Marine organisms exhibit some advantages as a renewable source of potential drugs, far beyond chemotherapics. Particularly, the number of marine natural products with antithrombotic activity has increased in the last few years, and reports show a wide diversity in scaffolds, beyond the polysaccharide framework. While there are several reviews highlighting the anticoagulant and antithrombotic activities of marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides, reports including other molecules are sparse. Therefore, the present paper provides an update of the recent progress in marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides and quotes other scaffolds that are being considered for investigation due to their antithrombotic effect.
Marine biofouling represents a global economic and ecological challenge and few eco-friendly antifouling agents are available. The aim of this work was to establish the proof of concept that a recently synthesized nature-inspired compound (gallic acid persulfate, GAP) can act as an eco-friendly and effective antifoulant when immobilized in coatings through a non-release strategy, promoting a long-lasting antifouling effect. The synthesis of GAP was optimized to provide quantitative yields. GAP water solubility was assessed, showing values higher than 1000 mg/mL. GAP was found to be stable in sterilized natural seawater with a half-life (DT50) of 7 months. GAP was immobilized into several commercial coatings, exhibiting high compatibility with different polymeric matrices. Leaching assays of polydimethylsiloxane and polyurethane-based marine coatings containing GAP confirmed that the chemical immobilization of GAP was successful, since releases up to fivefold lower than the conventional releasing systems of polyurethane-based marine coatings were observed. Furthermore, coatings containing immobilized GAP exhibited the most auspicious anti-settlement effect against Mytilus galloprovincialis larvae for the maximum exposure period (40 h) in laboratory trials. Overall, GAP promises to be an agent capable of improving the antifouling activity of several commercial marine coatings with desirable environmental properties.
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