Drug Discovery Metabolism and Biotransformation

Dear Colleagues,

Investigations of the drug metabolism and biotransformation of active substances are closely related to each stage of the long and complex process of drug development. While the focus in the early stages of research is on cost-effective, HTS-based studies of the metabolic stability of investigated compounds, as the research program progresses, the identification of metabolically sensitive elements of drug candidates and the structure of formed (reactive) metabolites becomes increasingly important. In addition, following the metabolites’ isolation and structure elucidation, the pharmacological and toxicological characterization of the metabolites are also important issues in the development phase. At a later stage, the identification of enzymes involved in the biotransformation of prioritized active agents, as well as studies related to drug–drug interactions and the inhibition and induction of metabolic enzymes, become a matter of pharmacovigilance. Harmonized with the risk, throughput, and cost requirements of each stage of the research process, in silico, in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo methods support studies of drug metabolism processes. The purpose of the Special Issue is to present these analytical, medicinal chemical, pharmacological and pharmacokinetic state-of-the-art techniques in the form of case studies and review publications.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Novel early stage screening assay for drug metabolism and metabolite identification;
• In silico and in vitro model systems for metabolite and pharmacokinetic parameters (t_1/2, Cl_int, etc.) prediction;
• Cell- and/or tissue-based models for drug metabolite identification and distribution;
• State-of-the-art analytical approaches in the structure elucidation of drug metabolites;
• Novel direct and/or cost-effective approaches to drug metabolite synthesis;
• Continuous-flow systems in drug metabolism research (e.g., organ-on-a-chip systems).

Dr. György Tibor Balogh
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. Metabolites 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.

• in silico models of drug metabolism
• rapid screening (in vitro, ex vivo) of drug metabolites and reactive metabolites
• novel analytical approaches in drug metabolism
• rapid and cost-effective synthesis of drug metabolites
• organ-on-a-chip systems
• assay systems for metabolic enzyme inhibition and induction
• ADME-Tox models related to drug metabolism
• novel in vivo experiments for metabolite identification and distribution