Natural Antimicrobial Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the emergence of microbial and viral infections associated with multidrug-resistant and biofilm-forming microorganisms has become one of the biggest challenges to fight in the medical field. Moreover, of particular concern is that some preservative-resistant bacterial strains isolated from cosmetic products show a degree of cross-resistance with antibiotics.

In addition to resistance, with the growing immunocompromised population due to organ transplant, chemotherapy, and AIDS, the frequency of microbial and viral infections has sharply increased. All the above-mentioned situations together with a limited arsenal of antimicrobial and antiviral drugs and agents encourage the development of new therapeutic approaches to combat microbial and viral infections. Various strategies have been suggested, and one of these involves natural products with antimicrobial properties or that have the ability to enhance the activity of an antibiotic in combination with them. Novel or long-known natural products alone or combined with nanoformulations have consistently offered good prospects for the development and discovery of therapeutics or preservatives over the past decades, and still play an important role in innovation in pharmaceutical and other industries. This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advances and developments associated with nanotechnology and therapeutic benefits related to the use of natural products and/or isolated compounds alone or in association with conventional drugs for microbial infections.

Both in vitro and in vivo studies are encouraged. A detailed chemical analysis of the natural compounds should be presented, as well as their toxicity.

We invite authors who are leading experts in this field to contribute original articles that are not yet published or that are not currently under review by other journals. Review articles which describe the current state of the research on this topic are also welcome. The publication of articles in this Special Issue will provide a forum for researchers to share their recent findings and offer exposure of the published articles to the scientific community, and we will work to promote, integrate, and disseminate them. We hope that this Special Issue will advance knowledge and stimulate new collaborations and new research directions.

We will consider works on topics including but not limited to:

• Natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microorganisms and viruses.
• Natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microbial biofilms.
• Chemical characterization of antimicrobial natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microorganisms.
• Toxicity studies in vitro and/or in vivo.
• Natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microorganisms in association with conventional drugs.
• Elucidation of the mechanism of action of natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microorganisms alone or in combination with conventional drugs.
• Novel nanoformulations for the delivery of natural products and/or isolated compounds active against microorganisms.

Dr. Andreana Marino
Dr. Giovanna Simonetti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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