Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector

The ocean is an extraordinary natural source of a wide range of bioactive compounds. These compounds, including proteins, phenolics, polysaccharides, pigments, vitamins, and fatty acids, possess unique biological properties that are increasingly being explored in the field of nanotechnology across d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Laura M. Teixeira, Catarina P. Reis, Rita Pacheco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Marine Drugs
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/23/5/207
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849327162026360832
author Laura M. Teixeira
Catarina P. Reis
Rita Pacheco
author_facet Laura M. Teixeira
Catarina P. Reis
Rita Pacheco
author_sort Laura M. Teixeira
collection DOAJ
description The ocean is an extraordinary natural source of a wide range of bioactive compounds. These compounds, including proteins, phenolics, polysaccharides, pigments, vitamins, and fatty acids, possess unique biological properties that are increasingly being explored in the field of nanotechnology across diverse sectors. Among marine-derived nanoparticles, promising applications have emerged in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields, particularly metallic nanoparticles and polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems. This review provides a unique perspective on the integration of two research areas: the exploration of marine bioresources as bioactive compounds sources with nanotechnological methodologies to develop sustainable, safe, stable and functional marine-derived NPs. It highlights recent advancements in the green synthesis of MNPs and the formulation of drug delivery systems using marine polysaccharides. This review also describes the recent trends over the past ten years and discusses the major challenges and limitations associated with these approaches, including variability in biological sources, batch-to-batch inconsistency, mechanistic uncertainties, and difficulties in reproducibility and scalability. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for standardized protocols and the integration of life cycle assessments (LCA) to evaluate environmental and economic viability for effective translating marine-derives nanoparticles from research to clinical applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-82dbb412f4904a86a6b35ba9c6f1bb0c
institution Kabale University
issn 1660-3397
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Marine Drugs
spelling doaj-art-82dbb412f4904a86a6b35ba9c6f1bb0c2025-08-20T03:47:57ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972025-05-0123520710.3390/md23050207Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical SectorLaura M. Teixeira0Catarina P. Reis1Rita Pacheco2Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalInstitute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-003 Lisboa, PortugalCentro de Química Estrutural, Institute of Molecular Sciences, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalThe ocean is an extraordinary natural source of a wide range of bioactive compounds. These compounds, including proteins, phenolics, polysaccharides, pigments, vitamins, and fatty acids, possess unique biological properties that are increasingly being explored in the field of nanotechnology across diverse sectors. Among marine-derived nanoparticles, promising applications have emerged in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields, particularly metallic nanoparticles and polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems. This review provides a unique perspective on the integration of two research areas: the exploration of marine bioresources as bioactive compounds sources with nanotechnological methodologies to develop sustainable, safe, stable and functional marine-derived NPs. It highlights recent advancements in the green synthesis of MNPs and the formulation of drug delivery systems using marine polysaccharides. This review also describes the recent trends over the past ten years and discusses the major challenges and limitations associated with these approaches, including variability in biological sources, batch-to-batch inconsistency, mechanistic uncertainties, and difficulties in reproducibility and scalability. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for standardized protocols and the integration of life cycle assessments (LCA) to evaluate environmental and economic viability for effective translating marine-derives nanoparticles from research to clinical applications.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/23/5/207marine bioactive compoundsnanoparticlesgreen synthesismarine polysaccharidesdrug delivery systems
spellingShingle Laura M. Teixeira
Catarina P. Reis
Rita Pacheco
Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
Marine Drugs
marine bioactive compounds
nanoparticles
green synthesis
marine polysaccharides
drug delivery systems
title Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
title_full Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
title_fullStr Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
title_full_unstemmed Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
title_short Marine-Derived Compounds Combined with Nanoparticles: A Focus on the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sector
title_sort marine derived compounds combined with nanoparticles a focus on the biomedical and pharmaceutical sector
topic marine bioactive compounds
nanoparticles
green synthesis
marine polysaccharides
drug delivery systems
url https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/23/5/207
work_keys_str_mv AT lauramteixeira marinederivedcompoundscombinedwithnanoparticlesafocusonthebiomedicalandpharmaceuticalsector
AT catarinapreis marinederivedcompoundscombinedwithnanoparticlesafocusonthebiomedicalandpharmaceuticalsector
AT ritapacheco marinederivedcompoundscombinedwithnanoparticlesafocusonthebiomedicalandpharmaceuticalsector