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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
The Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Drug Activation...
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The Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Drug Activation and Effectiveness in Different Biological Systems

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Targeting and Design".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 3949

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonio Vassallo

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Guest Editor
Department of Science, University of Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: drug delivery systems; antioxidants; cosmetic products; cosmetic formulations; nanomaterials and nanotechnologies; natural products; herbal medicine; antioxidant and radical scavenging; analytical chemistry; chromatography-mass spectrometry; bioactive compounds and natural extracts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ioannis Tsamesidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Interests: oxidative stress; laboratory hematology; nanoparticles; stem cells differentiation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Antonella Pantaleo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: oxidative stress biology; hemoglobinopathies; hereditary hemolytic diseases; malaria and drugs; nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Oxidative stress is the result of a disequilibrium in oxidants/antioxidants which results from the continuous increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under stress conditions (inflammation, etc.). Remarkable interest has arisen in the idea that oxidative stress and specific free radicals are able to control drug activation and, in some cases, their effectiveness too. The aim of this Special Issue is to gather the latest studies which explore oxidative stress biomarkers (ROS, RNS, free radicals, antioxidants) in cell interactions (human/animal cells, bacteria, parasites) with potential compounds (drugs/edible oils) alone or encapsulated in nanomaterials (nanodrugs) for different biological applications.

Dr. Antonio Vassallo
Dr. Ioannis Tsamesidis
Dr. Antonella Pantaleo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • reactive oxygen species
  • free radicals (superoxide and hydroxyl radicals)
  • antioxidants
  • nanomaterials (micro-nano particles)
  • drug activation
  • drug delivery
  • in vitro and in vivo studies
  • polymer and lipid systems
  • edible oils

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 11159 KiB  
Article
Tween 80 Micelles Loaded with Fe3O4 Nanoparticles and Artemisinin for Combined Oxygen-Independent Ferroptosis Therapy of Cancer
by Junming Cui, Xinxi Cai, Rui Qian, Lin Wu, Xueyong Qi, Jin Cao and Song Shen
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(5), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16050639 - 9 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1300
Abstract
Artemisinin has an endoperoxide bridge structure, which can be cleaved by ferrous ions to generate various carbonyl radicals in an oxygen-independent manner, highlighting its potential for treating hypoxic tumors. In our study, we fabricated Tween 80 micelles loaded with Fe3O4 [...] Read more.
Artemisinin has an endoperoxide bridge structure, which can be cleaved by ferrous ions to generate various carbonyl radicals in an oxygen-independent manner, highlighting its potential for treating hypoxic tumors. In our study, we fabricated Tween 80 micelles loaded with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and artemisinin for cancer therapy. The synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles and drug-loaded micelles have particle sizes of about 5 nm and 80 nm, respectively, both exhibiting excellent dispersibility and stability. After uptake by MCF-7 cells, drug-loaded micelles release Fe2+ and ART into the cytoplasm, effectively inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in hypoxic conditions, thereby enhancing toxicity against cancer cells. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that ART and Fe3O4 nanoparticles are encapsulated in Tween 80 to form micelles, which effectively prevent premature release during circulation in the body. Although free ART and Fe3O4 nanoparticles can inhibit tumor growth, TW80-Fe3O4-ART micelles demonstrate a more pronounced inhibitory effect, with a tumor suppression rate of up to 85%. A novel strategy based on artemisinin and ferroptosis is thus offered, holding a favorable prospect for hypoxic cancer therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Drug Activation and Effectiveness in Different Biological Systems)
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20 pages, 2550 KiB  
Article
Study of Biological Behavior and Antimicrobial Properties of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles
by Iason Chatzimentor, Ioannis Tsamesidis, Maria-Eleni Ioannou, Georgia K. Pouroutzidou, Anastasia Beketova, Veronica Giourieva, Rigini Papi and Eleana Kontonasaki
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(10), 2509; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15102509 - 23 Oct 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1908
Abstract
(1) Background: An element that has gained much attention in industrial and biomedical fields is Cerium (Ce). CeO2 nanoparticles have been proven to be promising regarding their different biomedical applications for the control of infection and inflammation. The aim of the present [...] Read more.
(1) Background: An element that has gained much attention in industrial and biomedical fields is Cerium (Ce). CeO2 nanoparticles have been proven to be promising regarding their different biomedical applications for the control of infection and inflammation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the biological properties and antimicrobial behavior of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles (NPs). (2) Methods: The investigation of the NPs’ biocompatibility with human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs) was evaluated via the MTT assay. Measurement of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels and alizarine red staining (ARS) were used as markers in the investigation of CeO2 NPs’ capacity to induce the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs. Induced inflammatory stress conditions were applied to hPDLCs with H2O2 to estimate the influence of CeO2 NPs on the viability of cells under these conditions, as well as to reveal any ROS scavenging properties. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of cell lysates with NPs was also investigated. Finally, the macro broth dilution method was the method of choice for checking the antibacterial capacity of CeO2 against the anaerobic pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia. (3) Results: Cell viability assay indicated that hPDLCs increase their proliferation rate in a time-dependent manner in the presence of CeO2 NPs. ALP and ARS measurements showed that CeO2 NPs can promote the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLCs. In addition, the MTT assay and ROS determination demonstrated some interesting results concerning the viability of cells under oxidative stress conditions and, respectively, the capability of NPs to decrease free radical levels over the course of time. Antimicrobial toxicity was observed mainly against P. gingivalis. (4) Conclusions: CeO2 NPs could provide an excellent choice for use in clinical practices as they could prohibit bacterial proliferation and control inflammatory conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Free Radicals and Antioxidants in Drug Activation and Effectiveness in Different Biological Systems)
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