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Sustainable Materials for Healthcare: Green Drug Delivery and Devices

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecular Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 10508

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Roberta Cassano

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Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Interests: drug delivery systems (DDS); biomaterials; multifunctional carriers; micro-and nano-particles; pro-drugs
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Dr. Maria Luisa Di Gioia

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Dipartimento di Farmacia e Scienze della Salute e della Nutrizione, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, Italy
Interests: organic synthesis; peptide synthesis; green chemistry; natural compounds; sustainable chemical processes; green solvents; deep eutectic solvents
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Dr. Sonia Trombino

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Guest Editor

Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, 87036 Cosenza, Italy
Interests: drug delivery systems (DDS); biomaterials; multifunctional carriers; micro- and nano-particles; pro-drugs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The conventional approaches used to synthesize Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) include chemical and physical methods involving the use of unsafe reaction conditions and chemicals dangerous for health care.

These limits can be overcome by resorting to the principles of green chemistry and technological methods able to provide materials, delivery systems and devices to minimize the complications that may arise from their use on humans and the environment. In this regard, it is possible to resort to the use of materials of natural origin and of synthetic processes and solvents compliant with the principles of sustainability. This special issue will focus on the different available green synthetic strategies and on the application of the sustainable materials in drug delivery and bio-sensing.

Prof. Dr. Roberta Cassano
Dr. Maria Luisa Di Gioia
Prof. Dr. Sonia Trombino
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.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

green chemistry
technological methods
drug delivery systems
devices
sustainable chemical processes
health
environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 4393 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ferritin-Coated SPIONs as New Cancer Cell Targeted Magnetic Nanocarrier

by Luisa Affatigato, Mariano Licciardi, Alessandra Bonamore, Annalisa Martorana, Alessio Incocciati, Alberto Boffi and Valeria Militello

Molecules 2023, 28(3), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28031163 - 24 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1461

Abstract

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) may act as an excellent theragnostic tool if properly coated and stabilized in a biological environment, even more, if they have targeting properties towards a specific cellular target. Humanized Archaeoglobus fulgidus Ferritin (HumAfFt) is an engineered ferritin characterized by the peculiar salt-triggered assembly-disassembly of the hyperthermophile Archaeoglobus fulgidus ferritin and is successfully endowed with the human H homopolymer recognition sequence by the transferrin receptor (TfR1 or CD71), overexpressed in many cancer cells in response to the increased demand of iron. For this reason, HumAfFt was successfully used in this study as a coating material for 10 nm SPIONs, in order to produce a new magnetic nanocarrier able to discriminate cancer cells from normal cells and maintain the potential theragnostic properties of SPIONs. HumAfFt-SPIONs were exhaustively characterized in terms of size, morphology, composition, and cytotoxicity. The preferential uptake capacity of cancer cells toward HumAfFt-SPIONs was demonstrated in vitro on human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) versus normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cell lines. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Healthcare: Green Drug Delivery and Devices)

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23 pages, 8656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nanostructured Electrospun Polycaprolactone—Propolis Mats Composed of Different Morphologies for Potential Use in Wound Healing

by Agnes Chacor de Figueiredo, Javier Mauricio Anaya-Mancipe, Aline Oliveira da Silva de Barros, Ralph Santos-Oliveira, Marcos Lopes Dias and Rossana Mara da Silva Moreira Thiré

Molecules 2022, 27(16), 5351; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27165351 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2200

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate different types of morphologies obtained using the electrospinning process to produce a material that enables wound healing while performing a controlled release. Using benign solvents, the authors prepared and characterised electrospun polycaprolactone mats loaded with propolis, a popular extract in traditional medicine with potential for skin repair. Different morphologies were obtained from distinct storage periods of the solution before electrospinning to investigate the effect of PCL hydrolysis (average diameters of fibres and beads: 159.2–280.5 nm and 1.9–5.6 μm, respectively). Phytochemical and FTIR analyses of the extract confirmed propolis composition. GPC and viscosity analyses showed a decrease in polymer molecular weight over the storage period (about a 70% reduction over 14 days) and confirmed that it was responsible for the nanostructure diversity. Moreover, propolis acted as a lubricant agent, affecting the spun solutions’ viscosity and the thermal properties and hydrophilicity of the mats. All samples were within the value range of the water vapour transpiration rate of the commercial products (1263.08 to 2179.84 g/m²·day). Even though the presence of beads did not affect the propolis release pattern, an in vitro wound-healing assay showed that propolis-loaded mats composed of beaded fibres increased the cell migration process. Thus, these films could present the potential for use in wound dressing applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Healthcare: Green Drug Delivery and Devices)

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Review

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32 pages, 2395 KiB

Open AccessReview

Green Chemistry Principles for Nano- and Micro-Sized Hydrogel Synthesis

by Sonia Trombino, Roberta Sole, Maria Luisa Di Gioia, Debora Procopio, Federica Curcio and Roberta Cassano

Molecules 2023, 28(5), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28052107 - 23 Feb 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3727

Abstract

The growing demand for drug carriers and green-technology-based tissue engineering materials has enabled the fabrication of different types of micro- and nano-assemblies. Hydrogels are a type of material that have been extensively investigated in recent decades. Their physical and chemical properties, such as hydrophilicity, resemblance to living systems, swelling ability and modifiability, make them suitable to be exploited for many pharmaceutical and bioengineering applications. This review deals with a brief account of green-manufactured hydrogels, their characteristics, preparations, importance in the field of green biomedical technology and their future perspectives. Only hydrogels based on biopolymers, and primarily on polysaccharides, are considered. Particular attention is given to the processes of extracting such biopolymers from natural sources and the various emerging problems for their processing, such as solubility. Hydrogels are catalogued according to the main biopolymer on which they are based and, for each type, the chemical reactions and the processes that enable their assembly are identified. The economic and environmental sustainability of these processes are commented on. The possibility of large-scale processing in the production of the investigated hydrogels are framed in the context of an economy aimed at waste reduction and resource recycling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Healthcare: Green Drug Delivery and Devices)

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23 pages, 2248 KiB

Open AccessReview

Exosomes as Novel Delivery Systems for Application in Traditional Chinese Medicine

by Qi Chen, Di Wu, Yi Wang and Zhong Chen

Molecules 2022, 27(22), 7789; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27227789 - 12 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2376

Abstract

Exosomes, as gifts of nature derived from various cell types with a size range from ~40 to 160 nm in diameter, have gained attention recently. They are composed of a lipid membrane bilayer structure containing different constituents, such as surface ligands and receptors, from the parental cells. Originating from a variety of sources, exosomes have the ability to participate in a diverse range of biological processes, including the regulation of cellular communication. On account of their ideal native structure and characteristics, exosomes are taken into account as drug delivery systems (DDSs). They can provide profound effects on conveying therapeutic agents with great advantages, including specific targeting, high biocompatibility, and non-toxicity. Further, they can also be considered to ameliorate natural compounds, the main constituents of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which are usually ignored due to the complexity of their structures, poor stability, and unclear mechanisms of action. This review summarizes the classification of exosomes as well as the research progress on exosome-based DDSs for the treatment of different diseases in TCM. Furthermore, this review discusses the advantages and challenges faced by exosomes to contribute to their further investigation and application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Healthcare: Green Drug Delivery and Devices)

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