Kilo-Scale GMP Synthesis of Renewable Semisynthetic Vaccine-Grade Squalene.

Emulsions of the triterpene squalene ((6,10,14,18)-2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosa-2,6,10,14,18,22-hexaene, CAS 111-02-4) have been used as adjuvants in influenza vaccines since the 1990s. Traditionally sourced from shark liver oil, the overfishing of sharks and concomitant reduction in the oceanic shark population raises sustainability issues for vaccine adjuvant grade squalene. We report a semisynthetic route to squalene meeting current pharmacopeial specifications for use in vaccines that leverages the ready availability of -β-farnesene ((6)-7,11-dimethyl-3-methylene-1,6,10-dodecatriene, CAS 18794-84-8), manufactured from sustainable sugarcane via a yeast fermentation process.

A New Editor in Chief for Molecules (It's Been a Fun Ride).

It is with mixed feelings that I put fingers to keyboard to write this, perhaps my last Editorial as Editor-in-Chief of [...

We've Come a Long Way, Baby: Announcing a Special Issue to Commemorate the Publication of Molecule's 20,000th Paper.

On behalf of my Section Editor-in-Chief co-author colleagues I am pleased to announce a Special Issue to commemorate the recent publication of 20,000th paper [...

Approaches and Recent Developments for the Commercial Production of Semi-synthetic Artemisinin.

The antimalarial drug artemisinin is a natural product produced by the plant . Extracts of have been used in Chinese herbal medicine for over two millennia. Following the re-discovery of extract as an effective antimalarial, and the isolation and structural elucidation of artemisinin as the active agent, it was recommended as the first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in combination with another effective antimalarial drug (Artemisinin Combination Therapy) by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2002.

Removal of Expression of Concern: Segneanu et al. Helleborus purpurascens-Amino Acid and Peptide Analysis Linked to the Chemical and Antiproliferative Properties of the Extracted Compounds. Molecules 2015, 20, 22170-22187.

The article [1] published in Molecules was the subject of a law suit related to authorship. We previously published an Expression of Concern to highlight this fact to readers[..

Molecules New Aims and Scope.

As we approach the end of our 22nd year as the pioneering and preeminent Open Access journal in the field of organic chemistry and natural products, time has come to formally announce what has been the de facto reality of the journal for the past few years, the expansion of the range of topics we cover.[..

Dr. Kenneth A. Jacobson: First Winner of the Tu Youyou Award, in Honor of the Co-Recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

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Developing fermentative terpenoid production for commercial usage.

Terpenoids comprise a large (>55000) family of compounds, very few of which have been used commercially due to low and economically unpractical production in their native hosts (generally plants and microorganisms). Two examples of natural terpenoid production are described (rubber and astaxanthin), but the advent of metabolic engineering has allowed the development of fermentative production processes using heterologous microorganisms. The two biochemical pathways responsible for terpenoid production are described, along with manipulations that enable production of terpenoids at economically viable levels.

Molecules Best Paper Award 2013.

Molecules has started to institute a "Best Paper" award to recognize the most outstanding papers in the area of natural products, medicinal chemistry and molecular diversity published in Molecules. We are pleased to announce the second "Molecules Best Paper Award" for 2013.

Production of amorphadiene in yeast, and its conversion to dihydroartemisinic acid, precursor to the antimalarial agent artemisinin.

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium sp, results in almost one million deaths and over 200 million new infections annually. The World Health Organization has recommended that artemisinin-based combination therapies be used for treatment of malaria. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from the plant Artemisia annua.

Resumed Publication of in 2009.

After a five year hiatus, we are pleased to announce the resumption of publication of the MDPI journal (ISSN 1424-8247). First launched in 2004, few suitable papers were submitted and only one was published [1], before our limited editorial resources at the time led us to temporarily discontinue publication. Several things have changed since then.

A novel semi-biosynthetic route for artemisinin production using engineered substrate-promiscuous P450(BM3).

Production of fine chemicals from heterologous pathways in microbial hosts is frequently hindered by insufficient knowledge of the native metabolic pathway and its cognate enzymes; often the pathway is unresolved, and the enzymes lack detailed characterization. An alternative paradigm to using native pathways is de novo pathway design using well-characterized, substrate-promiscuous enzymes. We demonstrate this concept using P450(BM3) from Bacillus megaterium.