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
Thymus algeriensis Boiss. and Reut.
The word Thymus comes from the Greek “thyo”, which means “offering” (to be burnt) and “perfume” because of the pleasant smell that the plant gives off naturally when burnt. T. algeriensis Boiss. and Reut. are classified in section Hyphodromi (A. Kerner) Haläcsy and subsection Subbracteati (Klokov) Jalas. It belongs to the order Lamiale, subfamily Nepetoideae, and tribe Menthae.
  • 822
  • 30 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Major Mechanisms of Kaempferol in Management of Cancer
Plant-derived flavonoids are considered natural nontoxic chemo-preventers and have been widely studied for cancer treatment in recent decades. Mostly all flavonoid compounds show significant anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Kaempferol (Kmp) is a well-studied compound and exhibits remarkable anticancer and antioxidant potential. Kmp can regulate various cancer-related processes and activities such as cell cycle, oxidative stress, apoptosis, proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis.
  • 514
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
TEVs-Mediated Communication between Tumor and Immune Cells
Tumor cell-derived extracellular vesicles (TEVs) are an important means of tumor communication with, and manipulation of, the patient’s physiology. TEVs influence the local tumor environment as well as the systemic conditions of the patient.
  • 546
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Nanomaterials to Enhance Polymerase Chain Reaction
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is one of the most common technologies used to produce millions of copies of targeted nucleic acid in vitro and has become an indispensable technique in molecular biology. However, it suffers from low efficiency and specificity problems, false positive results, and so on. Although many conditions can be optimized to increase PCR yield, such as the magnesium ion concentration, the DNA polymerases, the number of cycles, and so on, they are not all-purpose and the optimization can be case dependent. Nano-sized materials offer a possible solution to improve both the quality and productivity of PCR. Nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted significant attention and gradually penetrated the field of life sciences because of their unique chemical and physical properties, such as their large surface area and small size effect, which have greatly promoted developments in life science and technology. Additionally, PCR technology assisted by NPs (NanoPCR) such as gold NPs (Au NPs), quantum dots (QDs), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), etc., have been developed to significantly improve the specificity, efficiency, and sensitivity of PCR and to accelerate the PCR reaction process. 
  • 452
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Immune-Targeting Nanomaterials
Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment method in which the immune system is stimulated to communicate with the tumor at the tumor microenvironment (TME) to detect, target, and destroy the growth of the cancer cells or malignancy.
  • 531
  • 30 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Phage Therapeutics: A Novel Therapeutic Approaches
Resistance to antimicrobials and particularly multidrug resistance is one of the greatest challenges in the health system nowadays. The continual increase in the rates of antimicrobial resistance worldwide boosted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic poses a major public health threat. Different approaches have been employed to minimize the effect of resistance and control this threat.
  • 615
  • 27 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Nanodelivery Systems for Herbal/Phytoconstituents
Herbs and spices have been historically characterized as plant components utilized in the diet for their fragrant characteristics, but have no or minimal nutritional value. Herbs and spices, on the other hand, have been found as sources of different phytochemicals with strong antioxidant activity. As a result, phytoconstituents from herbs and spices can be formulated in various forms of nano-drug delivery systems.
  • 561
  • 29 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Bio-Inspired Muco-Adhesive Polymers for Drug Delivery Applications
Muco-adhesive drug delivery systems continue to be one of the most studied for controlled pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Briefly, muco-adhesive polymers, can be described as bio-polymers that adhere to the mucosal (mucus) surface layer, for an extended residency period of time at the site of application, by the help of interfacial forces resulting in improved drug delivery. When compared to traditional drug delivery systems, muco-adhesive carriers have the potential to enhance therapeutic performance and efficacy, locally and systematically, in oral, rectal, vaginal, amongst other routes. Hence, and in light of accruing progress, evidence and interest, during the past, this E-entry aims to provide the reader with an overview of the theories, principles, properties, and underlying mechanisms of muco-adhesive polymers for pharmaceutics; from basics to design to characterization to optimization to evaluation to market. A special focus is devoted to the advances incorporating bio-inspired polymers for designing controlled muco-adhesive drug delivery systems. 
  • 619
  • 23 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Standardization of Whole Yeast Cell Vaccines
In the context of vaccine development, improving antigenic presentation is critical for the activation of specific immune responses and the success of immunization, in addition to selecting an appropriate target. In this sense, different strategies have been developed and improved. Among them is the use of yeast cells as vehicles for the delivery of recombinant antigens. These vaccines, named whole yeast vaccines (WYVs), can induce humoral and cellular immune responses, with the additional advantage of dispensing with the use of adjuvants due to the immunostimulatory properties of their cell wall components.
  • 432
  • 23 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Features of Nucleic Acid Vaccines
Gene immunization comprises mRNA and DNA vaccines, which stand out due to their simple design, maintenance, and high efficacy. Several studies indicate promising results in preclinical and clinical trials regarding immunization against ebola, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza, and human papillomavirus (HPV). The efficiency of nucleic acid vaccines has been highlighted in the fight against COVID-19 with unprecedented approval of their use in humans. 
  • 506
  • 22 Dec 2022
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