Where Are We Now and Where Is Antimicrobial Therapy Headed?
A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2024 | Viewed by 638
Special Issue Editor
Interests: cell biophysics; antimicrobial agents; cancer therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fighting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a major significant global concern. The continuous overuse and misuse of antibiotics have led to the development of resistant strains of bacteria, making complex infections (such as biofilms) harder to treat. For instance, one recent outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae alone in Seattle hospital resulted in 31 infected patients and 4 deaths.
Thus, the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs, as well as ways to maximize the use of current drugs, is extremely critical.
In the last decade, different studies focused on discovering and developing new classes of antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria. This involved exploring different sources, such as natural products, as well as innovative synthetic approaches.
In some cases, the most promising results were obtained by combining multiple antibiotics or using combination therapies with other treatment compounds such as enzymes that are able to attach to the biofilm matrix.
Other alternative approaches often reported in the literature use bacteriophages to effectively target bacteria. Probiotics and other microbiome-based therapies are also reported due to their potential in preventing and treating bacterial infections.
Antimicrobial therapy tailored to the precise characteristics of the infecting microorganism and the patient's individual circumstances is also a new possibility that may maximize therapeutic success while reducing the negative effects and resistance development. Futhermore, several non-antibiotic drugs have been tested in the fight against AMR such as anesthetics, antipsychotics, and cardiovascular drugs.
In this context, this Special Issue seeks to uncover novel strategies and/or chemicals that can help improve the success of bacterial treatment.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Antimicrobial peptides and peptidomimetics;
- Use of natural products;
- Combinations of antimicrobial agents;
- Inhibitors of virulence factors;
- Use of nanoparticles;
- Drug delivery systems;
- Unconventional Drugs;
- Phage therapy;
- Enzybiotics.
This Special Issue welcomes different types of submissions, such as original research papers, short communications, and reviews.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
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
- antimicrobial peptides and peptidomimetics
- use of natural products
- combinations of antimicrobial agents
- inhibitors of virulence factors
- use of nanoparticles
- drug delivery systems
- unconventional Drugs
- phage therapy
- enzybiotics
