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Carbohydrate Structures in Targeted Drug Delivery

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 8805

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Department of Nursing, University Center Varaždin, University North, Jurja Križanića 31b, HR-42000 Varazdin, Croatia
Interests: organic synthesis; medicinal chemistry; glycoconjugates; glicopeptides; ligand-receptor interactions
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of safe and highly specific systems for targeted drug delivery is extremely important for improvements in drug therapy effectiveness. Different specialized drug carriers and delivery systems for active and passive drug targeting can be used, such as antibody–drug conjugates, liposomes, nanopolymers, and nanoparticles. Great efforts are being made to improve the selectivity of the targeted drug delivery, a complex process in which properties of the drug, drug carrier, and targeting site should be harmonized. Carbohydrates are natural molecules and have versatile roles in many biological events such as cellular communication, enzyme activities, infections, cancer metastases, and immune functions. Prominent advantages of carbohydrates are biodegradability, biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, and highly specific interaction with target receptors on the cell surface. Due to the above-mentioned characteristics, they are used for the preparation of systems for the targeted delivery of drugs, as well as for the sustained release of drugs, immune antigens, and adjuvants. Therefore, research on the role of carbohydrate structures in targeted drug delivery is needed to overcome drug delivery challenges and improve therapeutic outcomes.

This Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Rosana Ribić and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Dr. Rajendra Rohokale, (Guo Research Group, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA).

Dr. Rosana Ribić
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • carbohydrates
  • targeted drug delivery
  • drug–target interactions
  • glycoconjugates
  • glyconanoparticles
  • lipid-based drug delivery systems

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1633 KiB  
Article
Adjuvanted Modified Bacterial Antigens for Single-Dose Vaccines
by Roberta Di Benedetto, Luisa Massai, Mark Wright, Francesca Mancini, Matthew Cleveland, Omar Rossi, Carlo Giannelli, Francesco Berlanda Scorza and Francesca Micoli
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(21), 11461; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252111461 - 25 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1013
Abstract
Alum is the most used vaccine adjuvant, due to its safety, low cost and adjuvanticity to various antigens. However, the mechanism of action of alum is complex and not yet fully understood, and the immune responses elicited can be weak and antigen-dependent. While [...] Read more.
Alum is the most used vaccine adjuvant, due to its safety, low cost and adjuvanticity to various antigens. However, the mechanism of action of alum is complex and not yet fully understood, and the immune responses elicited can be weak and antigen-dependent. While several antigens rapidly desorb from alum upon exposure to serum, phosphorylated proteins remain tightly bound through a ligand-exchange reaction with surface hydroxyls on alum. Here, bacterial proteins and glycoconjugates have been modified with phosphoserines, aiming at enhancing the binding to alum and prolonging their bioavailability. Tetanus toxoid protein and Salmonella Typhi fragmented Vi-CRM conjugate were used. Both antigens rapidly and completely desorbed from alum after incubation with serum, verified via a competitive ELISA assay, and set up to rapidly evaluate in vitro antigen desorption from alum. After antigen modification with phosphoserines, desorption from alum was slowed down, and modified antigens demonstrated more prolonged retention at the injection sites through in vivo optical imaging in mice. Both modified antigens elicited stronger immune responses in mice, after a single injection only, compared to unmodified antigens. A stronger binding to alum could result in potent single-dose vaccine candidates and opens the possibility to design novel carrier proteins for glycoconjugates and improved versions of bacterial recombinant proteins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbohydrate Structures in Targeted Drug Delivery)
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Review

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23 pages, 9695 KiB  
Review
Mannose Ligands for Mannose Receptor Targeting
by Marija Paurević, Martina Šrajer Gajdošik and Rosana Ribić
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(3), 1370; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031370 - 23 Jan 2024
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 7171
Abstract
The mannose receptor (MR, CD 206) is an endocytic receptor primarily expressed by macrophages and dendritic cells, which plays a critical role in both endocytosis and antigen processing and presentation. MR carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) exhibit a high binding affinity for branched and [...] Read more.
The mannose receptor (MR, CD 206) is an endocytic receptor primarily expressed by macrophages and dendritic cells, which plays a critical role in both endocytosis and antigen processing and presentation. MR carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) exhibit a high binding affinity for branched and linear oligosaccharides. Furthermore, multivalent mannose presentation on the various templates like peptides, proteins, polymers, micelles, and dendrimers was proven to be a valuable approach for the selective and efficient delivery of various therapeutically active agents to MR. This review provides a detailed account of the most relevant and recent aspects of the synthesis and application of mannosylated bioactive formulations for MR-mediated delivery in treatments of cancer and other infectious diseases. It further highlights recent findings related to the necessary structural features of the mannose-containing ligands for successful binding to the MR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbohydrate Structures in Targeted Drug Delivery)
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