Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs, classified as such by the World Health Organization) comprise a set of twenty conditions that predominantly afflict tropical regions, affecting over one billion individuals mainly living in underprivileged communities. These ailments are triggered by a range of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. These diseases, closely tied to poverty, result in severe health, social, and economic repercussions representing a major worldwide public health concern. Many of them are transmitted by vectors, have animal reservoirs, and are characterized by intricate life cycles, which present substantial challenges in terms of public health control. They are considered neglected because usually they have access to extremely limited resources and are almost ignored by global funding agencies.

However, the academic community has been actively engaged in various aspects of combating NTDs, primarily centered around the biology and biochemistry of the pathogens, as well as the development of novel prospective drugs for the treatment of these diseases through multidisciplinary research approaches. These commendable efforts constitute the central focus of this Research topic.

This Research Topic aims to include recent efforts by different research groups directed at the acquisition of new scientific knowledge that could serve as input for the development of novel organic or metal-based drugs for the treatment of some of the NTDs. The issue will give insight into the state of the art of the research on NTDs. The emphasis will be on interdisciplinary research.

In this Research Topic we invite submissions of original research articles, communications, and reviews focused on, but not limited to, the following themes:
· Design and synthetic strategies of potential organic agents against a selected NTD
· Design and synthetic strategies of potential metal-based drugs against a selected NTD, including classic metal coordination compounds and organometallics.
· Biochemical, biophysical, or biological studies related to the evaluation of agents against NTDs and the study of their mechanism of action.
· Interaction of metal coordination and organometallic compounds or organic compounds with nucleic acids, other biomolecules, and reactive species.
· Pharmacological properties of compounds active against NTDs.
· Computational studies related to the previous themes.

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Frontiers in Chemical Biology

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