Biotechnology and Drug Development for Targeting Human Diseases

Traditional medicine has been a reliable source for the discovery of molecules with therapeutic activity against human diseases of clinical interest. In the past, knowledge of traditional medicine was mainly transmitted orally and in writing. Recently, the advent of “multiomics” tools (transcriptomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and lipidomics, among others) has increased and merged our knowledge, both traditional knowledge and that gained with these new multiomics technologies. In this way, the development of medicines with these 'multiomics technologies' has allowed pharmaceutical advances in the discovery of new drugs. In addition, 'multiomics' technologies have made it possible to uncover new biological activities of drugs that are currently used in clinical therapy. In the same way, 'multiomics' has allowed for the development of 'personalized medicine', that is, a particular and specific treatment and/or diagnosis of a patient with respect to a disease. Therefore, 'multiomics' technologies have facilitated the discovery of new clinical therapeutics for disease, as well as allowing for the diagnosis and/or treatment of diseases in an individual and personalized way. 

The current chapter offers a highly informative and enlightening overview of the practical implementation of molecular docking in the field of biotechnology, with a specific focus on drug discovery for a variety of ailments. Molecular docking, an incredibly powerful computational methodology, has increasingly been utilized as an essential instrument in the elucidation of drug-receptor interactions, providing invaluable insights into the process of designing drugs. This chapter delves into the fundamentals of molecular docking algorithms, offering a comprehensive understanding of their theoretical underpinnings, methodologies, and typical applications. Furthermore, this chapter elaborates on how this method is used to predict the binding affinity and orientation of potential small-molecule therapeutics to their protein targets, emphasizing the crucial role that molecular docking plays in the quest for new medications to treat various diseases. By presenting case studies across a range of diseases, this chapter effectively demonstrates the remarkable versatility of molecular docking in advancing our knowledge of disease pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions. In addition, specific diseases and their corresponding drugs are carefully examined, along with an in-depth review of molecular docking studies performed on these drugs. This detailed exploration serves as a robust foundation for researchers seeking to understand the utility of molecular docking in the development of more effective, targeted therapeutics. This chapter thus positions molecular docking as an indispensable tool in the field of biotechnology, propelling drug discovery into a new era of precision and efficiency. Overall, this chapter presents a comprehensive and informative overview of the diverse applications of molecular docking in biotechnology, providing an essential resource for researchers in the field.

In the extensive domain of “biotechnology and drug development for targeting human diseases”, essential oils have long been revered for their therapeutic potential. Among these, farnesol and farnesene stand out due to their pharmacological attributes. As the challenge of antibiotic resistance intensifies, the scientific community is increasingly exploring the potential of these traditional remedies. Using the KirbyBauer agar diffusion method, a qualitative assessment was conducted on two grampositive and two gram-negative bacterial strains. The broth microdilution technique further determined the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC), and the sensitizing impacts of these compounds. Both farnesol and farnesene exhibited antibacterial efficacy against all evaluated strains. Their synergistic potential was highlighted when combined with clavulanic acid, cefuroxime, and cefepime. Among these combinations, farnesene paired with cefepime showed pronounced efficacy against Escherichia coli 82 MR, with an MIC of 0.47 μg/mL. In contrast, in the investigation of Staphylococcus aureus 23MR, it was observed that this particular strain exhibited an increased sensitivity when exposed to combinations containing farnesol. Notably, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was determined to be 0.03 µg/mL in the presence of both antibiotic agents. To gain deeper molecular insights, docking experiments were performed with the βlactamases of E. coli and S. aureus, focusing on the most effective combinations. All tested compounds—cefuroxime, cefepime, farnesene, and farnesol—acted as noncompetitive inhibitors, suggesting their potential mechanisms of action.

Currently, the development of new vaccine technologies for the treatment of diseases is vital. The use of biotechnology in the application of viruses for the development of vaccines is a relatively new research platform. Viruses have become an important tool in biotechnology, and they are being used in the development of vaccines and anticancer drugs. Some of the viral vectors commonly used to develop vaccines are adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses, herpes simplex viruses, retroviruses and lentiviruses, among others. Viral vectors have been used as vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, influenza, HIV and malaria. Viruses have also been used to target drugs to cancer cells by using engineered viral vectors that can selectively target and infect cancer cells. In this way, viral vectors can also be used to deliver antitumor drugs. This will selectively target cancer cells. Thus, vectors can be used to deliver therapeutic drugs directly to the tumor, resulting in reduced side effects and improved efficacy. 

Skin cancer has one of the highest incidence rates among all types of cancer and is predominantly caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which reaches the Earth's surface due to the well-known phenomenon of thinning of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. To reduce the risk of developing this malignancy, the use of sunscreens is recommended; however, the synthetic compounds in sunscreens can cause side effects and harm the environment. To avoid damage to human health and the environment, the use of different plant secondary metabolites with photochemoprotective potential has been investigated in recent decades. For this reason, phenolic compounds are useful alternatives since many of them are capable of absorbing ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Moreover, some of these compounds have antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and even anticancer activities. This chapter explores the progress in the study of different phenolic compounds extracted from plants with potential for use in sunscreen formulations. 

The skin is the largest organ in the body that provides protection. When a wound occurs, the skin structure and its function are damaged, and it can even compromise life. Damage repair can occur through two mechanisms: healing and regeneration. When a scar forms, fibrosis occurs in the area, and the skin appendages, which include the glands and hair follicles, are lost. In regeneration, the functionality of the skin is partially or totally recovered. Medicinal plants and their active principles favor the regeneration of skin wounds because they have direct effects on the different phases of the process. They favor hemostasis, and modulate inflammation, which allows the following stages of healing to occur in less time, such as proliferation and remodeling. They favor hemostasis, modulate inflammation, and that the following stages of healing to occur in less time (proliferation and remodeling). Natural products can also reduce the risk of wound infections by having antibacterial activity. However, the bioavailability of the extracts and their metabolites may be limited, and a solution to this problem is to integrate them into preparations such as hydrogels, nanoparticles, nanofibers, and nanoemulsions. Research on the therapeutic properties of various natural products and their integration into the formulations mentioned above for wound regeneration is described below according to their effect on epithelialization, regeneration of epidermal appendages, vascularization, and in some cases their mechanism of action.

Antibiotics are compounds that either halt or destroy bacterial growth. They may be natural, semi-synthetic, or synthetic. Secondary metabolites, such as those produced by plants, animals, and microorganisms, are known as natural antimicrobials. The antibacterial/antimicrobial properties of secondary metabolites have been investigated over the past 30 years. Compounds derived from plants and culinary seasonings, including essential oils (EOs), are widely utilized in the food industry as organic agents to inhibit microbial growth in foods and prolong the shelf life of food products. Animal peptides (i.e., polypeptides) also exhibit antimicrobial properties. Certain pathogenic and decaying bacteria may be inhibited by various chemicals produced by numerous microorganisms. Most microbially-derived antibacterial compounds are produced as intermediate byproducts of food fermentation. Numerous factors influence the antibacterial efficacy potential of natural products, including the source of the biological agent, harvesting time, the stage at which it is cultivated, and production methods.

Medical biotechnology represents a field in continuous progress and today has revolutionized how illnesses are diagnosed and treated. A look at the latest medical biotechnological breakthroughs shows how biotechnology innovations are changing medicine. Recently, we saw how biotechnology affected efforts to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the world's health. The scientific community has been working assiduously to develop effective treatments for the prevention and management of other diseases, such as cancer, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, along with other dementia variants that stand out among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. This effort has recently resulted in the development of RNA vaccines. Some of the most promising biotechnological developments include gene therapy to alter an individual's genetic makeup through diverse techniques, immunotherapeutic methods that bolster the body's natural immune defense mechanisms, and precision medicine strategies in which treatment is personalized to a patient's genetic profile. This chapter provides an overview of the most prevalent and deadly human diseases with a focus on recent biotechnological breakthroughs.

The integration of omics tools with biotechnology has led to a paradigm shift in our comprehension of drug interactions, providing profound insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions. We explore the crucial functions of genomes, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in this chapter to decode pharmacological interactions at various molecular levels. Notably, significant emphasis is placed on the application of omics tools in areas such as high-throughput screening for unveiling novel drug targets, personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics, understanding drug-drug and drug-metabolite interactions, drug repurposing, polypharmacology, and systems biology. Furthermore, the paper explores the potential of integrating omics data with computational approaches to study complex biological networks, highlighting the instrumental role of microbial biotechnology in drug interactions. Importantly, alongside these advancements, there is also an in-depth discussion of the ethical, legal, and societal ramifications of the use of omics technologies in biotechnology. Moreover, the text presents an in-depth examination of the emerging trends, challenges, and prospective developments in the realm of omics research. As the field continues to evolve, overcoming challenges related to data integration, reproducibility, and standardization are underscored as crucial for the translation of these pioneering discoveries into improved patient care and the development of more effective, personalized therapeutic strategies. It is crucial to remember that the combination of omics tools and biotechnology will have significant effects on how medicine and healthcare are delivered in the future. As a result, it is essential to maintain research and development in this field to ensure that all future healthcare-related exigencies can be met with the most advanced and innovative solutions possible.

The process of drug development is time-consuming and resource-intensive, but drug repurposing offers an alternative by using already approved drugs to treat different diseases. Drug repurposing candidates can be identified through computational and experimental approaches, which are often combined. Traditionally, drug repurposing is considered when developing a custom drug is not feasible, but recent findings regarding the cross-talk between cellular mechanisms and pathways that are altered among disease states suggest that multipurpose drugs may be the key to simultaneously treating multiple diseases. This chapter reviews published reports on drug repurposing for five of the most threatening diseases to human health today: Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and COVID-19, highlighting promising candidates, challenges, and potential future directions for research.