Flavonoids are compounds based on the 2-phenylchromonone scaffold. Flavonoids can be divided into flavonoids, flavonols, dihydroflavones, anthocyanins, chalcones and diflavones according to the oxidation degree of the central tricarbonyl chain, the connection position of B-ring (2-or 3-position) and whether the tricarbonyl chain forms a ring or not. There are a variety of biological activities about

Tanshinones are a class of bioactive compounds present in the Chinese herbal medicine Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge), containing among others abietane diterpene quinone scaffolds. Chemical synthesis and biological activity studies of natural and unnatural tanshinone derivatives have been reviewed in this article.

Since an µ-opioid receptor gene containing the multiple exons has been identified, the variety of splice variants for µ-opioid receptors have been reported in various species. Amidino-TAPA and IBNtxA have been discovered as new analgesics with different pharmacological profiles with morphine. These new analgesics show a very potent analgesic effect but do not have dependence liability. Interestingly

Incorporating nanotechnology into fluorescent imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown promising potentials for accurate diagnosis of cancer at earlier stage than the conventional imaging modalities. Molecular imaging (MI) aims to quantitatively characterize, visualize, and measure the biological processes or living cells at molecular and genetic levels. MI modalities have been exploited

This editorial provides a brief overview of the thematic issue and the papers in it. The thematic issue is proposed to help chemists and biologists track the most recent advances in drug discovery and cancer diagnoses. The process of drug discovery involves the identification and validation of biological targets, the identification and optimization of lead compounds, preclinical development, and clinical