Therapeutic Applications of Phytoplankton, with an Emphasis on Diatoms and Coccolithophores

Abstract

Phytoplankton are complex living organisms that have attracted significant interest in the field of biomedicine. One subclass of phytoplankton, the diatoms, produce elegant self-assembled siliceous architectural features with a complex 3D porous structure. Diatoms are characterized by a distinct 3D architecture of silica cell walls called frustules with a highly ordered nano-/micropore structure and pattern. Another phytoplankton subclass of interest is the coccolithophore, which produces unique calcium carbonate plates with distinct architectural features called coccoliths. The unique morphological characteristics of coccoliths resembling the shape of a wagon wheel allows a higher surface area, thus an increased amount of immobilized therapeutic agent on their surface compared to a synthetic calcium carbonate microparticle. This review offers a summary of phytoplankton (microalgae) and their potential for application in drug delivery, diagnostics, drug discovery, as molecular factories, and as scaffolds for various therapeutic applications.

Perspectives on applications of nanomaterials from shelled plankton

“…The last microorganisms have been studied to produce stable composites for the biomedical field as precursors to calcium phosphates [31] and delivery of bisphosphonate pamidronate and Gentamicin antibiotic. [32] On the contrary, diatoms [33] and coccolithophores [34] have been intensively investigated for the development of new strategies in nanotechnology and molecular assembly and, in general, for the development of new materials in different fields, with more than 1000 reports concerning material science on diatoms and around 100 for coccolithophores.…”

Diatom Biosilica in Targeted Drug Delivery and Biosensing Applications: Recent Studies

“…Indeed, several excellent reviews addressing the subjects prior to our selected timeframe are available to the reader [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]24]. More recently, other authors have also discussed different aspects of the fields in terms, e.g., of the applications of diatoms or microalgae in bio-sensing and -technology [18,[32][33][34], the discovery of active compounds [35][36][37], surface chemistry [38], material science [39][40][41] and as drug carries [42][43][44]. We begin with a short overview of the diatoms' structure and we then move specifically to the use of diatoms for the targeted delivery of anticancer and antibiotic drugs, and how the same microalgae are employed in the fabrications of biosensors whose analyte signal response is evaluated via fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering techniques.…”

The Egg-Shaped Crystals That Should Not Be: A Brain-like Texture Combined with Single Crystallinity

“…However, the interlocking architecture of coccoliths enhances significantly their damage tolerance. [5][6][7] Another example is nacre formed by molluscs, a polycrystalline biomineral also based on calcium carbonate, that shows excellent mechanical properties. 8,9 Whereas crystal engineering of molecular materials has focused mainly on control over the crystallographic structures, many excellent works demonstrate the use of additives and modulators to control crystal dimensions and morphology.…”