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Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Nanotechnologies and Natural Compounds: Current Trends and Applications
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Nanotechnologies and Natural Compounds: Current Trends and Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8064

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Carla Caddeo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
Interests: drug delivery nanosystems for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and nutraceutical applications: design, optimization, preparation, and characterization; dermal/transdermal drug delivery; intestinal drug delivery; oral drug delivery; delivery of bioactive natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Claudia Carbone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
2. NANOMED-Research Centre on Nanomedicine and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Interests: drug delivery; nanomedicine; nutraceuticals; pharmaceutical technology; natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The development of new drug therapies remains time-consuming and costly. Hence, new strategies, approaches, and technologies are needed for safe and effective therapies. A large number of untapped and potentially therapeutic molecules with reduced side effects can be provided by traditional herbal medicines and diet. Over the last decade, natural compounds have been the focus of renewed interest in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical research areas, due to their wide array of health-promoting effects, coupled with safety profile and natural origin.

However, despite their health-promoting properties, natural compounds generally have weak bioavailability due to low water solubility, poor absorption, and rapid metabolism. These problems can be tackled using drug delivery approaches based on nanotechnologies, which can enhance bioavailability and, thus, therapeutic efficacy. Indeed, nanosystems, such as liposomes, polymeric or lipid nanoparticles, nanofibers, etc., can provide cargo protection, modified pharmacokinetics and distribution, increased dose delivery to target sites, enhanced drug transport through biological membranes, and prolonged or controlled drug release, through different administration routes.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of original research papers, communications, and reviews that present an overview of the current trends and applications of nanotechnologies for the exploitation of the therapeutic potential of natural compounds.

Prof. Dr. Carla Caddeo
Prof. Dr. Claudia Carbone
Guest Editors

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. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • natural compounds
  • herbal medicines
  • health-promoting properties
  • vesicular systems
  • nanoparticles
  • nanoemulsions
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2555 KiB  
Article
Encapsulation of Olive Leaf Polyphenol-Rich Extract in Polymeric Micelles to Improve Its Intestinal Permeability
by Maria Camilla Bergonzi, Chiara De Stefani, Marzia Vasarri, Emilija Ivanova Stojcheva, Alba María Ramos-Pineda, Francesco Baldi, Anna Rita Bilia and Donatella Degl’Innocenti
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(24), 3147; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13243147 - 15 Dec 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1430
Abstract
In the present study, polymeric micelles were developed to improve the intestinal permeability of an extract of Olea europaea L. leaf with a high content of total polyphenols (49% w/w), with 41% w/w corresponding to the oleuropein amount. [...] Read more.
In the present study, polymeric micelles were developed to improve the intestinal permeability of an extract of Olea europaea L. leaf with a high content of total polyphenols (49% w/w), with 41% w/w corresponding to the oleuropein amount. A pre-formulation study was conducted to obtain a stable formulation with a high loading capacity for extract. The freeze-drying process was considered to improve the stability of the formulation during storage. Micelles were characterized in terms of physical and chemical properties, encapsulation efficiency, stability, and in vitro release. The optimized system consisted of 15 mg/mL of extract, 20 mg/mL of Pluronic L121, 20 mg/mL of Pluronic F68, and 10 mg/mL of D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS), with dimensions of 14.21 ± 0.14 nm, a polydisersity index (PdI) of 0.19 ± 0.05 and an encapsulation efficiency of 66.21 ± 1.11%. The influence of the micelles on polyphenol permeability was evaluated using both Parallel Artificial Membrane Permeability Assay (PAMPA) and the Caco-2 cell monolayer. In both assays, the polymeric micelles improved the permeation of polyphenols, as demonstrated by the increase in Pe and Papp values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnologies and Natural Compounds: Current Trends and Applications)
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11 pages, 1205 KiB  
Article
Tempranillo Grape Extract in Transfersomes: A Nanoproduct with Antioxidant Activity
by Carlos Asensio-Regalado, Rosa María Alonso-Salces, Blanca Gallo, Luis A. Berrueta, Benedetta Era, Francesca Pintus and Carla Caddeo
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(5), 746; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12050746 - 23 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2292
Abstract
Polyphenols are gaining increasing interest due to their beneficial properties to human health. Grape pomace, the by-product of wine production, is a source of these bioactive compounds. An extract from Tempranillo grape pomace was obtained and characterized qualitatively and quantitatively. The major components [...] Read more.
Polyphenols are gaining increasing interest due to their beneficial properties to human health. Grape pomace, the by-product of wine production, is a source of these bioactive compounds. An extract from Tempranillo grape pomace was obtained and characterized qualitatively and quantitatively. The major components found were anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols, and flavonols. To improve the bioavailability of these compounds, the extract was formulated in phospholipid vesicles, namely transfersomes. Spherical unilamellar vesicles around 100 nm each were obtained. The antioxidant activity of both the extract and the transfersomes was evaluated by using colorimetric assays (i.e., DPPH, FRAP, and Folin–Ciocalteu). The cells’ viability and the antioxidant activity were assessed in keratinocytes. The results showed that the extract and the transfersomes had no cytotoxic effects and exerted remarkable antioxidant activity, which was more evident in a vesicle formulation. These findings highlighted the potential of the Tempranillo grape pomace extract and the efficacy of the incorporation into phospholipid vesicles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnologies and Natural Compounds: Current Trends and Applications)
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13 pages, 1861 KiB  
Article
Treatment with Argovit® Silver Nanoparticles Induces Differentiated Postharvest Biosynthesis of Compounds with Pharmaceutical Interest in Carrot (Daucus carota L.)
by Laura Sofia Santoscoy-Berber, Marilena Antunes-Ricardo, Melissa Zulahi Gallegos-Granados, Juan Carlos García-Ramos, Alexey Pestryakov, Yanis Toledano-Magaña, Nina Bogdanchikova and Rocio Alejandra Chavez-Santoscoy
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(11), 3148; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11113148 - 22 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3224
Abstract
The global market for plant-derived bioactive compounds is growing significantly. The use of plant secondary metabolites has been reported to be used for the prevention of chronic diseases. Silver nanoparticles were used to analyze the content of enhancement phenolic compounds in carrots. Carrot [...] Read more.
The global market for plant-derived bioactive compounds is growing significantly. The use of plant secondary metabolites has been reported to be used for the prevention of chronic diseases. Silver nanoparticles were used to analyze the content of enhancement phenolic compounds in carrots. Carrot samples were immersed in different concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 mg/L) of each of five types of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for 3 min. Spectrophotometric methods measured the total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant capacity. The individual phenolic compounds were quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and identified by –mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). The five types of AgNPs could significantly increase the antioxidant capacity of carrots’ tissue in a dose-dependent manner. An amount of 20 mg/L of type 2 and 5 silver nanoparticle formulations increased the antioxidant capacity 3.3-fold and 4.1-fold, respectively. The phenolic compounds that significantly increased their content after the AgNP treatment were chlorogenic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, and 5′-caffeoylquinic acid. The increment of each compound depended on the dose and the type of the used AgNPs. The exogenous application of Argovit® AgNPs works like controlled abiotic stress and produces high-value secondary bioactive compounds in carrot. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnologies and Natural Compounds: Current Trends and Applications)
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