Summary

The advent of biopharmaceuticals in current medicine brought enormous benefits to the treatment of life-threatening human diseases (e.g., cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders), and improved the well-being of many people worldwide. The global portfolio of these therapeutic products include proteins and antibodies, nucleic acids, and cell-based products, and continues to expand at a rapid pace - approvals in the period 2015-2018 essentially double the typical five-yearly historical approval pace (G. Walsh, Nat. Biotechnol., 36:1136-1145, 2018) -, representing a significant share of the entire market of pharmaceuticals.

Innovation in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry has been driven towards the development of cost-effective manufacturing processes, envisaging the delivery of products in high quantity, with superior quality (purity), and high specificity, with the ultimate goal of benefiting patients. Progress in this direction have resulted from the application of novel technologies in the upstream stage (high-throughput, single-use devices, statistical optimization of media and fermentation conditions, QbD, and continuous processing), while at the downstream level, chromatography has evolved through the development of new resins and ligands, coupled with advances in process modelling, operating and control strategies.

An emerging trend is the application of alternative solvents such as ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents, in which their structure and physicochemical properties can be tuned to address unmet needs in (bio)pharmaceutical research. These compounds may be derived from natural and reneawable sources and hold great promise in the development of efficient, sustainable and cost-effective biopharmaceuticals purification processes.

This Entry Collection aims to provide the latest progresses achieved in pharmaceuticals bioprocessing. We welcome submissions of original research, comprehensive reviews and perspectives, including, but not limited, to the following fields:

- Upstream processing (genetic engineering, systems biology, difficult-to-express proteins, expression conditions, Quality by Design approaches, process analytical technologies);

- Chromatographic purification methods (process modelling and control, continuous bioprocessing, design and characterization of resins and ligands, new formats);

- Alternative purification methods (aqueous biphasic systems, filtration, crystallization, precipitation);

- Application of neoteric solvents in upstream and downstream stages;

- Analytical characterization of biopharmaceuticals (stability, post-translational modifications, biological activity, immunogenicity); 

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Entries
Topic Review
Plant-Derived Metal Nanoparticles
Plant-derived metal nanoparticles (PDMNPs) have gained considerable interest because of their tremendous and remarkable potential as therapeutic agents as well as development of less expensive, safer, and easier biomedical equipment. PDMNPs are synthesized from metal salts or oxides by using plant extracts because plants have diversified bioactive compounds that can act as reducing and stabilizing agents at the time of nanoparticle synthesis. Besides, PDMNPs take advantages over the nanoparticles synthesized by other methods because of their low cost, environmental friendliness, and sustainability. 
  • 640
  • 23 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Epigenetic Regulation in High-Fat Diet related Lung Fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is an interstitial lung disease characterized by the destruction of the pulmonary parenchyma caused by excessive extracellular matrix deposition. Despite the well-known etiological factors such as senescence, aberrant epithelial cell and fibroblast activation, and chronic inflammation, PF has recently been recognized as a metabolic disease and abnormal lipid signature was observed both in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of PF patients and mice PF model. Clinically, observational studies suggest a significant link between high-fat diet (HFD) and PF as manifested by high intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and meat increases the risk of PF and mice lung fibrosis. However, the possible mechanisms between HFD and PF remain unclear. This research emphasizes the diversity effects of the epigenetic dysregulation induced by HFD on the fibrotic factors such as epithelial cell injury, abnormal fibroblast activation and chronic inflammation. The potential ways for patients to improve their conditions and emphasize the prospect of targeted therapy based on epigenetic regulation for scientific researchers or drug developers was discussed here.
  • 449
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Interaction among Substances in Buckwheat Groats
Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) originates in mountain regions of Western China, and is cultivated in China, Bhutan, Northern India, Nepal, and Central Europe. The content of flavonoids in Tartary buckwheat grain and groats is much higher than in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), and depends on ecological conditions, such as UV-B radiation. Buckwheat intake has preventative effects in chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, due to its content of bioactive substances. The main bioactive compounds in Tartary buckwheat groats are flavonoids (rutin and quercetin). There are differences in the bioactivities of buckwheat groats obtained using different husking technologies, based on husking raw or pretreated grain. Husking hydrothermally pretreated grain is among the traditional ways of consuming buckwheat grain in Europe and some parts of China and Japan.
  • 499
  • 15 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Oral Administration for Small Extracellular Vesicles Delivery
Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) have burst into biomedicine as a natural therapeutic alternative for different diseases. Considered nanocarriers of biological origin, various studies have demonstrated the feasibility of their systemic administration, even with repeated doses. sEVs can resist the degradative conditions of the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration, accumulating regionally in the intestine, where they are absorbed for systemic biodistribution. 
  • 498
  • 14 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Nanomedicine as a Potential Tool against Monkeypox
Human monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis that was first identified in 1970; since then, this infectious disease has been marked as endemic in central and western Africa. Questions about the necessity of developing a vaccine persist. Developing a nanomedicine-based preventative strategy might be prudent, particularly with the rapid growth of the use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in medical research.
  • 412
  • 10 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Natural Antibacterial Additives in Bioactive Wound Dressings
Wound care is a global health issue with a financial burden of up to US $96.8 billion annually in the USA alone. Chronic non-healing wounds which show delayed and incomplete healing are especially problematic. Natural products and their derivatives have long been a significant source of pharmaceuticals against AMR. Scrutinising the data of newly approved drugs has identified plants as one of the biggest and most important sources in the development of novel antibacterial drugs.
  • 617
  • 10 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles for Their Biomedical Applications
Nanoparticles can be synthesized through physical, chemical, and biological routes, where biologically synthesized nanoparticles are also referred to as biogenic-synthesized nanoparticles or bionanoparticles. Bionanoparticles exploit the inherent reducing property of biological entities to develop cost-effective, non-toxic, time-efficient, sustainable, and stable nanosized particles. There is a wide array biomedical focus on metallic nanoparticles, especially silver nanoparticles, due to their distinctive physiochemical properties making them a suitable therapeutic molecule carrier. This research aims to provide a broad insight into the various classes of living organisms that can be exploited for the development of silver nanoparticles, and elaboratively review the interdisciplinary biomedical applications of biogenically synthesized silver nanoparticles in health and life sciences domains.
  • 576
  • 13 Mar 2023
Topic Review
STAT3 in Cell Cycle Arrest and Regulation
There are seven STATs (STAT1, STAT2, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5a, STAT5b, and STAT6) that are intracellular proteins which function as signal messengers and transcription factors. They transmit signals from cytokines, growth factors, intracellular kinases, mutated oncoproteins, and other signaling pathways to the nucleus. STAT3 play critical roles within neoplastic cells, immune cells, and other stromal cells, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).
  • 403
  • 08 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Mitochondrial Therapy in HPV-Related Cancers
The mitochondria are organelles targeted by the human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV-related cancers depend on the host’s mitochondria for their development and progression. On the other hand, the mitochondria are also important during pharmacological treatment, such as chemotherapy, since they are key organelles for the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which significantly increases cell death due to the presence of oxidative stress (OS). In this way, the mitochondria in HPV infection and in the development of HPV-related cancer could be targeted to reduce or eliminate HPV infections or HPV-related cancers.
  • 407
  • 09 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Activity from Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta Extracts
Macroalgae are aquatic photosynthetic organisms (mainly marine) belonging to the domain Eukarya. Macroalgae are mainly divided into three groups: red algae (Rhodophyta) and green algae (Chlorophyta), which are classified in kingdom Plantae, and brown algae (Ochrophyta, class Phaeophyceae), belonging to kingdom Chromista. Therefore, as terrestrial plants, macroalgae possess interesting biological activities that could be involved in the development of natural and innovative antibiotics. Macroalgae’s biological activities can vary among phyla.
  • 455
  • 09 Mar 2023
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