Marine Drugs and Nanomedicine

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2018) | Viewed by 14602

Special Issue Editor

Drug Transport and Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, University of Tromsø, Universitetsveien 57, 9037 Tromsø, Norway
Interests: drug delivery; nanomedicine; liposomes; skin therapy; vaginal therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive compounds of marine origin bear unexplored potentials in drug development. Some of them are already available as drugs, whereas many are promising and are approaching later stages of clinical trials. However, the means of delivery for these promising compounds remain unexploited to their full potential. Nanotechnology and nanomedicine could offer innovative approaches in the delivery of marine-origin drugs and active compounds. Nano-size carriers, often referred to as nanosystems, are expected to improve drug/compound bioavailabilities, achieve targeting to a desired site of action, with increased efficacy and reduced side effects. Moreover, marine-origin compounds can also serve as nanosystem building blocks. This Special Issue, “Marine Drugs and Nanomedicine” aims to provide an overview of the current research pipelines in nanosystems employed to deliver marine compounds via different routes of administration, or promising applications of marine raw materials as nanocarriers. Innovative approaches and systems able to assure controlled and targeted delivery are the focus of this Special Issue. As Guest Editor, I cordially invite contributions in form of original research articles or reviews from this exciting research field.

Prof. Dr. Natasa Skalko-Basnet
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Nanomedicine
  • nanotechnology
  • marine drugs
  • nanocarriers
  • controlled drug delivery
  • drug targeting

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3470 KiB  
Article
Liposomal Form of the Echinochrome-Carrageenan Complex
by Irina M. Yermak, Vladimir I. Gorbach, Valery P. Glazunov, Anna O. Kravchenko, Natalya P. Mishchenko, Evgeniya A. Pimenova and Viktoria N. Davydova
Mar. Drugs 2018, 16(9), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/md16090324 - 10 Sep 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3775
Abstract
Inclusion of drugs in liposomes offers the potential for localized and sustained delivery to mucosal surfaces. The inclusion of the carrageenan matrix with echinochrome A ((Ech)—the active substance of the drug Histochrome) in liposomes was studied. According to the spectral characteristics, Ech was [...] Read more.
Inclusion of drugs in liposomes offers the potential for localized and sustained delivery to mucosal surfaces. The inclusion of the carrageenan matrix with echinochrome A ((Ech)—the active substance of the drug Histochrome) in liposomes was studied. According to the spectral characteristics, Ech was not oxidized and retained stability after encapsulation in the liposomes and the lyophilization process. Loading the liposomes with negatively charged polysaccharide results in the increase in the zeta potential to more negative values (from −14.6 to −24.4 mV), that together with an increasing in the sizes of liposomes (from 125.6 ± 2.5 nm to 159.3 ± 5.8 nm) propose of the formation of the polymer coating on liposomes. The interactions of liposomes with porcine stomach mucin was determined by the DLS and SEM methods. The changes in the zeta-potential and size of the mucin particles were observed as the result of the interaction of liposomes with mucin. To evaluate the mucoadhesive properties of liposomes and the penetration of Ech in the mucosa, a fresh-frozen inner surface of the small intestine of a pig as a model of mucous tissue was used. Polysaccharide-coated liposomes exhibit very good mucoadhesive properties −50% of Ech remains on the mucosa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Drugs and Nanomedicine)
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13 pages, 3377 KiB  
Article
Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Carrageenan Oligosaccharide and Their In Vitro Antitumor Activity
by Xiangyan Chen, Xia Zhao, Yanyun Gao, Jiaqi Yin, Mingyue Bai and Fahe Wang
Mar. Drugs 2018, 16(8), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/md16080277 - 07 Aug 2018
Cited by 66 | Viewed by 6056
Abstract
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely used in catalysis, photothermal therapy, and targeted drug delivery. Carrageenan oligosaccharide (CAO) derived from marine red algae was used as a reducing and capping agent to obtain AuNPs by an eco-friendly, efficient, and simple synthetic route for [...] Read more.
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely used in catalysis, photothermal therapy, and targeted drug delivery. Carrageenan oligosaccharide (CAO) derived from marine red algae was used as a reducing and capping agent to obtain AuNPs by an eco-friendly, efficient, and simple synthetic route for the first time. The synthetic conditions of AuNPs were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), and the CAO-AuNPs obtained were demonstrated to be ellipsoidal, stable and crystalline by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The CAO-AuNPs showed localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) oscillation at about 530 nm with a mean diameter of 35 ± 8 nm. The zeta potential of CAO-AuNPs was around −20 mV, which was related to the negatively charged CAO around AuNPs. The CAO-AuNPs exhibited significant cytotoxic activities to HCT-116 and MDA-MB-231 cells, which could be a promising nanomaterial for drug delivery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Drugs and Nanomedicine)
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17 pages, 16209 KiB  
Article
The Positive Role of Curcumin-Loaded Salmon Nanoliposomes on the Culture of Primary Cortical Neurons
by Mahmoud Hasan, Shahrzad Latifi, Cyril J.F. Kahn, Ali Tamayol, Rouhollah Habibey, Elodie Passeri, Michel Linder and Elmira Arab-Tehrany
Mar. Drugs 2018, 16(7), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/md16070218 - 25 Jun 2018
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 4073
Abstract
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a natural bioactive compound with many health-promoting benefits. However, its poor water solubility and bioavailability has limited curcumin’s biomedical application. In the present study, we encapsulated curcumin into liposomes, formed from natural sources (salmon lecithin), and characterized its encapsulation efficiency [...] Read more.
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a natural bioactive compound with many health-promoting benefits. However, its poor water solubility and bioavailability has limited curcumin’s biomedical application. In the present study, we encapsulated curcumin into liposomes, formed from natural sources (salmon lecithin), and characterized its encapsulation efficiency and release profile. The proposed natural carriers increased the solubility and the bioavailability of curcumin. In addition, various physico-chemical properties of the developed soft nanocarriers with and without curcumin were studied. Nanoliposome-encapsulated curcumin increased the viability and network formation in the culture of primary cortical neurons and decreased the rate of apoptosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Drugs and Nanomedicine)
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