Medicinal Chemistry
A section of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247).
Section Information
The section of Medicinal Chemistry welcomes manuscripts involving aspects within the definition of medicinal chemistry related to the invention, discovery, design, identification and preparation of biologically active compounds, the study of their metabolism, the interpretation of their mode of action at the molecular level and the construction of structure-activity relationships. Novel strategies and methodologies with relevant application to chemical biology and medicinal chemistry are also welcome.
Our aim is to publish updated reviews as well as research articles with comprehensive theoretical and experimental details covering all aspects of small molecules as drug candidates e.g. drug discovery and design, combinatorial chemistry, structure-property correlations, molecular modelling and bioinformatics. Short communications are also accepted; therefore, there is no restriction on the length of a paper. Download Section Flyer
Keywords
- New synthetic routes for drug candidates
- Lead discovery and optimization methods; structure–activity relationships and QSAR
- Structure-based drug design, molecular modelling, docking studies and crystal structure analysis
- Identification and validation of novel drug targets, and high-throughput screening
- Virtual screening, database mining, and machine learning in drug discovery
- Role of ADMET in drug discovery
- Chemical biology and chemical probes
Editorial Board
Topical Advisory Panel
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation with Potential Anti-inflammatory Activity (Deadline: 25 July 2025)
- Novel Imidazole Derivatives in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 25 July 2025)
- Medicinal Chemistry of Indole and Quinoline Derivatives: Trends and Future Directions as Therapeutic Drugs, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 July 2025)
- Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Drug Discovery (Deadline: 25 July 2025)
- Emerging Trends in Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry-Based Analyses of Pharmaceuticals (Deadline: 25 July 2025)
- Green Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Quinazolinone-Based Compounds (Deadline: 30 July 2025)
- Therapeutic Potential of Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs), 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 July 2025)
- Next-Generation Antinfective Agents (Deadline: 31 July 2025)
- Advances and Future Trends in Development of Novel Antifungals and Antifungal Therapy (Deadline: 31 July 2025)
- Antibiotic Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria: The Threat from the Pink Corner, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 July 2025)
- Enzyme Inhibitors: Potential Therapeutic Approaches, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 15 August 2025)
- Design, Synthesis and Development of Novel Antiviral Agents (Deadline: 20 August 2025)
- Integrating Machine Learning (ML) into Medicinal Chemistry and Cheminformatics (Deadline: 20 August 2025)
- Small Molecule Drug Discovery: Driven by In-Silico Techniques (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- Treatment and Molecular Mechanisms of Depression (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- New Approaches to Fighting Infectious Diseases: Overcoming the Antimicrobial Resistance in Current Treatments (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- The 20th Anniversary of Pharmaceuticals—New Insights in Medicinal Chemistry of Nitrogen-Containing Compounds (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- Antimalarial Drug Candidates (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- Drug Candidates for the Treatment of Obesity, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- Flavonoids in Medicinal Chemistry: Trends and Future Directions (Deadline: 25 August 2025)
- A Commemorative Special Issue in Honor of Professor Eliezer J. Barreiro: Early Drug Discovery: From Target Identification and Validation to Lead Optimization (Deadline: 31 August 2025)
- Advances in the Synthesis and Application of Heterocyclic Compounds (Deadline: 31 August 2025)
- Synthesis and Biological Activity of Metal Complexes (Deadline: 31 August 2025)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Assessment of Amphiphiles (Deadline: 1 September 2025)
- Triazole and Derivatives in Medicinal Chemistry, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 15 September 2025)
- Advances in the Treatment of Leukemia and Lymphomas (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Antiviral Agents, 2024 (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Recent Advancements in the Development of Antiprotozoal Agents (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Combating Drug Resistance in Cancer (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Computer-Aided Drug Design and Drug Discovery, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Pharmacotherapy of Dyslipidemias, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Expanding the Cancer Drug Discovery Toolbox: A Focus on Protein Degradation, Allosteric Modulation, and Covalent Inhibition (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Heterocyclic Compounds in Medicinal Chemistry, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Medicinal Potential of Cannabidiol and New Structural Analogs (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Advances in Hybrid Anticancer Drugs: Innovations and Therapeutic Potential (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Current Advances in Therapeutic Potential of Sigma Receptor Ligands (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Immunogenomics for Drug Discovery in Leukemia (Deadline: 25 September 2025)
- Advances in Small-Molecule Therapeutics Targeting Signaling Pathways (Deadline: 30 September 2025)
- Effects of Drug Abuse and Its Consequences on Health (Deadline: 30 September 2025)
- Computational Predictions of Molecules with Potential Therapeutic Effects (Deadline: 30 September 2025)
- Structural Insights into Protein Kinases-Targeted Therapies: Overcoming Resistance and Advancing Precision Oncology (Deadline: 22 October 2025)
- Applications and Perspectives of Metal Chelators and Metal Complexes in Drug Development (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Current Trends to Discover New Drugs Targeting Protease Inhibition (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Therapeutic Methods Against Acute and Chronic Diseases and Oxidative Stress (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Novel Anticancer Drug Development and Toxicity Reduction Strategies (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Organochalcogen Derivatives in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Biologically Active Heterocyclic Compounds (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Advances in the Medicinal Synthesis of Bioactive Compounds (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Sulfur-Containing Scaffolds in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 25 October 2025)
- Development of Copper-Based Drugs: Synthesis, Characterisation and Biological Activity (Deadline: 28 October 2025)
- Advances in Medicinal Chemistry: 2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 October 2025)
- Drug Discovery and Development for Parasitic Diseases (Deadline: 31 October 2025)
- Advances in Hydrazone Compounds with Anticancer Activity (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Small Molecules to Fight Cancer and Neurodegenerative Diseases (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Medicinal Chemistry of Metal Complexes: Design, Synthesis and Evaluation (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Targeting Bacterial Metabolism with Natural and Synthetic Inhibitors (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Recent Advances in the Discovery and Development of Drugs for Civilization Diseases, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- The Development and Application of Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drugs (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Metal Complexes in Medicinal Chemistry: From Coordination Chemistry to Pharmaceutical Applications (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Synthesis, In Silico Prediction and Antitumor Activity of Nitrogen Heterocycle-Based Drug Development (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Research on Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Microbiota in Gastrointestinal Diseases (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Biosimilars Development Strategies (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Multitargeted Compounds: A Promising Approach in Medicinal Chemistry (Deadline: 25 November 2025)
- Boron-Containing Compounds: Identification, Synthesis, Biological Actions and Pharmacology (Deadline: 28 November 2025)
- Emerging Computational Approaches in Drug Discovery and Design (Deadline: 30 November 2025)
- QSAR and Chemoinformatics in Drug Design and Discovery (Deadline: 15 December 2025)
- Antifungal Therapy Strategies: A Focus on Novel Compounds and Inhibitors (Deadline: 15 December 2025)
- Structural and Computationally Driven Molecule Design in Drug Discovery: 2nd Edition (Deadline: 20 December 2025)
- Hybrid and Chimeric Heterocycles: A Promising Approach to Synthesizing Biologically Active Compounds (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- The Nuclear Factor Kappa-B (NF-κB) Pathway as a Target for Drug Discovery (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- Common Medications Used in Anesthesia (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- Secondary Metabolites as Drug Leads: Bridging Experimental Discovery and Computational Innovation (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- Inhibition and Treatment in Adhesion, Migration, Invasion, and Metastasis of Cancer Cells (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- Mathematical Modeling in Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (Deadline: 25 December 2025)
- Novel Drug Targets and Drug Candidates for Neglected Tropical Diseases (Deadline: 26 December 2025)
- Chirality in Drugs (Deadline: 26 December 2025)
- Green Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycles (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
- Advances in Enzyme Inhibitors and Protein Degraders as Anticancer Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
- Heterocyclic Chemistry in Modern Drug Development (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
- Novel Heterocyclic Compounds as Potential Anti-Inflammatory and/or Anticancer Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
- Novel Developments in Antileishmanial and Antitrypanosomal Agents (Deadline: 31 December 2025)
- Therapeutic Potential of Aldehyde Dehydrogenases (Deadline: 25 January 2026)
- Dysregulation of Cyclic AMP and Cyclic PIP Synthesis: Implications for Disease and Advances in Therapeutic Development (Deadline: 25 January 2026)
- Current Advances, Applications and Future Development of Transition Metal Complexes, 2nd Edition (Deadline: 25 January 2026)
- Application of Computer Simulation in Drug Design (Deadline: 31 January 2026)
- Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Small Molecules for the Treatment of Solid Tumors (Deadline: 31 January 2026)
- Dopamine Receptor: Novel Opportunities for Drug Developments (Deadline: 31 January 2026)
- Guanidine-Based Drugs: Research on Synthesis and Antifungal, Antiviral, and Anticancer Activities (Deadline: 31 January 2026)
- Heterocyclic Compounds in Targeted Cancer Therapy: Advances in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Development (Deadline: 31 January 2026)
- Design, Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Novel Opioid/Non-Opioid Hybrid Compounds (Deadline: 31 March 2026)
- Peptide-Based Drug Discovery: Innovations and Breakthroughs (Deadline: 31 March 2026)
- Computational Methods in Drug Development (Deadline: 26 May 2026)
Topical Collections
Following topical collections within this section are currently open for submissions:
