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Chalcogen Compounds and Vehicle: New Approach for Biomedical Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 1734

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Chemistry, School of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Navarra, Irunlarrea 1, E-31008 Pamplona, Spain
Interests: selenium; cancer; leishmania; medicinal chemistry
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that a lot of organic derivatives present solubility problems, and for this reason many compounds have not been developed due to low bioavailability and solubility and ineffective targeted delivery. Therefore, numerous techniques can be used to solve these problems, including lipid-based drug delivery systems, polymeric nanoparticulate systems, complexation with cyclodextrin, and co-crystal technology to overcome these limitations. On the other hand, chalcogen derivatives exhibited multiple biological and medical properties in different fields such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, leishmania, bacteria, etc. Nowadays, oral administration is preferred over other oral dosage forms for some pathologies. In this context, we propose a Special Issue with reviews and research papers related to chalcogen compounds with biomedical applications and combined with different nanocarrier systems that can improve the medicinal and pharmacokinetic properties.

Prof. Dr. Carmen Sanmartín
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • cancer
  • leishmania
  • bacteria
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • vehicles
  • nanocarriers

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

33 pages, 10641 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Nano-Drug Delivery Strategies for Chalcogen–Based Therapeutic Agents in Cancer Phototherapy
by Subhrakant Jena and Abderrazzak Douhal
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(10), 4819; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26104819 - 17 May 2025
Viewed by 602
Abstract
Chalcogen–containing therapeutic agents (TAs), which include sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te) atoms, have recently emerged as a promising class of photosensitizers (PSs) and photothermal agents (PTAs) for cancer phototherapy. The incorporation of heavier chalcogens into organic chromophores leads to visible–to–near–infrared (VIS–NIR) [...] Read more.
Chalcogen–containing therapeutic agents (TAs), which include sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te) atoms, have recently emerged as a promising class of photosensitizers (PSs) and photothermal agents (PTAs) for cancer phototherapy. The incorporation of heavier chalcogens into organic chromophores leads to visible–to–near–infrared (VIS–NIR) light absorption, efficient triplet harvesting, and adequate heat and energy transfer efficiency, all of which are paramount for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT). However, chalcogen–based PSs/PTAs suffer from photostability, bioavailability, and targeted delivery issues, which minimize their PDT/PTT performances. Nevertheless, significant progress in the rational design of nanoencapsulation strategies has been achieved to overcome the challenges of chalcogen–based TAs for effective phototherapeutic cancer treatment. This review highlights the recent advances (within the last five years) in nano-drug delivery approaches adapted for chalcogen–substituted PSs/PTAs for PDT, PTT, or synergistic PDT/PTT, integrating imaging and treatment. The PSs/PTAs described in this review are classified into three classes: (i) sulfur, (ii) selenium, and (iii) tellurium–containing TAs used in phototherapy applications. This review offers a comprehensive perspective on the design of chalcogen–substituted photosensitizers (PSs) and photothermal agents (PTAs), covering spectroscopic and computational characterization, nanoformulation strategies, and their roles in enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and photothermal conversion efficiency for improved in vitro and in vivo performance. We hope this work will encourage further research into nanotechnological strategies designed to enhance the phototherapeutic efficacy of chalcogen–containing therapeutic agents. Full article
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31 pages, 5653 KiB  
Review
Recent Insights into Bioactive Dichalcogen Derivatives: From Small Molecules to Complex Materials
by Leire Gaviria-Soteras, Arun K. Sharma, Carmen Sanmartín and Daniel Plano
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(6), 2436; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062436 - 8 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 762
Abstract
Organodichalcogenides have been explored due to their therapeutic properties. They have been demonstrated to be active against several diseases such as cancer, bacteria, viruses, parasites, or neurological diseases. Among the different classes of dichalcogenides, disulfide derivatives have been widely studied, and many studies [...] Read more.
Organodichalcogenides have been explored due to their therapeutic properties. They have been demonstrated to be active against several diseases such as cancer, bacteria, viruses, parasites, or neurological diseases. Among the different classes of dichalcogenides, disulfide derivatives have been widely studied, and many studies cover their therapeutical use. For this reason, this review includes the latest studies of diselenides and ditellurides derivatives with biological applications. With this aim, several bioactive small molecules containing the diselenide or ditelluride bond in their structure have been discussed. Furthermore, it should be highlighted that, in recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of nanomaterials for drug delivery due to their therapeutic advantages. In this context, diselenide and ditelluride-containing nanocarriers have emerged as novel approaches. The information compiled in this review includes small molecules and more complex materials containing diselenide or ditelluride bonds in their structure for different therapeutical applications, which could be helpful for the further development of novel drugs for the treatment of different diseases. Full article
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