Cited by 181Computational Drug Discovery MethodsSynthesis and Characterization of Heterocyclic CompoundsHistory and advancements in chemistry

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 45 of the 45 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The many roles of molecular complexity in drug discovery

Méndez-Lucio, Oscar, Medina-Franco, José L.·2017·Drug Discovery Today

DOI 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.08.009

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Molecular complexity is becoming a crucial concept in drug discovery. It has been associated with target selectivity, success in progressing into clinical development and compound safety, among other factors. Multiple metrics have been developed to quantify molecular complexity and explore complexity-property relationships. However, there is no general agreement regarding how to measure this molecular feature. Herein, we have surveyed the many roles of molecular complexity in drug discovery discussing in a critical manner different quantification methods. Through the analysis of various reference compound databases, common pitfalls and workarounds of the quantification of molecular complexity are discussed.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.08.009

Cites

45 of 45 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Escape from Flatland: Increasing Saturation as an Approach to Improving Clinical Success
Lovering, F., Bikker, J. A., & Humblet, C. C. (2009) · Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1021/jm901241e · Cited by 4,614
DrugBank 4.0: shedding new light on drug metabolism
Law, V., Knox, C., Djoumbou-Feunang, Y., Jewison, T., Guo, A. C., Liu, Y., Maciejewski, A., Arndt, D., Wilson, M., Neveu, V., et al. (2013) · Nucleic Acids Research · doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1068 · Cited by 1,995
DataWarrior: An Open-Source Program For Chemistry Aware Data Visualization And Analysis
Sander, T., Freyss, J., von Korff, M., & Rufener, C. (2015) · Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling · doi:10.1021/ci500588j · Cited by 1,874
Escape from Flatland 2: complexity and promiscuity
Lovering, F. (2012) · MedChemComm · doi:10.1039/c2md20347b · Cited by 1,469
An analysis of the attrition of drug candidates from four major pharmaceutical companies
Waring, M. J., Arrowsmith, J., Leach, A. R., Leeson, P. D., Mandrell, S., Owen, R. M., Pairaudeau, G., Pennie, W. D., Pickett, S. D., Wang, J., et al. (2015) · Nature Reviews Drug Discovery · doi:10.1038/nrd4609 · Cited by 1,450
Handbook of Olfaction and Gustation
Doty, R. L. (2003) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/9780203911457 · Cited by 1,228
Molecular Complexity and Its Impact on the Probability of Finding Leads for Drug Discovery
Hann, M. M., Leach, A. R., & Harper, G. (2001) · Journal of Chemical Information and Computer Sciences · doi:10.1021/ci000403i · Cited by 904
Molecular Similarity in Medicinal Chemistry
Maggiora, G. M., Vogt, M., Stumpfe, D., & Bajorath, J. (2013) · Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1021/jm401411z · Cited by 686
Polypharmacology: drug discovery for the future
Reddy, A. S., & Zhang, S. (2012) · Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1586/ecp.12.74 · Cited by 498
Analysis and comparison of 2D fingerprints: Insights into database screening performance using eight fingerprint methods
Duan, J., Dixon, S. L., Lowrie, J. F., & Sherman, W. (2010) · Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling · doi:10.1016/j.jmgm.2010.05.008 · Cited by 452

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 45 references

Sorted by citations

Items 101–181 of 181

Chemoinformatic Resources for Organometallic Drug Discovery
Medina‐Franco, J. L., Cruz-Lemus, Y., & Percastre-Cruz, Y. (2020) · Computational Molecular Bioscience · doi:10.4236/cmb.2020.101001 · Cited by 7
“One of the distinct structural features of organometallic drugs is molecular complexity that is well-known to have a major impact on drug discovery [6].”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Identification and immunological evaluation of novel TLR2 agonists through structural optimization of Diprovocim
Wang, X., Wang, Y., Zhu, Y., Lei, X., Zhang, M., & Li, Y. (2022) · European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114771 · Cited by 6
Biological evaluation of selected metronidazole derivatives as anti-nitroreductase via in silico approach
Adeoye, M. D., Oyebamiji, A. K., Ashiru, M. A., Adigun, R. A., Olalere, O. H., & Semire, B. (2022) · Eclética Química · doi:10.26850/1678-4618eqj.v47.4.2022.p27-36 · Cited by 6
Crystallization-Enabled Stereoconvergent Michael Additions of β-Keto Esters to Nitroolefins
Sherman, E. R., Cassels, W. R., & Johnson, J. S. (2023) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02799 · Cited by 6
Nitrogenation of Alkynes with Nitrones to Prepare Functionalized [1,4]Oxazinones through Csp–Csp2 Bond Cleavage
Zhao, Y., Yan, L.-B., Liao, L.-F., Wu, G., Zhong, X., Liang, C., Chen, C.-H., & Mo, D. (2024) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.4c03553 · Cited by 6
Synthesis of 1,2,5‐Oxadiazinane Derivatives by Photochemical Cycloaddition of Nitrones with Diaminomethanes
Itoh, K., Takashino, A., Ohtsuka, A., Kobe, M., Sawamura, S., Kato, R., Hirayama, S., Karaki, F., Mizuguchi, T., Sato, N., et al. (2020) · ChemPhotoChem · doi:10.1002/cptc.202000004 · Cited by 6
Predictions of Colloidal Molecular Aggregation Using AI/ML Models
Kombo, D. C., Stepp, J. D., Lim, S., Elshorst, B., Li, Y., Cato, L., Shomali, M., Fink, D. M., & LaMarche, M. J. (2024) · ACS Omega · doi:10.1021/acsomega.4c02886 · Cited by 6
Reductive α-alkylation of ketones with aldehydes at atmospheric pressure of carbon monoxide: the effect of fluoride activation in ruthenium catalysis
Runikhina, S. A., Tsygankov, A. A., Afanasyev, O. I., & Chusov, D. A. (2023) · Mendeleev Communications · doi:10.1016/j.mencom.2023.01.005 · Cited by 5
Targeting σ2R/TMEM97 with novel aminotetralins
Wood, M. D., Sahn, J. J., & Martin, S. F. (2022) · European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114696 · Cited by 5
Molecular modelling assisted design of napthalimide-dihydropyrimidinone conjugates as potential cytotoxic agents
Malik, M. S., Adil, S. F., Seddigi, Z. S., Morad, M. H., Jassas, R. S., Thagafi, I. I., Altass, H. M., Jamal, Q. M. S., Riyaz, S., Alsantali, R. I., et al. (2021) · Journal of Saudi Chemical Society · doi:10.1016/j.jscs.2021.101226 · Cited by 5
“The conformational ﬂexibility, molecular complexity and shape index were calculated utilising OSIRIS property explorer tool [DataWarrior] [23–25].”
AI-Driven molecule generation and bioactivity prediction: A multi-model approach combining VAE, graph and language-based neural networks
Oulladji, L., Saadallah, M., Guellil, Z., Abbad, H., & Bekhti, H. (2025) · Computational Biology and Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2025.108532 · Cited by 5
Biocatalytic Activation of Sulfur Heteroaromatics Facilitates Dearomatizing Cross-Couplings to Set Stereogenic Centers or Axes
Conboy, Ó., Rushworth, E. Q., Taylor, C. J., Levy, C., Ortmayer, M., Whitehead, G. F. S., Yen, A., Romano, C., Green, A. P., & Procter, D. J. (2025) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · doi:10.1021/jacs.5c16261 · Cited by 4
In silico, ADMET and Docking Analysis for the Compounds of Chloroform Extract of Tinospora cardifolia (Wild.) Identified by GC-MS and Spectral Analysis for Antidiabetic and Anti-Inflammatory Activity
Kumar, D. S., Karthikeyan, D., & Roy, B. (2022) · Asian Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.14233/ajchem.2022.23521 · Cited by 4
Curation and cheminformatics analysis of a Ugi-reaction derived library (URDL) of synthetically tractable small molecules for virtual screening application
Tandi, M., Tripathi, N., Gaur, A., Gopal, B., & Sundriyal, S. (2022) · Molecular Diversity · doi:10.1007/s11030-022-10588-1 · Cited by 4
“However, it must be noted that molecular complexity may be calculated in several ways [76, 77].”
Stereodivergent Desymmetrization of Phenols En Route to Modular Access to Densely Functionalized Quinazoline and Oxazine Scaffolds
Srikanth, G., Ravi, A., Sebastian, A., Khanfar, M. A., Abu‐Yousef, I. A., Majdalawieh, A. F., El–Gamal, M. I., Alkubaisi, B. O., Shahin, A. I., Joseph, J., et al. (2023) · The Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acs.joc.2c02653 · Cited by 4
Photocatalyzed Energy Transfer for Atom Economical Synthesis of O‐Bridged Tricyclo‐Fused Cyclopropane Derivatives
Sinha, P. K., Reddy, M. S., Behera, P. C., Nanubolu, J. B., & Suresh, S. (2023) · European Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1002/ejoc.202300805 · Cited by 3
Navigating the Chemical Space of ENR Inhibitors: A Comprehensive Analysis
Kuralt, V., & Frlan, R. (2024) · Antibiotics · doi:10.3390/antibiotics13030252 · Cited by 3
Identification of Antidiabetic and Anti-inflammatory Potential Compounds of Ethylacetate Extract of Tinospora cardifolia (Wild) Identified by GC-MS and Spectral Analysis: A Computational Approach
Kumar, D. S., Karthikeyan, D., & Roy, B. (2022) · Asian Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.14233/ajchem.2022.23624 · Cited by 3
In silico Based Virtual Screening of Non-polar Phytochemicals obtained From Petroleum Ether Extract of Asparagus racemosus by GC-MS Analysis
Rasheed, S. H., Vakkalagadda, R. K., Mustak, S., & Sen, S. (2023) · Pharmacognosy Research · doi:10.5530/pres.16.1.21 · Cited by 3
Classification of substances by health hazard using deep neural networks and molecular electron densities
Singh, S., Zeh, G., Freiherr, J., Bauer, T., Turkmen, I., & Grasskamp, A. T. (2024) · Journal of Cheminformatics · doi:10.1186/s13321-024-00835-y · Cited by 3
“Molecular complexity, however, is a complex topic which is not in the current scope of work, but we calculate the fraction of chiral centers [56] (FCC) to gain insight into the two datasets.”
Background
Discovery of RMC-6291, a potent, orally bioavailable, covalent RAS(ON) G12C selective inhibitor
Cregg, J., Pota, K., Gill, A. L., & Koltun, E. S. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-21861-3.00006-1 · Cited by 4
Steroidal arylidene hybrids with phenolic moieties: Integrated in silico, DFT, and electrochemical evaluation for therapeutic targeting
Qaoud, M. T., Çapan, İ., Saydam, S., & Servi, S. (2025) · Journal of Molecular Structure · doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2025.144297 · Cited by 2
Structure–Activity Relationships and Design of Focused Libraries Tailored for Staphylococcus Aureus Inhibition
Marbán‐González, A., & Medina‐Franco, J. L. (2025) · Molecular Informatics · doi:10.1002/minf.70015 · Cited by 4
“…with molecular size [59], molecular complexity which is related to the number to ster-eocenters, fraction of sp 3 carbon (CSP3 fraction), selectivity and promiscuity [60] had relative high mean value of x = 0.76 compared with x = 0.69 of FDA-approved drugs retrieved from DrugBank (2025-01-14) [61].”
InfluentialSelf-citation
Synthesis of N -(4-Vinylidenetetrahydrofuran-2-yl)amides and Applications in Skeletal Rearrangement to 2,3-Dihydro-1 H -pyrrol-2-ols/Substituted Pyrroles and Bridged Bicyclic Scaffold Construction
Xie, C., Liu, C., & Ma, D. (2026) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.6c00666 · Cited by 2
Computational design of rasagiline derivatives: Searching for enhanced antioxidant capability
Reina, M., Guzmán‐López, E. G., & Galano, A. (2022) · International Journal of Quantum Chemistry · doi:10.1002/qua.27011 · Cited by 3
Past, Present, and Future: A Changing Paradigm for Process Chemistry
Studley, J. R. (2022) · ACS symposium series · doi:10.1021/bk-2022-1423.ch009 · Cited by 2
The Evolution of Flow Chemistry: An Opinion on Factors Driving Innovation
Bourne, S. L., Amann, F., & Ley, S. V. (2023) · CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry · doi:10.2533/chimia.2023.288 · Cited by 2
N-Ylide Mediated Synthesis and Resolution of a Chiral Pyrimidinyl Cyclopropane Carboxylic Acid
Fray, M. J., Fink, S. J., Han, X., Papaioannou, N., Rennhack, A., & Zou, L. (2023) · Organic Process Research & Development · doi:10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00175 · Cited by 2
Copper‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Skeletal Editing through a Formal Nitrogen Insertion into Indoles to Synthesize Atropisomeric Aminoaryl Quinoxalines
Zhang, X., Zhang, J.-Q., Sun, Z., Shan, H.-M., Su, J., Ma, X., Su, G., Xu, L., & Mo, D. (2024) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.202420390 · Cited by 2
A Minimalist Approach to the Design of Complexity‐Enriched Bioactive Small Molecules: Discovery of Phenanthrenoid Mimics as Antiproliferative Agents
Alonso, F., Quezada, M. J., Gola, G. F., Richmond, V., Cabrera, G. M., Barquero, A. A., & Ramirez, J. A. (2018) · ChemMedChem · doi:10.1002/cmdc.201800295 · Cited by 2
Stereospecific Cross‐Coupling Reactions Provide Conformationally‐Biased Arylalkanes with Anti‐Leukemia Activity
Sanford, A. B., Tollefson, E. J., & Jarvo, E. R. (2019) · Israel Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.1002/ijch.201900071 · Cited by 2
Descubrimiento de fármacos basado en imagenología de células vivas
Hernández-Cuellar, C. E., Martinez, E., & Gallego-Gómez, J. C. (2020) · Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Químico Farmacéuticas · doi:10.15446/rcciquifa.v49n1.87026 · Cited by 2
“Estas interacciones son fundamentales para otorgar actividad y selectividad al compuesto [27].”
Background
Maximizing Step‐Normalized Increases in Molecular Complexity: Formal [4+2+2+2] Photoinduced Cyclization Cascade to Access Polyheterocycles Possessing Privileged Substructures
Reddy, D. S., Novitskiy, I. M., & Kutateladze, A. G. (2021) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.202112573 · Cited by 2
Synthesis and Theoretical Study of Novel Imidazo[4,5-b]pyrazine-Conjugated Benzamides as Potential Anticancer Agents
Kalpana, K., Syed, R., Saranya, J., Rafi, M., & Kiran, B. R. (2021) · Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1134/s1070428021090153 · Cited by 2
Discovery and development of lead compounds from natural sources using computational approaches
Medina‐Franco, J. L., Flores‐Padilla, E. A., & Chávez‐Hernández, A. L. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-85542-6.00009-3 · Cited by 2
Self-citation
Synthetic Matching of Complex Monoterpene Indole Alkaloid Chemical Space
Xie, J., Pahl, A., Krzyzanowski, A., Krupp, A., Liu, J., Koska, S., Schölermann, B., Zhang, R., Bonowski, J., Sievers, S., et al. (2023) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.202310222 · Cited by 2
An isatin aldol adduct as a precursor to α,α’-difunctionalized methyl vinyl ketones
Jha, A. K., Deeksha, Inani, H., & Easwar, S. (2022) · Results in Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.rechem.2022.100339 · Cited by 1
A model for estimating the visual complexity of a molecule using graph theory metrics: an educational perspective
Markovnikova, A. I., Likhanov, M. V., & Kurushkin, M. (2024) · Perspectives of science and education · doi:10.32744/pse.2024.3.37 · Cited by 1
“To date, several different metrics have been proposed to assess molecular complexity, for example: topological and physicochemical descriptors, substructure-based approaches, graph-theoretical methods [33].”
Background
Anti -Schistosomal activity and ADMET properties of 1,2,5-oxadiazinane-containing compound synthesized by visible-light photoredox catalysis
Itoh, K., Nakahara, H., Takashino, A., Hara, A., Katsuno, A., Abe, Y., Mizuguchi, T., Karaki, F., Hirayama, S., Nagai, K., et al. (2024) · RSC Medicinal Chemistry · doi:10.1039/d4md00599f · Cited by 1
Accelerating Drug Discovery through Knowledge Sharing
McAtee, R. C. (2026) · ChemMedChem · doi:10.1002/cmdc.202500927 · Cited by 1
Synthesis of Pyrazole–Oxothiazolidine Hybrids as Potential Anticancer Agents in [Bmim]OH Ionic Liquid Medium
Gorla, M. R., & Sarma, M. (2022) · Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1134/s1070428022040157 · Cited by 1
Molecular Complexity for Chemical Reactions
von Korff, M., & Sander, T. (2023) · CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry · doi:10.2533/chimia.2023.258 · Cited by 1
Multi Receptor Targeting of Potential Bioactive Compound Obtained from Chloroform Extract of Asparagus racemosus by GC-MS Analysis: A in silico Based Approach
Rasheed, S. H., Mustak, S., Mohanty, C., Vakkalagadda, R. K., & Sen, S. (2024) · Asian Journal of Chemistry · doi:10.14233/ajchem.2024.31671 · Cited by 1
Cardioprotective Potential of Bioactive Compound from Methanolic Extract of Asparagus racemosus : An in silico Study Utilizing GC–MS Analysis
Sen, S., Roy, B., Kannappan, N., Zoghebi, K. A., Albratty, M., Alhazmi, H. A., Najmi, A., & Alam, M. S. (2024) · Pharmacognosy Magazine · doi:10.1177/09731296241300873 · Cited by 1
Rapid Assembly of Oxatricyclo[3.2.1.02,7]octanes
Han, Z., Sun, J., Xu, L., Liu, S., & Huang, H. H. (2025) · Synlett · doi:10.1055/a-2538-2942 · Cited by 1
The Practical Synthesis of Dissymmetrical 1,3,5-Trioxazatriquinane Derivatives Comprised of Three Distinct Carbonyl Compounds
Fujii, H., Hirayama, S., Obayashi, K., Wada, N., Ohyama, K., Fuku, S., Koyano, K., Karaki, F., Itoh, K., & Nagase, H. (2018) · Heterocycles · doi:10.3987/com-18-s(f)65 · Cited by 1
Tackling the Moving Mutant Target: Taxifolin Derivatives as Novel Putative E571K Exportin-1 Inhibitors for KRAS-mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma TherapyPreprint
Adigun, T. O., Medayedupin, O. A., Joel, I., Fakolujo, I. Y., Ofeniforo, B., Bankole, F. A., Omoniyi, A. P., Ogunro, O. B., Agunlejika, A., Omoyeni, O. C., et al. (2020) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202012.0797.v1
Chemoinformatic characterization of NAPROC-13: A database for natural product 13C-RMN dereplicationPreprint
Avellaneda-Tamayo, J. F., Agudo-Muñoz, N. A., Sánchez-Galán, J. E., López‐Pérez, J. L., & Medina‐Franco, J. L. (2024) · ChemRxiv · doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-spksf · Cited by 1
Self-citation
Síntese, funcionalização e prospecção biológica de fragmentos heterocíclicos baseados em núcleos heteroaromáticos subexplorados
Fumagalli, F. (2019) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/t.60.2019.tde-27052019-111337
A genome-guided approach to the study of novel secondary metabolites in quarry-derived actinomycetes
Tan, D. F. E. (2019) · doi:10.32657/10356/136568
Cheminformatics analysis of molecular datasets of transcription factors associated with quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosaPreprint
Victoria-Muñoz, F., Sánchez‐Cruz, N., Medina‐Franco, J. L., & López-Vallejo, F. (2021) · doi:10.33774/chemrxiv-2021-9fc9m
Self-citation
Contribución a la identificación de potenciales antagonistas asociados al quorum sensing en Pseudomonas aeruginosa a través de métodos quimioinformáticos
Muñoz, V., & Felipe, D. (2021)
Discovery and biosynthesis of specialized metabolites produced by an indigenous streptomyces strain
Candra, H. (2022) · doi:10.32657/10356/161065
Merging Organocatalysis with Vinylogy – New Opportunities for Asymmetric Synthesis
Curti, C., Sartori, A. M., Battistini, L., & Zanardi, F. (2022) · Asymmetric Organocatalysis · doi:10.1002/9783527832217.ch14
Stereodivergent Transformation of Azepino[3,4,5‐cd]indoles En Route to Nature‐Inspired Scaffolds
Srikanth, G., Ravi, A., Sebastian, A., Joseph, J., Khanfar, M. A., El-Gamal, M. I., Al‐Qawasmeh, R. A., Abu‐Yousef, I. A., Majdalawieh, A. F., & Al‐Tel, T. H. (2023) · European Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1002/ejoc.202201354
Diseño computacional de antioxidantes multifuncionales. Caso de estudio: derivados de Edaravone
Guzmán‐López, E. G. (2019) · doi:10.24275/uami.g732d900g
Tackling the Moving Mutant Target: Taxifolin Derivatives as Novel Putative E571K Exportin-1 Inhibitors for KRAS-mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma
Adigun, T. O., Alejolowo, O. O., Sulaiman, F. A., Oluwadare, I. A., Ogunro, O. B., Akinduko, A., Evbuomwan, I. O., Agunlejika, A., Nwonuma, C. O., & Rotimi, D. E. (2024) · International Conference on Science, Engineering and Business for Driving Sustainable Development Goals (SEB4SDG) · doi:10.1109/seb4sdg60871.2024.10630422
An analysis of published synthetic routes, route targets and reaction types (2000 – 2020)Preprint
Howell, G. P., & Genheden, S. (2024) · ChemRxiv · doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-tj3p3
Rational Method for Structural Simplification as Key Step in Hit Discovery: The Case of FGFR2 and IGF1R Dual Inhibitors
Torres-Urtizberea, E., Borrell, J. I., de la Bellacasa, R. P., & Estrada‐Tejedor, R. (2025) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms26094457
A Petri Net–Based Computational Framework for Oxygen-Sensitive Regulation of Pyruvate Metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosisPreprint
Abhilash, Siddiqui, M. A., Jain, R. K., Dayal, S., Kapoor, N., & Mahapatra, R. P. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.09.02.673648
Sequential Gold and Organocatalyzed Bicyclization for Asymmetric Construction of Contiguous Tetrasubstituted Carbon Stereocenters
Wang, J., Gao, Y., Niu, X.-Z., Song, X., Song, Y., Li, L., & You, Z. (2025) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.5c04428
Synthèse de structures complexes par réactions en cascade et catalyse au rhodium
Salacz, L. (2018) · doi:10.70675/75579381z6273z407fzb75ez414241fd24c2
Synthesis of 6 or 7 membered nonplanar heterocycles presenting a N-O bond
Tang, S.-Q. (2019) · doi:10.70675/348da979ze730z4a77zb083z41e13622d2e4
Chimeric Enzymes
Bajpai, P. (2026) · Springer briefs in molecular science · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-18003-2_4
Contemporary Applications of Chemical Libraries for Drug Discovery and Methods for Their Synthesis
Hansen, T. N., & Hansen, N. J. V. (2026) · ChemistryEurope · doi:10.1002/ceur.70283
“Most likely this correlation is since F sp3 also correlates with other important properties such as target selectivity and potency [19, 20] as well as physicochemical properties including solubility and logP [21].”
Structural‐to‐Functional Complexity Transformations Enabled by Bridged Polyheterocycles: Access to Cis‐1,3‐Diamines and Amino‐Alcohols
Zhu, J., Benedetti, E., & Micouin, L. (2026) · ChemistryEurope · doi:10.1002/ceur.70321
“Beyond the inherent synthetic difficulty, structural complexity is frequently linked to compelling biological properties [1] or innovative applications in functional materials [2].”
Data-Driven Predictions of Diastereoselectivity in Crystallization-Induced Diastereomer Transformations
McCormack, S. L., Sherman, E. R., Johnson, J. S., & Sigman, M. S. (2026) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.6c01562
Direct-Injection ESI-MS/MS Method for Studying Fragmentation Pathways of Prospidium Chloride
Kladiev, A. A., Barsegyan, S. S., Akimova, V. D., Esparza, C., & Uspenskaya, E. V. (2026) · Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics · doi:10.22270/jddt.v16i7.7869
Asymmetric construction of 2,6-methanobenzo[ g ][1,3]oxazocine scaffolds
Yusuipujiang, N., Xie, C., Tan, J., Zhang, N., Wang, Q., & Ma, D. (2026) · Organic Chemistry Frontiers · doi:10.1039/d6qo00826g
Designing Molecules under the Full Weight of Potency, Selectivity, Synthesizability, Safety, and Pharmaceutical Developability
Nzouankeu, J.-B., Mwangi, L., Abega, P., & Dupont, C. (2024) · Pharmacophore · doi:10.51847/bhejqkbzml
Pd-Catalyzed Regio-, Diastereo-, and Enantioselective Construction of Vicinal Tertiary Stereocenters from Cyclic Allylboronate Salts and Allyl Electrophiles
Popov, R., Zhang, C., Guénée, L., & Mazet, C. (2026) · JACS Au · doi:10.1021/jacsau.6c01001
Water-Phase Synthesis of 2,5-Methanobenzo[ d ][1,3,6]oxadiazocine with Low Catalyst Loading
Fan, Y., Tan, J., Wang, Q., & Ma, D. (2026) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.6c03712
A sesterterpenoid derivative alleviates ulcerative colitis through targeting ProRS to suppress the NLRP3 inflammasome
Li, M., Zhang, H., Fu, R., Mao, L., Zheng, Y., Wang, L.-L., Liu, Y., Zhou, T.-T., Mu, R., Hu, H., et al. (2026) · Science China Life Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11427-025-3367-3
Solvent-Controlled Diastereoconvergent Synthesis of Spirochromeno[4,3- b ][1,3]pyrrole-Cyclopropanes through 2,3-Rearrangement-Driven Cyclopropanation of O -Propargyl Oximes with Sulfur Ylides
Li, Q.-M., Liu, R., Chen, S.-L., Hu, Z.-H., Wang, G., Zhang, W.-B., Liu, Q.-Q., Zhong, X., & Mo, D. (2026) · Organic Letters · doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.6c03373
Why Semisynthetic Accessibility Should Influence Which Natural Product Scaffolds Advance from Computational Prioritization to Medicinal Chemistry Development
Eriksen, K., Berg, S., & Dahl, M. (2025) · International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Phytopharmacological Research · doi:10.51847/43qp6wgo8o
Regression-Based QSPR Modelling of Functionalized Aromatic Compounds with Degree-Based Topological Indices
Deekshitha, K., V, Sumithra, S., S. A., & V., V. S. (2026) · Boletim da Sociedade Paranaense de Matemática · doi:10.5269/bspm.79647
BindingDB Entry 50001329: Developing hybrid molecule therapeutics for diverse enzyme inhibitory action: Active role of coumarin-based structural leads in drug discovery.
BindingDB (2020) · UC San Diego · doi:10.7270/q29889hn
BindingDB Entry 50019944: Identification and immunological evaluation of novel TLR2 agonists through structural optimization of Diprovocim.
BindingDB (2024) · UC San Diego · doi:10.7270/q27h1q01
BindingDB Entry 50011199: Discovery of a Janus Kinase Inhibitor Bearing a Highly Three-Dimensional Spiro Scaffold: JTE-052 (Delgocitinib) as a New Dermatological Agent to Treat Inflammatory Skin Disorders.
BindingDB (2021) · UC San Diego · doi:10.7270/q2fx7f2w
BindingDB Entry 50020311: Oxetanes in Drug Discovery Campaigns.
BindingDB (2024) · UC San Diego · doi:10.7270/q2vx0mzp
BindingDB Entry 50019660: Targeting σ
BindingDB (2024) · UC San Diego · doi:10.7270/q2f76hxn

Authors: Méndez-Lucio, O., & Medina-Franco, J. L.
ORCID: Medina-Franco, José L.
Venue: Drug Discovery Today
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2017-01
Volume: 22
Issue: 1
Pages: 120-126
ISSN: 1359-6446 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.08.009
OpenAlex: W2516032265
Cited by: 180
References: 45
Citations by year: 2026: 14 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 9
FWCI: 0.82
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
www.elsevier.com/legal/tdmrep-license (tdm)
Locations: Drug Discovery Today (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Drug Discovery › Computational Drug Discovery Methods
Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Synthesis and Characterization of Heterocyclic Compounds
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › History and advancements in chemistry
Keywords: molecular complexity, complexity measures, drug discovery, target selectivity
MeSH terms: Pharmaceutical Preparations, Models, Chemical, Structure-Activity Relationship, Drug Design, Molecular Structure, Databases, Factual, Drug Discovery

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

The many roles of molecular complexity in drug discovery

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks