Dear Colleagues,

The marine environment is considered one of the most important sources of natural bioactive compounds with extremely rich biodiversity. Marine glycans are remarkable molecules, playing a determinant role in biological processes. Marine сarbohydrate-containing substances have drawn increasing attention in the field of biomedicine for their various biological activities, such as antioxidant, antitumor, hypoglycemic, immunomodulatory, and anticoagulant. These compounds, obtained from marine sources such as algae, microbes, and animals, are usually biodegradable and biocompatible and exhibit biological properties that contribute to the discovery of a wide range of new bioactive substances with special pharmacological properties of interest to medicine. Carbohydrate-based compounds include glycans, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, glycolipids, and low-molecular and complex glycosides of differential origin. All cells, including human cells, have carbohydrates on their surface, known as the glycocalyx. The glycocalyx is a useful target for personalized medicine, including finding new biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, and for patient stratification in clinical trials. The functional studies of carbohydrates concern molecular recognition such as carbohydrate–lectin or glycoside–enzyme interactions, cell recognition (normal and pathological), viral adhesion/penetration, and many other phenomena. Carbohydrate recognition plays a vital role in the activation and function of the immune system.

Production and applications of marine carbohydrates as therapeutic agents are increasingly important topics of much intensive research. A modern study of carbohydrates includes the development of glycotechnologies in the field of diagnosis and therapy of diseases and nutrients. The interest in the study of marine polysaccharides with therapeutic purposes relies in the possibility of developing novel approaches of less invasive and more personalized treatments. Many of these polysaccharides allow loading lower drug dosages, which may lead to a drastic reduction of the side effects caused by the drugs. In addition, the structure of polysaccharides can be relatively easily modified in order to synthesize derivatives with desirable characteristics for drug delivery. Complexes on the basis of carbohydrates are often prepared to improve their functional properties. This approach allows easily adapting complex characteristics for specific medical applications. Thus, carbohydrate complexes are well-tolerated macro-organism systems and can be used in various fields such as drug delivery systems, matrices for cell cultivation and enzyme immobilization, materials for the reconstruction of bone, cartilage, cardiac, and dental tissues.

In consideration of the success of the Special Issue on “Marine Carbohydrate-Based Compounds with Medicinal Properties” and the relevant interest on this topic, we are pleased to announce the second version of this Special Issue.

We invite researchers to submit reviews and reports of their original recent research that demonstrate or summarize significant advances in the medical use of carbohydrate-containing compounds as well as related biotechnological improvements.

Prof. Dr. Irina M. Yermak
Dr. Viktoria Davydova
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.

• Marine carbohydrates
• Carbohydrate-based compounds
• Сarbohydrate–lectin
• Glycans in diseases and human health
• Glyco-immunology
• Polysaccharide prevention
• Сarbohydrate–protein interaction
• Preclinical and clinical studies
• Carbohydrate-based diagnosis and therapy
• Preclinical and clinical studies
• Carbohydrate for drug delivery

• Marine Carbohydrate-Based Compounds with Medicinal Properties in Marine Drugs (13 articles)