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Nanomaterials
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Untargeted versus Targeted Antimicrobial Nanomedicines
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Untargeted versus Targeted Antimicrobial Nanomedicines

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 9466

Special Issue Editors

Prof. M. Teresa P. Amorim

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Guest Editor
Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: biomaterials; nanoparticles; surface functionalization
Dr. Helena Felgueiras

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Textile Science and Technology, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: antimicrobial agents concomitant; synergistic and additive effects surface functionalization; antimicrobial properties; biomedical therapies; bioactive molecules; green synthesis; environmentally friendly; circular economy; waste materials’ second life
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Joana C. Antunes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Interests: bioengineering; nanotechnology; biomaterials; polymer processing; controlled drug delivery; targeted delivery; tissue regeneration; antimicrobial strategies; bioactive molecules
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Depending on the pathogen (e.g., a disease-causing bacterium, a virus or another microorganism), communicable diseases have reached, or threaten to reach, epidemic proportions, with high mortality rates, and financial and societal costs. Infection initiation, and endurance, is encouraged by immunosuppressive factors (e.g., diabetic wounds, age) and/or development of persistent microbial infections. Multiple antimicrobial (AM) treatments exist, but microbial resistance to therapeutics leads to host unresponsiveness to the bioactive agents and inability to fight the infection. Multiple AM compounds (e.g., AM peptides, enzymes, inorganic nanoparticles, plant extracts, polymers) and innovative drug delivery systems (e.g., targeted nanoparticle (NP)-mediated therapies, for quick and efficient bioactivity, using low doses and avoiding off-target effects) are gathering value as potential alternatives, or adjuvants, to the traditional treatment modalities. This Special Issue intends to decipher the importance of cell-specific targeting (pathogens or immune cells) via NP-based approaches to effectively treat an infectious disease. Original articles, reviews, short communications, and letters will be considered for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. M. Teresa P. Amorim
Dr. Helena P. Felgueiras
Dr. Joana C. Antunes
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

  • antimicrobial
  • nanoparticles
  • targeted delivery
  • infectious diseases

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 9631 KiB  
Article
Curcumin and Silver Doping Enhance the Spinnability and Antibacterial Activity of Melt-Electrospun Polybutylene Succinate Fibers
by Maike-Elisa Ostheller, Abdelrahman M. Abdelgawad, Naveen Kumar Balakrishnan, Ahmed H. Hassanin, Robert Groten and Gunnar Seide
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(2), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12020283 - 17 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2803
Abstract
Melt electrospinning is a polymer processing technology for the manufacture of microfibers and nanofibers. Additives are required to reduce the melt viscosity and increase its conductivity in order to minimize the fiber diameter, and can also impart additional beneficial properties. We investigated the [...] Read more.
Melt electrospinning is a polymer processing technology for the manufacture of microfibers and nanofibers. Additives are required to reduce the melt viscosity and increase its conductivity in order to minimize the fiber diameter, and can also impart additional beneficial properties. We investigated the preparation of polybutylene succinate (PBS) microfibers incorporating different weight percentages of two multifunctional additives (the organic dye curcumin and inorganic silver nanoparticles) using a single-nozzle laboratory-scale device. We determined the influence of these additives on the polymer melt viscosity, electrical conductivity, degradation profile, thermal behavior, fiber diameter, and antibacterial activity. The formation of a Taylor cone followed by continuous fiber deposition was observed for compounds containing up to 3% (w/w) silver nanoparticles and up to 10% (w/w) curcumin, the latter achieving the minimum average fiber diameter of 12.57 µm. Both additives reduced the viscosity and increased the electrical conductivity of the PBS melt, and also retained their specific antibacterial properties when compounded and spun into fibers. This is the first report describing the effect of curcumin and silver nanoparticles on the properties of PBS fibers manufactured using a single-nozzle melt-electrospinning device. Our results provide the basis to develop environmentally benign antibacterial melt-electrospun PBS fibers for biomedical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Untargeted versus Targeted Antimicrobial Nanomedicines)
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18 pages, 3093 KiB  
Article
A Machine Learning Tool to Predict the Antibacterial Capacity of Nanoparticles
by Mahsa Mirzaei, Irini Furxhi, Finbarr Murphy and Martin Mullins
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(7), 1774; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071774 - 7 Jul 2021
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 5636
Abstract
The emergence and rapid spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria strains are a public health concern. This emergence is caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics leading to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains. Nanoparticles (NPs) are objects with all three external dimensions in the [...] Read more.
The emergence and rapid spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria strains are a public health concern. This emergence is caused by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics leading to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains. Nanoparticles (NPs) are objects with all three external dimensions in the nanoscale that varies from 1 to 100 nm. Research on NPs with enhanced antimicrobial activity as alternatives to antibiotics has grown due to the increased incidence of nosocomial and community acquired infections caused by pathogens. Machine learning (ML) tools have been used in the field of nanoinformatics with promising results. As a consequence of evident achievements on a wide range of predictive tasks, ML techniques are attracting significant interest across a variety of stakeholders. In this article, we present an ML tool that successfully predicts the antibacterial capacity of NPs while the model’s validation demonstrates encouraging results (R2 = 0.78). The data were compiled after a literature review of 60 articles and consist of key physico-chemical (p-chem) properties and experimental conditions (exposure variables and bacterial clustering) from in vitro studies. Following data homogenization and pre-processing, we trained various regression algorithms and we validated them using diverse performance metrics. Finally, an important attribute evaluation, which ranks the attributes that are most important in predicting the outcome, was performed. The attribute importance revealed that NP core size, the exposure dose, and the species of bacterium are key variables in predicting the antibacterial effect of NPs. This tool assists various stakeholders and scientists in predicting the antibacterial effects of NPs based on their p-chem properties and diverse exposure settings. This concept also aids the safe-by-design paradigm by incorporating functionality tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Untargeted versus Targeted Antimicrobial Nanomedicines)
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Review

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25 pages, 1470 KiB  
Review
Drug Targeting of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases by Biomolecules
by Joana Costa Antunes, Catarina Leal Seabra, Joana Margarida Domingues, Marta Oliveira Teixeira, Cláudia Nunes, Sofia Antunes Costa-Lima, Natália Cândido Homem, Salette Reis, Maria Teresa Pessoa Amorim and Helena Prado Felgueiras
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(8), 2035; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11082035 - 10 Aug 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4639
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of disabling, destructive and incurable immune-mediated inflammatory diseases comprising Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), disorders that are highly prevalent worldwide and demand a large investment in healthcare. A persistent inflammatory state enables the dysfunction [...] Read more.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of disabling, destructive and incurable immune-mediated inflammatory diseases comprising Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), disorders that are highly prevalent worldwide and demand a large investment in healthcare. A persistent inflammatory state enables the dysfunction and destruction of healthy tissue, hindering the initiation and endurance of wound healing. Current treatments are ineffective at counteracting disease progression. Further, increased risk of serious side effects, other comorbidities and/or opportunistic infections highlight the need for effective treatment options. Gut microbiota, the key to preserving a healthy state, may, alternatively, increase a patient’s susceptibility to IBD onset and development given a relevant bacterial dysbiosis. Hence, the main goal of this review is to showcase the main conventional and emerging therapies for IBD, including microbiota-inspired untargeted and targeted approaches (such as phage therapy) to infection control. Special recognition is given to existing targeted strategies with biologics (via monoclonal antibodies, small molecules and nucleic acids) and stimuli-responsive (pH-, enzyme- and reactive oxygen species-triggered release), polymer-based nanomedicine that is specifically directed towards the regulation of inflammation overload (with some nanosystems additionally functionalized with carbohydrates or peptides directed towards M1-macrophages). The overall goal is to restore gut balance and decrease IBD’s societal impact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Untargeted versus Targeted Antimicrobial Nanomedicines)
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