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Review Papers in Materials Chemistry—2nd Edition

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 392

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials; biomaterials; carbon nanostructures; composite and hybrid materials; biomedical applications of functional materials; therapeutic devices; surface chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: soft matter; liquid crystals; membrane composites; responsive hydrogels; electro-optical properties of nanomaterials; smart polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Materials chemistry is experiencing rapid growth by taking advantage of the recent developments in chemistry, biotechnology, chemical engineering, and physics. The current field is an interdisciplinary environment where the different areas of expertise act synergistically to advance research by creating and manipulating new materials.

This Special Issue aims to collect review papers that cover the more recent developments in the field, providing readers with an understanding of their relevance and contribution to the growth of materials science and technology. Papers can cover studies related to both the synthesis and characterization of organic and inorganic materials, including (but not limited to) biomaterials, nanomaterials, hybrid materials, core-shell materials, thin films, and self-assembling systems.

Dr. Giuseppe Cirillo
Prof. Dr. Fiore P. Nicoletta
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 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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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

  • materials chemistry
  • organic and inorganic materials
  • biomaterials
  • nanomaterials
  • hybrid materials
  • core-shell materials
  • thin films
  • self-assembling systems
  • tailored and unusual properties of materials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

33 pages, 1861 KB  
Review
Chondroitin Sulfate-Based Nanoplatforms: Advances and Challenges for Cancer Therapy
by Ludovica Scorzafave, Marco Fiore, Giuseppe Cirillo, Fiore Pasquale Nicoletta, Francesca Iemma and Manuela Curcio
Molecules 2025, 30(24), 4798; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30244798 - 16 Dec 2025
Viewed by 126
Abstract
Chondroitin sulfate (CS)-based nanoparticles have emerged as versatile and multifunctional platforms for cancer therapy, integrating effective drug delivery with diagnostic capabilities. Their ability to exploit the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect enables selective accumulation within tumor tissues, while surface modification with CS [...] Read more.
Chondroitin sulfate (CS)-based nanoparticles have emerged as versatile and multifunctional platforms for cancer therapy, integrating effective drug delivery with diagnostic capabilities. Their ability to exploit the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect enables selective accumulation within tumor tissues, while surface modification with CS enhances targeting efficiency through strong conformational and electrostatic affinity for CD44 receptors, which are overexpressed in many cancer cells. In addition, CS interacts with E-selectin, providing dual-targeting capabilities superior to those of other polysaccharides such as hyaluronic acid. A wide variety of CS-derived nanostructures—including micelles, nanogels, hybrid liposomes, and CS–drug conjugates—have shown great potential not only in drug delivery but also in advanced therapeutic modalities such as photodynamic, sonodynamic, and immunotherapy. This review discusses recent advances (2020–2025) in CS-based nanoplatforms for cancer therapy, with particular emphasis on the role of CS within nanostructures. It highlights how the functionalization of nanoparticles with CS represents a powerful strategy to improve colloidal stability, pharmacokinetics, and receptor-mediated uptake, thereby enabling controlled, site-specific drug release and reducing off-target toxicity. Ultimately, these advances open new opportunities for cancer treatment, with the potential for bench-to-clinic translation through the integration of AI-guided design, organelle-specific targeting, multi-pathway modulation, and immune system engagement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Review Papers in Materials Chemistry—2nd Edition)
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