title: Marine Origin Polysaccharides in Drug Delivery Systems.
abstract: Oceans are a vast source of natural substances. In them, we find various compounds with wide biotechnological and biomedical applicabilities. The exploitation of the sea as a renewable source of biocompounds can have a positive impact on the development of new systems and devices for biomedical applications. Marine polysaccharides are among the most abundant materials in the seas, which contributes to a decrease of the extraction costs, besides their solubility behavior in aqueous solvents and extraction media, and their interaction with other biocompounds. Polysaccharides such as alginate, carrageenan and fucoidan can be extracted from algae, whereas chitosan and hyaluronan can be obtained from animal sources. Most marine polysaccharides have important biological properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and anti-inflammatory activity, as well as adhesive and antimicrobial actions. Moreover, they can be modified in order to allow processing them into various shapes and sizes and may exhibit response dependence to external stimuli, such as pH and temperature. Due to these properties, these biomaterials have been studied as raw material for the construction of carrier devices for drugs, including particles, capsules and hydrogels. The devices are designed to achieve a controlled release of therapeutic agents in an attempt to fight against serious diseases, and to be used in advanced therapies, such as gene delivery or regenerative medicine.
authors: 3B's Research Group-Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Avepark-Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Barco GMR, Portugal. matjcardoso@gmail.com.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associated Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal. matjcardoso@gmail.com.
authors: Matias J
authors: MJ
authors: Cardoso
authors: 3B's Research Group-Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Avepark-Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Barco GMR, Portugal. rui.costa@dep.uminho.pt.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associated Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal. rui.costa@dep.uminho.pt.
authors: Rui R
authors: RR
authors: Costa
authors: 3B's Research Group-Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Avepark-Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, 4805-017 Barco GMR, Portugal. jmano@dep.uminho.pt.|ICVS/3B's, PT Government Associated Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal. jmano@dep.uminho.pt.
authors: João F
authors: JF
authors: Mano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000378:metabolism*; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011134:Polysaccharides
keywords: biomaterials; drug delivery; marine excipients; polysaccharide/drug conjugates; polysaccharides