Overview

Aims and Scope

Journal of Molecular Recognition (JMR) publishes original research papers and reviews describing substantial advances in our understanding of molecular recognition phenomena in life sciences, covering all aspects from biochemistry, molecular biology, medicine, and biophysics.  The research may employ experimental, theoretical and/or computational approaches.

The focus of the journal is on recognition phenomena involving biomolecules and their biological / biochemical partners rather than on the recognition of metal ions or inorganic compounds. Molecular recognition involves non-covalent specific interactions between two or more biological molecules, molecular aggregates, cellular modules, or organelles, as exemplified by receptor-ligand, antigen-antibody, nucleic acid-protein or sugar-lectin interactions, to mention just a few of the possible interactions. The journal invites manuscripts that aim to achieve a complete description of molecular recognition mechanisms between well-characterized biomolecules in terms of structure, dynamics, and biological activity.  Such studies may help the future development of new drugs and vaccines, although the experimental and clinical testing of new drugs and vaccines falls outside the scope of the journal. Medical and clinical studies solely based on correlations between drugs or compounds and observed biological effects without consideration and description of the underlying molecular causes will not be considered. Manuscripts that describe the application of standard approaches and techniques to design or model new molecular entities or to describe interactions between biomolecules, but do not provide new insights into molecular recognition processes will not be considered. Similarly, manuscripts involving biomolecules uncharacterized at the sequence level (e.g., calf thymus DNA) will not be considered.

Typical experimental techniques include synthesis of topological mimics, site directed mutagenesis or molecular imprinting, together with biophysical methods for the quantitative measurement of molecular interactions. Specific methods such as AFM, Optical Tweezers, SPR, Biosensors and Microcalorimetry, and the range of analytical methods such as NMR, MRI, MS, GC, LC, HPLC, PET, and Crystallography may be used to establish the mechanisms, dynamics, and forces of molecular recognition processes. Mechanistic understanding at a molecular level can be aided by computational approaches such as molecular electrostatic analysis, molecular dynamics simulations, docking, machine learning and free energy calculations. Manuscripts that solely describe computational work should be based on previously described, experimentally established interactions or recognition processes, or describe novel methodologies that can bring new insights into molecular recognition mechanisms. Computational predictions made without appropriate validation of the computational methodology against experimental data will not be considered.

Keywords

Molecular recognition, biomolecules, molecular design, biosensors, microcalorimetry, kinetics, protein, nucleic acids, RNA, DNA, amino acid, bio-organic, biophysical, crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, molecular modeling, molecular simulation, molecular imprinting.

Readership

Biochemists, Biophysicists, Biologists and Medicinal Chemists working in Industry and Academia interested in molecular recognition phenomena in the life sciences.

 

Abstracting and Indexing Information
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