Emerging Pharmaceutical Strategies against Infectious Diseases

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2024) | Viewed by 3534

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Departament of Pharmacy, School of Health Science, Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, C/Ramón y Cajal s/n, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain
Interests: neglected diseases; infectious diseases; new drugs against infectious diseases
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Infectious diseases persist as a global health challenge, constantly presenting new hurdles for effective treatment. This Special Issue seeks to showcase pioneering research on drug delivery systems, targeted therapies, and novel formulations combating diverse infectious agents.

We welcome contributions that underscore the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as nanomedicine, immunotherapy, and personalized drug design to tackle the evolving complexities of infectious diseases. Researchers are encouraged to offer insights into the challenges and prospects of developing effective antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agents. Join us in shaping the trajectory of pharmaceutical interventions in the battle against infectious diseases. Submit your contributions to this Special Issue and play a pivotal role in advancing this critical field.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. M. Auxiliadora Dea-Ayuela
Dr. Dolores Remedios Serrano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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 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

  • antibiotic activity
  • antibacterial activity
  • antifungal activity
  • antiviral activity
  • antimicrobial drug development
  • vaccine innovation
  • host-targeted therapies
  • precision medicine in infectious diseases
  • nanotechnology in antimicrobial therapeutics
  • drug delivery for infections

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4371 KiB  
Article
Antibiotic Loaded Phytosomes as a Way to Develop Innovative Lipid Formulations of Polyene Macrolides
by Svetlana S. Efimova and Olga S. Ostroumova
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(5), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16050665 - 16 May 2024
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Abstract
Background: The threat of antibiotic resistance of fungal pathogens and the high toxicity of the most effective drugs, polyene macrolides, force us to look for new ways to develop innovative antifungal formulations. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how the [...] Read more.
Background: The threat of antibiotic resistance of fungal pathogens and the high toxicity of the most effective drugs, polyene macrolides, force us to look for new ways to develop innovative antifungal formulations. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how the sterol, phospholipid, and flavonoid composition of liposomal forms of polyene antibiotics, and in particular, amphotericin B (AmB), affects their ability to increase the permeability of lipid bilayers that mimic the membranes of mammalian and fungal cells. Methods: To monitor the membrane permeability induced by various polyene-based lipid formulations, a calcein leakage assay and the electrophysiological technique based on planar lipid bilayers were used. Key results: The replacement of cholesterol with its biosynthetic precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol, led to a decrease in the ability of AmB-loaded liposomes to permeabilize lipid bilayers mimicking mammalian cell membranes. The inclusion of plant flavonoid phloretin in AmB-loaded liposomes increased the ability of the formulation to disengage a fluorescent marker from lipid vesicles mimicking the membranes of target fungi. IV characteristics of the fungal-like lipid bilayers treated with the AmB phytosomes were symmetric, demonstrating the functioning of double-length AmB pores and assuming a decrease in the antibiotic threshold concentration. Conclusions and Perspectives: The therapeutic window of polyene lipid formulations might be expanded by varying their sterol composition. Polyene-loaded phytosomes might be considered as the prototypes for innovative lipid antibiotic formulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pharmaceutical Strategies against Infectious Diseases)
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14 pages, 3576 KiB  
Article
Influenza Virus Inactivated by Heavy Ion Beam Irradiation Stimulates Antigen-Specific Immune Responses
by Kai Schulze, Ulrich Weber, Christoph Schuy, Marco Durante and Carlos Alberto Guzmán
Pharmaceutics 2024, 16(4), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics16040465 - 27 Mar 2024
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the need for effective and rapid vaccine development methods. Conventional inactivated virus vaccines, together with new technologies like vector and mRNA vaccines, were the first to be rolled out. However, the traditional methods used for virus inactivation [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the need for effective and rapid vaccine development methods. Conventional inactivated virus vaccines, together with new technologies like vector and mRNA vaccines, were the first to be rolled out. However, the traditional methods used for virus inactivation can affect surface-exposed antigen, thereby reducing vaccine efficacy. Gamma rays have been used in the past to inactivate viruses. We recently proposed that high-energy heavy ions may be more suitable as an inactivation method because they increase the damage ratio between the viral nucleic acid and surface proteins. Here, we demonstrate that irradiation of the influenza virus using heavy ion beams constitutes a suitable method to develop effective vaccines, since immunization of mice by the intranasal route with the inactivated virus resulted in the stimulation of strong antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Pharmaceutical Strategies against Infectious Diseases)
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