Dear Colleagues,

For a long time, natural biopolymers, such as polysaccharides, have fascinated humanity. Polysaccharides are certainly one of the greatest varied families of bio-polymers in terms of structure and use. Depending on the origin (animal, plant, algal or microbial), polysaccharides may be linear, substituted, or more or less branched. Polysaccharides are highly variable and complex biomolecules of which the inventory of structures is still partial, as nature still preserves many of the unexplored biotopes. In this context, many works from all over the world have led to the discovery of original polysaccharides extracted from medicinal plants and algae, or produced from bacteria and microalgae, with high potential as food ingredients or as biological assets. Their main roles in the organism are to either provide structural support as a constituent of a cell wall or to store energy in the cell. Some polysaccharides and/or their oligosaccharide derivatives may be involved in cellular and sub-cellular communication processes, as in the case of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Consequently, this Special Issue aims to (i) review and identify the main polysaccharides from all biotopes (plant, bacteria, animal and microalgae), from the past to the present, and (ii) identity the lastest bioactive polysaccharides and their techno-functional derivatives (low molecular weight, oligosaccharides, hydrogels, etc.) with advantageous effects in the agricultural, pharmaceutical and food fields.

Dr. Cédric Delattre
Guest Editor

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Review

23 pages, 1892 KiB  

Open AccessReview

Layer-by-Layer Nanocoating of Antiviral Polysaccharides on Surfaces to Prevent Coronavirus Infections

by Daniel P. Otto and Melgardt M. de Villiers

Molecules 2020, 25(15), 3415; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules25153415 - 28 Jul 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6434

Abstract

In 2020, the world is being ravaged by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes a severe respiratory disease, Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands of people have succumbed to the disease. Efforts at curing the disease are aimed at finding a vaccine and/or developing antiviral drugs. [...] Read more.

In 2020, the world is being ravaged by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes a severe respiratory disease, Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands of people have succumbed to the disease. Efforts at curing the disease are aimed at finding a vaccine and/or developing antiviral drugs. Despite these efforts, the WHO warned that the virus might never be eradicated. Countries around the world have instated non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and wearing of masks in public to curb the spreading of the disease. Antiviral polysaccharides provide the ideal opportunity to combat the pathogen via pharmacotherapeutic applications. However, a layer-by-layer nanocoating approach is also envisioned to coat surfaces to which humans are exposed that could harbor pathogenic coronaviruses. By coating masks, clothing, and work surfaces in wet markets among others, these antiviral polysaccharides can ensure passive prevention of the spreading of the virus. It poses a so-called “eradicate-in-place” measure against the virus. Antiviral polysaccharides also provide a green chemistry pathway to virus eradication since these molecules are primarily of biological origin and can be modified by minimal synthetic approaches. They are biocompatible as well as biodegradable. This surface passivation approach could provide a powerful measure against the spreading of coronaviruses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Polysaccharides in Glycosciences: From Extraction to Application)

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