iBB

We are excited to announce the call for submissions for the upcoming Special Issue of Pharmaceutics, titled "Novel Micro/Nanomaterial Based Drug Delivery Systems for Theranostic Applications". As guest editors, Pedro Fonte, Pedro Brandão, and Sofia Duarte, we eagerly invite your contributions to this innovative and rapidly evolving field. This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest advancements in micro- and nanomaterials, particularly in their application to drug delivery systems for theranostic purposes. The intersection of nanotechnology and medicine is paving the way for breakthroughs in healthcare, allowing for the creation of more effective drug delivery mechanisms that can diagnose and treat diseases simultaneously. Our focus is on how these advanced materials can improve therapeutic efficacy, reduce side effects, and transform disease management. For more information, please visit the Special Issue page.

Lactococcus lactis is a food-grade, and generally recognized as safe, bacterium, which making it ideal for producing plasmid DNA (pDNA) or recombinant proteins for industrial or pharmaceutical applications. A paper published in Microorganisms by Sofia Duarte and Gabriel Monteiro from BERG-iBB reviews the major findings from L. lactis transcriptome and proteome studies, with an overexpression of native or recombinant proteins. These studies provide important insights on how to engineer the plasmid vectors and/or the strains in order to achieve high pDNA or recombinant proteins yields, with high quality standards. 

BERG-iBB researchers led by Gabriel Monteiro are engineering lactic acid bacteria and plasmid vectors in order to develop a flexible platform for biomolecule production. The cover image of the August issue of Biotechnology Journal highlights a recent contribution of the group. The work is part of the FCT-funded project LactoSynt.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue titled "Liposomes Applied in Drug Delivery Systems" published in Pharmaceutics. This issue, edited by Dr. Pedro Fonte, Dr. Teresa Esteves and Dr. Sofia de Oliveira Dias Duarte, focuses on the recent advancements and applications of liposomes in drug delivery, emphasizing their pivotal role in targeted therapy and diagnostics. Since the emergence of liposomes in pharmaceutical research, there has been a significant drive to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and market application. We aim to cover a broad spectrum of topics, including but not limited to the design and synthesis of liposomes, advancements in targeted drug delivery using liposomes, the role of liposomes in gene therapy, innovations in liposomal formulations for enhanced drug stability, and their application in specific health problems like cancer therapy and regenerative medicine. For more information, please visit the Special Issue page.

We eagerly anticipate your valuable contributions to this exciting Special Issue.

While Lactococcus lactis is traditionally associated with the fermented food industry, applications of these bacteria have been spreading to the pharmaceutical industry. The goal is to use L. lactis as cell factories for the production of added-value recombinant proteins and plasmid DNA (pDNA) for DNA vaccination, as a safer and industrially profitable alternative to the traditional Escherichia coli host. In a recent review in International Molecular Sciences, Sofia Duarte and Gabriel Monteiro from BERG-iBB critically systematize the plasmid replicons available for the production of pharmaceutical-grade pDNA and recombinant proteins by L. lactis. The work is funded by the LactoSynt project.

The lipopolysaccharide-free Lactococcus lactis is an interesting alternative to E. coli for plasmid production. A key requirement for L. lactis‐based plasmid manufacturing is the availability of high‐copy number plasmids. In a recent publication in Biotechnology Journal, BERG-iBB researchers led by Gabriel Monteiro describe how engineering of the repDE Ribosome Binding Site led to an increase in the copy number  of plasmid pTRKH3 in L. lactis LMG19460 cells.  The number of copies of mutant pTRKH3‐b increased up to 215 copies per chromosome, which corresponds to a 3.5 fold increase when compared to the non‐modified pTRKH3. The new mutant is an important step towards the establishment of lactic acid bacteria as viable plasmid producers. The work was developed in the context of the FCT-funded, LactoSynt project.