Macromolecules and Hydrogel Formulations: Synthesis, Characterization, Pharmacological Effects and Possible Environmental Applications
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecules".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2023) | Viewed by 17211
Special Issue Editor
Interests: nanomaterials; dendrimers; macromolecules; hydrogels for biomedical and environmental applications; resins; polymeric drug delivery systems; organic synthesis; antibacterial and/or antitumor cationic macromolecules; solubilizing agents; cationic bola-amphiphiles
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In the last few years, antibiotic resistance and, analogously, anticancer drug resistance have increased considerably, becoming one of the main public health problems needing solutions which can be obtained by finding new therapeutic strategies able to counteract the onset of multi-drug resistance (MDR). Due to several surface similarities between bacteria and cancer cells rather human normal cells, cationic nanosized macromolecules (NPs) mimicking natural antimicrobial peptides (NAMPs) and acting as membrane disruptors have shown potent and selective microbiocidal and anticancer effects and low tendency to develop resistance. Furthermore, water-soluble cationic NPs have proven to be particularly efficient in solubilizing insoluble bioactive small molecules, thus enhancing their bioavailability, activities and promoting their further development as new therapeutic agents. In this context, topical administration and drug delivery via the skin is a convenient and novel approach which allows to avoid first-pass metabolism, thus increasing drug bioavailability. It allows the application of drugs to a large area, avoiding gastro-intestinal irritations caused by the medication and improving patient compliance. In this regard, since only small particles can pass through the skin, NPs are particularly suitable to provide topical formulations. Additionally, cross-linked macromolecules capable of providing gels with intrinsic pharmacological effects or enriched with bioactive molecules by their dispersion in water (hydrogels) have been suggested to overcome the problems associated with conventional topical delivery devices. Hydrogels have gained attention owing to their peculiar characteristics, such as swelling in aqueous media, pH and temperature sensitivity, or sensitivity to other stimuli, biocompatibility, and environmental applicability.
This Special Issue aims to supply a platform for research on the development of new antimicrobial and/or anticancer water-soluble NPs or crosslinked macromolecules, starting from their synthesis to their biological evaluation and/or environmental application, going through their characterization. The simultaneous presence of all these aspects in the same study is not mandatory. We welcome papers with a special focus on the formulation of the bioactive macromolecules as hydrogels for cutaneous uses with low cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells.
Dr. Silvana Alfei
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- (cationic) antibacterial nanoparticles
- (cationic) anticancer nanoparticles
- water-soluble bioactive nanoparticles
- cross-linked materials (resins)
- (cationic) solubilizing macromolecules
- swelling polymers
- hydrogels formulations
- drug delivery systems
- environmental application of resins
- spectroscopic characterization
- rheological experiments
- swelling and porosity characteristics
- water loss studies
- kinetic mathematical models
- multivariate analyses (PCA)
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