**About the Editors**

**Genoveffa Nuzzo** is a full researcher at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB–CNR). She graduated with a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Naples in July 2008 with 110 cum laude with honorable mention and produced an experimental thesis on organic chemistry. She earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Salerno, focusing her research on the exploration of the chemical diversity of marine organisms in search of "biomolecules for health". During her doctoral course, she spent time in Greece at the University of Athens. After completing her doctorate, she began working at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (ICB–CNR), and her research activity is focused on the characterization of biomolecules from marine organisms, working on several projects aimed at identifying active molecules from marine sources. She is also a member of a Spin-Off BioSearch S.r.l. (a non-profit organization), whose goal is to discover new natural compounds from marine organisms for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical purposes.

**Carmela Gallo** is a full researcher at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry of the National Research Council (ICB–CNR). She graduated with a degree in Biology from the University of Naples in 2011 with 110 cum laude. She obtained her PhD title in Applied Biology from the University of Naples in 2015, where her research activity was focused on the identification of bioactive molecules from marine organisms playing an ecophysiological role and specific biochemical properties. She has continued her research at the ICB since 2015, specializing in the field of cell biology. As of present, she has developed a bioassay platform for human cell lines of myeloid origin for the evaluation of the immunomodulating properties of the natural compounds isolated from marine organisms and synthetic derivatives, with the aim of developing products for the formulation of vaccines and new principles for the treatment of pathologies related to the decompensation of the innate immune system.

## *Editorial* **Drugs from Marine Sources**

**Carmela Gallo and Genoveffa Nuzzo \***

Bio-Organic Chemistry Unit, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy; carmen.gallo@icb.cnr.it

**\*** Correspondence: nuzzo.genoveffa@icb.cnr.it

Throughout history, natural products have afforded a rich source of compounds that have found many applications in the fields of pharmacology. In this context, Marine Natural Products (MNPs) represent a unique rich source of new metabolites, with diverse chemical structures, and various bioactivities and molecular characteristics adapted to specific interactions with cellular targets. The huge diversity and potential bioactivity of marine metabolites can serve as "lead" compounds for the discovery of modern drugs. Thus, these products are attractive targets because they could be used to overcome the challenge of treating a high number of diseases that affect human health.

This Special Issue has covered all fields of drugs research from marine natural products, including their isolation and characterization, in vitro and/or in vivo study of their biological activities, medicinal applications as well as synthetic approaches and related analogues.

In detail, two studies are reported in this Special Issue on the chemical characterization and biological activity of alginate from two species of *Sargassum*; in particular, alginate was investigated for wound-healing and antioxidant properties on a diabetic mouse model [1,2]. A third work reports the bioactivity-guided study of *Aquimarina* sp. with the identification of diketopiperazines and N-Phenethylacetamide and their effect on TGF-β-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition [3].

Pharmacokinetic and drug metabolism tests are mandatory for expediting the progress of compounds with promising properties from discovery to development phase. For this purpose, a further manuscript is included about the investigation of a robust and fast analytical method for the measurement of Sulfavant A, a prototype for a new class of molecular adjuvants inspired by natural α-sulfoquinovosyl-diacylglycerols (α-SQDGs) occurring in diatoms by Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) [4].

As part of this Special Issue, two reviews about medicinal applications of natural products from marine sources have been reported. In particular a minireview details the potential applications of diatom-derived silica for the biomedical field [5]; finally, a review describes the advances in purpurin 18 research as a promising anticancer drug [6].

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, G.N.; review papers and writing editorial, C.G. and G.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This work was supported by the project "Antitumor Drugs and Vaccines from the Sea (ADViSE)" project (CUP B43D18000240007–SURF 17061BP000000011) funded by POR Campania FESR 2014–2020 "Technology Platformfor Therapeutic Strategies against Cancer"-Action 1.1.2 and 1.2.2.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

**Citation:** Gallo, C.; Nuzzo, G. Drugs from Marine Sources. *Appl. Sci.* **2021**, *11*, 12115. https://doi.org/10.3390/ app112412115

Received: 9 December 2021 Accepted: 14 December 2021 Published: 20 December 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

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