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Structure-Activity Relationships of Marine Natural Product

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Studies on Marine Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 September 2026 | Viewed by 790

Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, and Center for Biodiscovery, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Interests: marine invertebrates; NMR; MS; chromatography
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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Interests: marine microbes; NMR; chromatography; bioactivity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,   

The importance of marine natural product biodiscovery in the identification of new therapeutic lead compounds remains high. Within the logical progression from initial discovery—whether through (meta)genomic profiling of biosynthetic gene clusters or bioassay-guided fractionation of a macro-organism—through biological profiling to full total synthesis, Structure–Activity Relationship (SAR) studies represent a critical step to understanding the molecular basis of the observed bioactivity. In addition, improving solubility, stability, distribution, and other pharmacokinetic properties relies upon a deep understanding of motifs within the lead compound that are critical to its efficacy, and others that tolerate modification. SAR, therefore, plays a vital role in the drug discovery process.

This Special Issue of Marine Drugs focuses on the importance SAR studies play in the potential development of natural products from marine environments, be it in structural studies of isolated or (semi)synthetic compounds, or bioactivity profiling of libraries of related compounds based upon marine-derived scaffolds. Submissions from academic and industrial laboratories are all welcome as we seek to better understand the importance of marine natural products as lead compounds in the fight against various disease states. We look forward to receiving your submissions in due course.

Dr. Rob Keyzers
Guest Editor

Dr. Helen Woolner
Guest Editor Assistant

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-anonymized 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

  • structural diversity
  • synthesis
  • semisynthesis
  • bioactivity
  • QSAR
  • anticancer
  • antibiotic
  • anti-inflammatory
  • antifungal
  • library screening

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 6086 KB  
Article
Bioactive Glycosaminoglycans from Caranx crysos: A Structure–Function Study of Selective Anticoagulant Activity
by Ranim Kroumi, Soumaya Alimi, Fabiana Esposito, Asma Haffouz, Basma Hadjkacem, Angela Casillo, Anissa Haddar, Assaad Sila, Emiliano Bedini and Ali Bougatef
Mar. Drugs 2026, 24(7), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/md24070234 - 3 Jul 2026
Viewed by 535
Abstract
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are the carbohydrate portion of proteoglycans (PGS), a family of complex biomacromolecules ubiquitously found in the extracellular matrix and on cell surfaces that play critical roles in a plethora of physiological and pathological processes. In the present work, chondroitin sulfate (CS) [...] Read more.
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are the carbohydrate portion of proteoglycans (PGS), a family of complex biomacromolecules ubiquitously found in the extracellular matrix and on cell surfaces that play critical roles in a plethora of physiological and pathological processes. In the present work, chondroitin sulfate (CS) and dermatan sulfate (DS) were extracted and purified from the head (GCB) and skin (GDB) of blue runner fish (Caranx crysos) to explore their structural features and biological properties. GCB and GDB were purified by ion-exchange chromatography with yields of 0.82% and 0.61%, respectively. Chemical and structural analysis showed that GCB and GDD demonstrated quite similar sulfation degrees (4.45% and 4.24%, respectively). The molecular weight values obtained for GCB and GDB as estimated by high-performance size exclusion chromatography coupled with a triple detector array (HP-SEC-TDA) were 48.9 and 28.54 KDa, respectively. Structural features were elucidated using FT-IR and 2D NMR spectroscopy. GCB was mainly identified as chondroitin sulfate, containing 82% GlcA and minor proportions of IdoA and IdoA2S (scoring 18% dermatan-like structures). In contrast, GDB was predominantly dermatan sulfate, with a higher unsulfated IdoA content (54%) and a lower GlcA percentage (17%). In vitro anticoagulant activity, evaluated using APTT and PT assays, demonstrated that both GAGs exhibit significant anticoagulant potential. In addition, both fractions exhibited no antiplatelet activity, suggesting that the isolated glycosaminoglycans selectively target the coagulation cascade without affecting platelet aggregation. Furthermore, hemolytic assays confirmed that neither GCB nor GDB showed any hemolytic activity at the tested concentrations. Cytotoxicity assessment in HEK293 and HUVEK cell lines further confirmed the absence of detectable toxicity even at high concentration. Overall, these marine-derived GAGs present promising therapeutic potential as a source of anticoagulant drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure-Activity Relationships of Marine Natural Product)
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