This collection, guest edited by Professor Maria Laura Bolognesi (University of Bologna), Professor Daniele Castagnolo (University College London) and Dr Magnus Johansson (AstraZeneca), highlights the emerging trend of sustainability concepts permeating the early preclinical phase of the pharmaceutical development pipeline with the pressing aim of discovering benign-by-design drugs. It brings together the latest developments in sustainability specifically related to medicinal chemistry including green chemistry, use of continuous processes, enzymes/microorganisms and renewable resources for synthesis of hits, leads and drug candidates, late-stage functionalisation methodologies for library assembly, property-related metrics for ecotoxicology and design of biodegradable drugs. Please enjoy the articles in the collection below.
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Continuous flow synthesis of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) analogues with therapeutic potential (Open Access)
Andreas Simoens, Andreas Dejaegere, Marthe Vandevelde & Christian V. Stevens* RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 367–372 |
| Microwave-assisted synthesis of tubulin assembly inhibitors as anticancer agents by aryl ring reversal and conjunctive approach (Open Access)
Domiziana Masci, Michela Puxeddu, Claudia Colla, Antonio Coluccia, Martina Santelli, Pietro Sciò, Elena Mariotto, Giampietro Viola, Ernest Hamel, Rosa Lerose, Carmela Mazzoccoli, Romano Silvestri* & Giuseppe La Regina RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 4845–4858 |
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Tanshinones target drug-resistant tuberculosis: efficacy, selectivity, and potential mechanism of action
Giulia Polinário, Maiara A. B. C. Rosa, Débora L. Campos, Liliana L. S. Moraes, Marli M. A. de Campos, Ingrid Gracielle M. Silva, Karine B. Barros-Cordeiro, Sônia N. Báo & Fernando R. Pavan* RSC Med. Chem., 2025, 16, 6020–6030 |
| The many facets of sustainability in medicinal chemistry: our personal experience (Open Access)
Bianca Martinengo, Eleonora Diamanti, Elisa Uliassi & Maria Laura Bolognesi* RSC Med. Chem., 2026, 17, 738–742 |
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From lab to environment: forecasting pharmaceutical impact using in silico and analytical tools
Hamza Boucetta, Peije Russell, David Rudd* & Manuela Jörg* RSC Med. Chem., 2026, 17, 768–783 |
| Empowering molecular complexity via biocatalysis: emerging blueprints in the total synthesis of medicinally relevant natural products
Ram N. Yadav*, Sovan Dey, Md. Firoj Hossain*, Devalina Ray, Bimal K. Banik*, Luciana C. Schmidt & Vandana Singh* RSC Med. Chem., 2026, 17, 1397–1444 |
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Integrating green synthesis and liquid–liquid extraction of lidocaine in deep eutectic solvents (Open Access)
Assunta Perri, Leonardo C. Parrotta, Stefania Gencarelli, Roberta Sole, Oana M. Dragostin, Gabriela Guillena & Maria L. Di Gioia* RSC Med. Chem., 2026, 17, 1474–1482 |
| Oxyprenyl–chalcones as antibacterial hits: design of experiments-optimized synthesis, antibacterial evaluation, early drug-like profiling and biodegradability prediction
Ludovica Marotta, Francesca Maria Pia Rita Giammarino, Brondon Brandly Senenou Tambou, Valeria Tudino, Stefania Butini, Lorenza Broccardo, Sacha Michèle Idriss Cancade, Jean-Denis Docquier, Federica Perego, Nicoletta Basilico, Lorenzo Raffellini, Sheraz Gul, Gabriele Carullo, Sandra Gemma* & Giuseppe Campiani RSC Med. Chem., 2026, 17, 1573–1585 |
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