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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Decorated and Multifunctional Nanomedicinal Strategies for Infectious Diseases Intervention
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Decorated and Multifunctional Nanomedicinal Strategies for Infectious Diseases Intervention

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 16794

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yahya E. Choonara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
Interests: drug delivery; biomaterials; nanomedicine; computational pharmaceutics; neurotherapeutics; polymers; 3D bioprinting; pharmaceutics; pharmaceutical formulation; targeted drug therapy; ocular drug delivery; colloidal systems; tissue engineering; infectious diseases; oncology; HIV; tuberculosis; STIs; malaria; wound healing; protein/peptide therapeutics; nucleic acid delivery systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Pradeep Kumar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP) Research Unit, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Interests: biomaterials; drug delivery; nanomedicine; stimuli responsive polymers; regenerative medicine; tissue engineering; molecular modelling; translational neuromaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Before the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against infectious diseases such as HIV, TB, and malaria was progressing at a good pace, and we were beginning to effectively manage the HIV pandemic while resources and manpower were being redirected to other infectious diseases such as TB and malaria. Although medical and formulation sciences observed an extensive boost in research funding and public trust during the current pandemic, it was only limited to COVID-19 intervention and this somehow side-tracked the ongoing research in infectious diseases. Looking at the current economic environment, design and development of cost-effective and efficient drug delivery strategies are required for these newly “neglected diseases”.

Functionalized nanosystems have been known to the research community for a long time and are no longer confined to just polymeric nanoparticles or liposomes. Recent advances in this area have led to interesting manipulations of metal, silica, carbon, and other inorganic nanostructures, to obtain highly effective and efficient therapeutic strategies against infectious diseases. It is now urgent that we take lessons from various site-specific cancer treatment strategies to further the research into targeted delivery of bioactive molecules for infectious diseases and reducing the high-dose burden.

The aim of this Special Issue of Pharmaceutics is to collect research and review papers in the areas of targeted nano-strategies for various infectious diseases including, but not limited to, HIV, TB, malaria, and tropical diseases, and including countering the issue of antimicrobial drug resistance. We welcome articles dealing with all aspects of surface functionalization of nanosystems and invite pharmaceutical and materials researchers to publish their original research or review articles with expert opinions and perspectives in the area of infectious diseases therapeutics.

Prof. Dr. Yahya E. Choonara
Dr. Pradeep Kumar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Pharmaceutics 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

  • Functionalized nanosystems
  • Surface decoration
  • Multifunctional polymeric and lipid nanoparticles
  • Inorganic nanoparticles
  • Targeted drug delivery
  • Nano prodrugs
  • Diagnosis, treatment, and prophylaxis
  • Pharmacokinetics modulation
  • Infectious diseases
  • HIV and TB
  • Malaria and tropical diseases
  • Antimicrobial drug resistance

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 15249 KiB  
Article
Expression of Chimeric HPV-HIV Protein L1P18 in Pichia pastoris; Purification and Characterization of the Virus-like Particles
by Yoshiki Eto, Narcís Saubi, Pau Ferrer and Joan Joseph-Munné
Pharmaceutics 2021, 13(11), 1967; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13111967 - 20 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3340
Abstract
Currently, three human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are already licensed and all of them are based on virus-like particles (VLPs) of HPV L1 capsid protein but not worldwide accessible. While about 38.0 million people were living with HIV in 2019, only 68% of HIV-infected [...] Read more.
Currently, three human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are already licensed and all of them are based on virus-like particles (VLPs) of HPV L1 capsid protein but not worldwide accessible. While about 38.0 million people were living with HIV in 2019, only 68% of HIV-infected individuals were accessing antiretroviral therapy as of the end of June 2020 and there is no HIV vaccine yet. Therefore, safe, effective, and affordable vaccines against those two viruses are immediately needed. Both HPV and HIV are sexually transmitted infections and one of the main access routes is the mucosal genital tract. Thus, the development of a combined vaccine that would protect against HPV and HIV infections is a logical effort in the fight against these two major global pathogens. In this study, a recombinant Pichia pastoris producing chimeric HPV-HIV L1P18 protein intracellularly was constructed. After cell disruption, the supernatant was collected, and the VLPs were purified by a combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation, size exclusion chromatography, ultracentrifugation, and ultrafiltration. At the end of purification process, the chimeric VLPs were recovered with 96% purity and 9.23% overall yield, and the morphology of VLPs were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. This work contributes towards the development of an alternative platform for production of a bivalent vaccine against HPV and HIV in P. pastoris. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decorated and Multifunctional Nanomedicinal Strategies for Infectious Diseases Intervention)
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14 pages, 34006 KiB  
Article
Folate Functionalized Lipid Nanoparticles for Targeted Therapy of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
by Kushal Vanamala, Ketki Bhise, Hiram Sanchez, Razieh Kebriaei, Duy Luong, Samaresh Sau, Hosam Abdelhady, Michael J. Rybak, David Andes and Arun K. Iyer
Pharmaceutics 2021, 13(11), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13111791 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3615
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), commonly called a superbug, is a highly alarming antibiotic-resistant population of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Vancomycin (VAN) was first approved by the FDA in 1988, and it is still regarded as the treatment of choice for MRSA. The [...] Read more.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), commonly called a superbug, is a highly alarming antibiotic-resistant population of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Vancomycin (VAN) was first approved by the FDA in 1988, and it is still regarded as the treatment of choice for MRSA. The efficacy of VAN treatment has become less effective due to the development of VAN resistance in MRSA and the potential for nephrotoxicity. This study aims to improve the efficacy of VAN treatment by identifying the folate receptor for MRSA infected tissues and developing folate decorated lipid nanoparticles containing VAN (LVAN). In comparison to conventional VAN, LVAN showed a higher bactericidal effect and a superior ability to inhibit biofilm in MRSA with an enhanced accumulation in MRSA infected thigh tissues and a reduced accumulation in kidney. The results suggested that LVAN is a promising candidate to overcome the current limitations of bacterial resistance and adverse side effects in kidneys found in VAN. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decorated and Multifunctional Nanomedicinal Strategies for Infectious Diseases Intervention)
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Review

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25 pages, 1811 KiB  
Review
Functionalizing Ferritin Nanoparticles for Vaccine Development
by Margarida Q. Rodrigues, Paula M. Alves and António Roldão
Pharmaceutics 2021, 13(10), 1621; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics13101621 - 5 Oct 2021
Cited by 66 | Viewed by 9040
Abstract
In the last decade, the interest in ferritin-based vaccines has been increasing due to their safety and immunogenicity. Candidates against a wide range of pathogens are now on Phase I clinical trials namely for influenza, Epstein-Barr, and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Manufacturing challenges related to [...] Read more.
In the last decade, the interest in ferritin-based vaccines has been increasing due to their safety and immunogenicity. Candidates against a wide range of pathogens are now on Phase I clinical trials namely for influenza, Epstein-Barr, and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Manufacturing challenges related to particle heterogeneity, improper folding of fused antigens, and antigen interference with intersubunit interactions still need to be overcome. In addition, protocols need to be standardized so that the production bioprocess becomes reproducible, allowing ferritin-based therapeutics to become readily available. In this review, the building blocks that enable the formulation of ferritin-based vaccines at an experimental stage, including design, production, and purification are presented. Novel bioengineering strategies of functionalizing ferritin nanoparticles based on modular assembly, allowing the challenges associated with genetic fusion to be circumvented, are discussed. Distinct up/down-stream approaches to produce ferritin-based vaccines and their impact on production yield and vaccine efficacy are compared. Finally, ferritin nanoparticles currently used in vaccine development and clinical trials are summarized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decorated and Multifunctional Nanomedicinal Strategies for Infectious Diseases Intervention)
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