authors |
Nunes, C; Coimbra, MA |
nationality |
International |
journal |
CURRENT MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY |
author keywords |
Fucans; fucoidans; antitumoral; structural characteristics; delivery devices; tissue engineering |
keywords |
IRON-OXIDE NANOPARTICLES; BROWN-ALGAE; IN-VITRO; SURFACE MODIFICATION; STRUCTURAL FEATURES; ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY; FUCOIDAN; CHITOSAN; CANCER; ANTICOAGULANT |
abstract |
Marine environments have a high quantity and diversity of sulfated polysaccharides. In coastal regions brown algae are the most abundant biomass producers and their cell walls have fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides (FCSP), known as fucans and/or fucoidans. These sulfated compounds have been widely researched for their biomedical properties, namely the immunomodulatory, haemostasis, pathogen inhibition, anti-inflammatory capacity, and antitumoral. These activities are probably due to their ability to mimic the carbohydrate moieties of mammalian glycosaminoglycans. Therefore, the FCSP are interesting compounds for application in health-related subjects, mainly for developing scaffolds for delivery systems or tissue regeneration. FCSP showed potential for these applications also due to their ability to form stable 3D structures with other polymers able to entrap therapeutic agents or cell and growth factors, besides their biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, for the clinical use of these biopolymers well-defined reproducible molecules are required in order to accurately establish relationships between structural features and human health applications. |
publisher |
BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBL LTD |
issn |
0929-8673 |
isbn |
1875-533X |
year published |
2019 |
volume |
26 |
issue |
35 |
beginning page |
6399 |
ending page |
6411 |
digital object identifier (doi) |
10.2174/0929867326666181213093718 |
web of science category |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Chemistry, Medicinal; Pharmacology & Pharmacy |
subject category |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Pharmacology & Pharmacy |
unique article identifier |
WOS:000502614500004
|