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Surface Active Molecules in Bio-Medical Applications
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Surface Active Molecules in Bio-Medical Applications

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2023) | Viewed by 6192

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Emilia Fisicaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parma, Italy
Interests: thermodynamics of aggregated systems for biomedical applications; molecular and functional studies of new biologically active molecules; equilibria in solution applied to biomedical field; statistical thermodynamic model for the interpretation of hydrophobic effect

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that surface active molecules have extensive application in every aspect of our lives, many of them being related to the biological, pharmaceutical, and medical fields. In the bio-medical field we can distinguish between endogenous and exogenous surfactants. For instance, pulmonary surfactants deficiency has been recognized as determining the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), the most common cause of respiratory failure in preterm infants, and the bile salts, steroidal anionic surfactants, act mainly as emulsifiers of dietary fats and play an essential role in cholesterol homeostasis. For exogenous surfactants, gene and drug delivery, antiviral and antimicrobial activity, and immunology are some of the main research areas. In this field, the pandemic emergency caused by the worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 has stressed the relevance of optimizing nonviral vectors (mainly cationic surfactants) due to the possibility to fight the virus by genetic immunization. In consideration of the above, the proposed subject for the Special Issue is certainly a hot topic.

Prof. Dr. Emilia Fisicaro
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

  • endogenous surfactants
  • gene and drug delivery
  • non-viral vectors for gene delivery
  • pulmonary surfactants
  • bile salts
  • biosurfactants

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4665 KiB  
Article
Congo Red as a Supramolecular Carrier System for Doxorubicin: An Approach to Understanding the Mechanism of Action
by Klaudia Kwiecińska, Anna Stachowicz-Kuśnierz, Beata Korchowiec, Maciej Roman, Wojciech M. Kwiatek, Anna Jagusiak, Irena Roterman and Jacek Korchowiec
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(16), 8935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23168935 - 11 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1688
Abstract
The uptake and distribution of doxorubicin in the MCF7 line of breast-cancer cells were monitored by Raman measurements. It was demonstrated that bioavailability of doxorubicin can be significantly enhanced by applying Congo red. To understand the mechanism of doxorubicin delivery by Congo red [...] Read more.
The uptake and distribution of doxorubicin in the MCF7 line of breast-cancer cells were monitored by Raman measurements. It was demonstrated that bioavailability of doxorubicin can be significantly enhanced by applying Congo red. To understand the mechanism of doxorubicin delivery by Congo red supramolecular carriers, additional monolayer measurements and molecular dynamics simulations on model membranes were undertaken. Acting as molecular scissors, Congo red particles cut doxorubicin aggregates and incorporated them into small-sized Congo red clusters. The mixed doxorubicin/Congo red clusters were adsorbed to the hydrophilic part of the model membrane. Such behavior promoted transfer through the membrane. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Active Molecules in Bio-Medical Applications)
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15 pages, 10808 KiB  
Article
The Molecular Bases of the Interaction between a Saponin from the Roots of Gypsophila paniculata L. and Model Lipid Membranes
by Beata Korchowiec, Jacek Korchowiec, Klaudia Kwiecińska, Reneta Gevrenova, Sabine Bouguet-Bonnet, Cheng Deng, Max Henry and Ewa Rogalska
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(6), 3397; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23063397 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1984
Abstract
In view of the possible medical applications of saponins, the molecular structure of a GOTCAB saponin from the roots of Gypsophila paniculata L. was determined by NMR. The biological activity of saponins may depend on the interaction with cell membranes. To obtain more [...] Read more.
In view of the possible medical applications of saponins, the molecular structure of a GOTCAB saponin from the roots of Gypsophila paniculata L. was determined by NMR. The biological activity of saponins may depend on the interaction with cell membranes. To obtain more insight in the mechanism of membrane-related saponin function, an experimental and theoretical study was conducted. Ternary lipid systems composed of sphingomyelin, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and cholesterol were used as models of mammalian cell membranes. The membrane–saponin interaction was studied experimentally by monitoring surface pressure in the monomolecular films formed at the air–aqueous subphase interface. The behavior of GOTCAB saponin in a water box and model monolayer systems was characterized by molecular dynamics simulations. The results obtained showed that, in the systems used, cholesterol had a decisive effect on the interaction between GOTCAB and phosphocholine or sphingomyelin as well as on its location within the lipid film. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Active Molecules in Bio-Medical Applications)
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17 pages, 2900 KiB  
Article
Gene-Delivery Ability of New Hydrogenated and Partially Fluorinated Gemini bispyridinium Surfactants with Six Methylene Spacers
by Michele Massa, Mirko Rivara, Gaetano Donofrio, Luigi Cristofolini, Erica Peracchia, Carlotta Compari, Franco Bacciottini, Davide Orsi, Valentina Franceschi and Emilia Fisicaro
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(6), 3062; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23063062 - 11 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1858
Abstract
The pandemic emergency determined by the spreading worldwide of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has focused the scientific and economic efforts of the pharmaceutical industry and governments on the possibility to fight the virus by genetic immunization. The genetic material must be delivered inside the [...] Read more.
The pandemic emergency determined by the spreading worldwide of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has focused the scientific and economic efforts of the pharmaceutical industry and governments on the possibility to fight the virus by genetic immunization. The genetic material must be delivered inside the cells by means of vectors. Due to the risk of adverse or immunogenic reaction or replication connected with the more efficient viral vectors, non-viral vectors are in many cases considered as a preferred strategy for gene delivery into eukaryotic cells. This paper is devoted to the evaluation of the gene delivery ability of new synthesized gemini bis-pyridinium surfactants with six methylene spacers, both hydrogenated and fluorinated, in comparison with compounds with spacers of different lengths, previously studied. Results from MTT proliferation assay, electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA), transient transfection assay tests and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging confirm that pyridinium gemini surfactants could be a valuable tool for gene delivery purposes, but their performance is highly dependent on the spacer length and strictly related to their structure in solution. All the fluorinated compounds are unable to transfect RD-4 cells, if used alone, but they are all able to deliver a plasmid carrying an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression cassette, when co-formulated with 1,2-dioleyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE) in a 1:2 ratio. The fluorinated compounds with spacers formed by six (FGP6) and eight carbon atoms (FGP8) give rise to a very interesting gene delivery activity, greater to that of the commercial reagent, when formulated with DOPE. The hydrogenated compound GP16_6 is unable to sufficiently compact the DNA, as shown by AFM images. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surface Active Molecules in Bio-Medical Applications)
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