer, and Bioimaging Agents
Enzymes are critical biological catalysts that govern a wide variety of physiological functions and cellular processes. The dysregulation of different enzymatic processes is related to different diseases, cell proliferation and cancer progression, and metastasis. Therefore, targeting an enzyme in a particular disease or cancer, and designing a PDT, anticancer, or bioimaging agent that could be activated by that enzyme, is one of the most important research areas. Enzyme-activated PDT is a mandatory approach in cancer... see more
The Role of Natural Lead Compounds in Modern Drug Discovery
Pharmaceutical innovation has historically relied on natural products as a foundation, providing scaffolds for drug discovery that are both physiologically active and physically diverse. Advances in synthetic biology, analytical chemistry, and computational modelling have rekindled the hunt for natural lead compounds from marine, microbial, and plant sources in the modern period. With its focus on identification, structural optimization, mechanism of action research, and integration with high-throughput and in silico screening methods, this thematic issue emphasizes... see more
Advances and Novel Methodologies for the Development of Small-Molecule Drugs
Over the past decade, small-molecule drugs have remained the dominant force among approved therapeutics. Recent advances in artificial intelligence and structural biology now enable researchers to discover novel targets for small molecule inhibitors with greater precision and to pursue rational drug design, markedly accelerating the development of new small molecule drugs. Looking ahead, small-molecule drugs are poised to be deployed across an even broader spectrum of diseases. This Special Issue aims to spotlight recent advancements... see more
Artificial Intelligence and Generative Models in Medicinal Chemistry: From Molecular Design to Clinical Translation
This Thematic Issue will focus on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative models into medicinal chemistry, highlighting how these tools are reshaping drug discovery and development. The issue will provide readers with an overview of state-of-the-art algorithms, successful case studies, and translational opportunities, while also addressing current challenges such as model interpretability, data bias, and regulatory acceptance. The ultimate goal is to offer a comprehensive perspective on how AI-driven approaches can accelerate the... see more
Cutting-Edge Medicinal Chemistry for Tropical Neglected Diseases: Recent Breakthroughs, Emerging Targets and Translational Strategies
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, filariasis, and dengue fever continue to impose a heavy health and economic burden on populations in developing regions. Despite affecting over a billion people globally, these diseases remain underfunded and understudied due to their limited commercial appeal. Recent advances in medicinal chemistry, coupled with computational drug design, nanotechnology, repurposing strategies, and biomolecular target elucidation, have opened promising avenues for developing safer, more effective, and affordable... see more
Novel Paradigms in Multiple Disease Targets
The "one drug-one target" concept of drug discovery has been gradually replaced by multi-target therapeutic integration strategies. Various kinds of neurodegenerative diseases in combination with cardiovascular disorders, metabolic syndromes, cancer, and infectious diseases, are chronic and complex and share common pathways and signaling cascades. Their simultaneous targeting can greatly enhance the effect of their treatment, but also decrease drug resistance and disease progression. In the thematic issue, we are working on the same, focusing on... see more
Biodiversity, Ethnopharmacology, Biotechnology, Bioclimatology and Scientific Education Applied to Toxicology and One Health
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are represented by a group of distinct illnesses that affect the most vulnerable segment of the population, negatively impacting the Economy and Public Health. For example, like snakebite, leishmaniasis disproportionately affects vulnerable populations in tropical and subtropical regions. The search for safe drugs against various diseases originating from biodiversity has been long and ongoing. The study of compounds derived from natural products, including medicinal plants and animal venoms, has been of... see more
Chemistry of Materials and Emerging Techniques: Future of Drug Discovery and Medicinal Product Developments
In drug discovery, established knowledge of functional groups, their chemical behaviors, and structure-activity relationships favor chemists to achieve desired efficacy and safety profiles within the novel designed medicinal products. Here, judicious integration of different tools and techniques of chemistry also plays a fundamental role towards the selection of the processes towards the selection of materials, their types, and designing medicinal products. Conventional approaches for synthesizing medicinal products were focused on animal and preclinical testing however... see more
Mitochondria as a Therapeutic Target in Metabolic Disorders
Mitochondria are the primary site of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in mammalian cells. Moreover, these organelles are an important source of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in virtually any nucleated cell type. The modulation of a myriad of cellular signaling pathways depends on mitochondrial physiology. Mitochondrial dysfunction is observed in human diseases and in some cases of intoxication. Metabolic disorders, such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type I and II diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases,... see more
Natural Products in Drug Discovery
Natural products have always been one of the important ways of drug discovery due to their novel skeleton and diverse functional group characteristics. According to statistics, between 1981 and 2019, the FDA approved a total of 1,394 small molecule drugs for marketing, of which 930 marketed drugs originated from the modification or modification of natural products, accounting for 66.7%, while only about 70 new drugs were directly derived from natural products. As a result, drug... see more
Drugs and Mitochondria
Mitochondria play a central role in the life and death of cells. They are not merely the center for energy metabolism but are also the headquarters for different catabolic and anabolic processes, calcium fluxes, and various signaling pathways. Mitochondria maintain homeostasis in the cell by interacting with reactive oxygen-nitrogen species and responding adequately to different stimuli. In this context, the interaction of pharmacological agents with mitochondria is an aspect of molecular biology that is too... see more
Bioprospecting of Natural Products as Sources of New Multitarget Therapies
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, bioprospecting is the exploration of biodiversity and indigenous knowledge to develop commercially valuable products for pharmaceutical and other applications. Bioprospecting involves searching for useful organic compounds in plants, fungi, marine organisms, and microorganisms. Natural products traditionally constituted the primary source of more than 80% of herbal medicines and still occupy an important place in the drug discovery process today. No less important is the fact that the combination... see more
Computational Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry
The thematic issue "Computational Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry" provides a robust platform for delving into state-of-the-art computational methodologies and technologies that significantly propel advancements in medicinal chemistry. This edition seeks to amalgamate top-tier reviews spotlighting the latest trends and breakthroughs in the fusion of computational approaches, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, within drug design and discovery, and compound enumeration to optimisations. Authors are cordially invited to submit comprehensive reviews and perspectives contributing to... see more
Natural Products and Dietary Supplements in Alleviation of Metabolic, Cardiovascular, and Neurological Disorders
Metabolic disorders like diabetes, obesity, inflammation, oxidative stress, cancer, etc, cardiovascular disorders like angina, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, etc, as well as neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, Depression, etc, are the global burden. They covered the major segment of the diseases and disorders from which the human community is suffering, and their prevalence is drastically increasing over the period of time. Natural resources have always provided us with the solution for the majority... see more