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Sustainable Approaches for the Biotechnological Development of Marine Microalgae-Derived Products

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 2229

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, Università degli Studi di Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: microalgae; biomass valorization; photobioreactor design; downstream processes; wastewater remediation
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Guest Editor
Department of Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Via F. Acton 55, 80133 Naples, Italy
Interests: microalgae; drug discovery; gene mining; marine biotechnology; transcriptomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,                

The oceans are a vast reservoir of chemical diversity, as evidenced by the countless bioactive compounds produced by the many marine organisms that inhabit them. Among these, microalgae have emerged as particularly promising sources of molecules with significant biological potential, including applications in the treatment of various diseases. Their abundance and renewability make them an attractive and sustainable resource for biotechnological exploration.

To fully exploit the potential of microalgae-derived bioactives, it is necessary to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly extraction and concentrating methods. This involves the use of green, low-toxicity solvents and alternative extraction techniques, such as supercritical CO2 extraction, which minimize environmental impact while maintaining the integrity and efficacy of the active ingredients. Additionally, the formulation of the final product derived from microalgal biomass must also follow sustainable strategies to ensure a minimal ecological footprint.

Therefore, in this Special Issue, we seek high-quality papers, including reviews and articles, focused on implementing and enhancing innovative and environmentally friendly extraction and concentrating methods, together with green strategies for the formulation of bioactive compounds from marine organisms.

Dr. Serena Lima
Dr. Chiara Lauritano
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Marine Drugs 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 bioactive compounds
  • microalgae
  • green solvents
  • sustainable extraction methods
  • sustainable formulations

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1846 KB  
Article
Enhancing Phycoerythrin Production of Marine Red Microalga Porphyridium purpureum with Low Salinity and Semi-Continuous Culture Strategy
by Chulin Li, Houbo Wu, Hualian Wu, Wenzhou Xiang, Jin Xu and Tao Li
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(9), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23090361 - 19 Sep 2025
Viewed by 206
Abstract
Porphyridium purpureum can synthesize a high phycoerythrin content, which has strong potential application in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. An effective culture strategy is the key to producing biomass of P. purpureum rich in phycoerythrin. However, there are still bottlenecks in the large-scale production [...] Read more.
Porphyridium purpureum can synthesize a high phycoerythrin content, which has strong potential application in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. An effective culture strategy is the key to producing biomass of P. purpureum rich in phycoerythrin. However, there are still bottlenecks in the large-scale production of Porphyridium, such as nutrient supplementation and cultivation mode. In this study, P. purpureum SCS-02, isolated from the South China Sea, was used as experimental microalga strain. The effects of different salinity (10, 20 and 34 ppt) and semi-continuous culture on accumulation of biomass and phycoerythrin were investigated. The semi-continuous culture modes include recycled culture medium mode (RM) and fresh culture medium mode (FM). The results showed that low salinity (10 ppt) could enhance the accumulation of phycoerythrin, the content and yield of which were 8.39% DW and 160 mg L−1, respectively. The yield of phycoerythrin of P. purpureum in semi-continuous culture with a 30% renewal rate of fresh culture medium was 253% higher than the batch culture. In summary, the semi-continuous culture strategy with fresh medium renewal under low salinity conditions increased the phycoerythrin yield to 641.47 mg after 30 days of cultivation, while exopolysaccharide accumulation was significantly reduced compared with batch culture. These results provide useful reference for optimizing culture strategies of P. purpureum, and may serve as a basis for future attempts to scale phycoerythrin production under industrially relevant conditions. Full article
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Review

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34 pages, 1252 KB  
Review
Greener Extraction Solutions for Microalgal Compounds
by Gwendoline Kopp and Chiara Lauritano
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(7), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23070269 - 27 Jun 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1781
Abstract
Conventional methods for extracting bioactive compounds from microalgae rely on organic solvents that are both polluting and potentially harmful to human health. In recent years, a noticeable shift has emerged toward greener extraction alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable. This review [...] Read more.
Conventional methods for extracting bioactive compounds from microalgae rely on organic solvents that are both polluting and potentially harmful to human health. In recent years, a noticeable shift has emerged toward greener extraction alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable. This review highlights various green extraction techniques, compounds, and yields obtained from different microalgal species for a range of applications and provides a comparison between the yields of conventional and green extraction methods. Green extraction methods have shown yields that are comparable to, or even exceed, those of conventional techniques, although they are predominantly studied for the extraction of lipids and pigments. This review aims to provide an overview of the current state of green extraction applied to microalgae, and to outline future research perspectives in this emerging field. Full article
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