Marine-Derived Antibiotics

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Novel Antimicrobial Agents".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 828

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Povo-Trento, Italy
Interests: natural product chemistry; structural characterization of secondary metabolites; organic synthesis of bioactive molecules; medicinal chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, I-38123 Povo-Trento, Italy
Interests: medicinal chemistry; structure-based drug design; molecular docking; DFT calculation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metabolites produced by marine organisms still represent a novel resource of unusual bioactive molecules with therapeutic potential, characterized by the chemical and biological diversity of the immeasurable and partially unknown marine environment. Marine secondary metabolites are selected in Nature to reach optimal activity and perform specialized defense functions, including bacterial inhibition. However, the drawback of their scarce amounts prevents a full biological investigation and applications.

Marine natural products can be sources of relevant new antibiotics. Enhancing their biogenetic production and optimizing the isolation and identification procedures are examples of improving their role in medicinal chemistry and drug development.

Furthermore, organic synthesis allows us to provide suitable amounts of the natural antibacterial hits and to produce analogs with a more favorable drug-likeness. Prediction of the physico-chemical properties and docking calculation are decisive in selecting the most promising structures for providing the Nature-inspired antibiotics.

These are just a few strategies to find solutions to the ever-growing global problem of antibiotic resistance.

The proposed Special Issue aims to provide relevant contributions in the form of original research articles, review articles, and short communications that discuss advances in all aspects of these and other approaches.

Prof. Dr. Ines Mancini
Dr. Andrea Defant
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Antibiotics 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

  • marine natural products
  • structural characterization
  • improved production of bioactive secondary metabolites
  • organic synthesis
  • structure–activity relationship (SAR)
  • pathogen bacteria inhibition
  • antibiofilm activity
  • computational analysis
  • drug discovery
  • drug delivery systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 874 KB  
Communication
Screening of 44 Baltic Sea Cyanobacterial Strains for Antibacterial and Quorum Sensing Inhibitory Potential: Selection of Promising Candidates
by Anna Toruńska-Sitarz, Robert Konkel, Agnieszka Ogrodnicka, Hanna Mazur-Marzec, Magdalena Socha and Donata Overlingė
Antibiotics 2026, 15(4), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15040371 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 516
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Cyanobacteria represent a diverse group of microorganisms capable of synthesizing a broad array of biologically active metabolites. Some of these compounds, believed to contribute to the ecological and evolutionary success of cyanobacteria, are increasingly being investigated for potential biomedical and biotechnological applications. [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Cyanobacteria represent a diverse group of microorganisms capable of synthesizing a broad array of biologically active metabolites. Some of these compounds, believed to contribute to the ecological and evolutionary success of cyanobacteria, are increasingly being investigated for potential biomedical and biotechnological applications. They also hold promise in combating the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This screening study aimed to identify Baltic cyanobacterial strains with the potential to produce antibacterial compounds active against streptococci and mycobacteria, as well as quorum sensing inhibitors. Methods/Results: Extracts from forty-four cyanobacterial strains were tested using a broth microdilution assay. The most pronounced activity was observed for extracts derived from two Pseudanabaenaceae strains (KUCC C3 and C4), two Anabaena spp. strains (CCNP 1405 and CCNP 1406), and Aphanizomenon sp. KUCC C1. Inhibition of quorum sensing was the most frequently detected activity, with 30% of the tested extracts inhibiting violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472. Growth inhibition of Gram-positive bacteria was less common: 16% of cyanobacterial strains inhibited Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12344, and 11% inhibited Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 14468. Bioassay-guided fractionation of Aphanizomenon sp. KUCC C1, followed by LC–MS/MS analysis, revealed the presence of glycerolipids and glycolipids, including diacylglycerols (DAGs) and galactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs and DGDGs), as major constituents of fractions exhibiting quorum quenching activity. Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential of Baltic cyanobacteria as a source of natural compounds capable of disrupting bacterial communication and growth, offering prospects for the development of novel antimicrobial and anti-virulence agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Derived Antibiotics)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop