In recent years, there has been considerable interest in using microalgal lipids in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Several microalgal species can accumulate appreciable lipid quantities and therefore are characterized as oleaginous. In cosmetic formulations, lipids and their derivatives are one of the main ingredients. Different lipid classes are great moisturizing, emollient, and softening agents, work as surfactants and emulsifiers, give consistence to products, are color and fragrance carriers, act as preservatives to maintain products integrity, and can be part of the molecules delivery system. In the past, chemicals have been widely used but today’s market and customers’ demands are oriented towards natural products. Microalgae are an extraordinary source of lipids and other many bioactive molecules. Scientists’ attention to microalgae cultivation for their industrial application is increasing. For the high costs associated, commercialization of microalgae and their products is still not very widespread. The possibility to use biomass for various industrial purposes could make microalgae more economically competitive.

Today’s human society, product of decades of progress in all fields of knowledge, would have been unimaginable without the discovery of antibiotics and more generally of antimicrobials. However, from the beginning, the scientific community was aware that microorganisms through various strategies were able to hinder and render vain antibiotic action. Common examples are the phenomena of persistence, tolerance, and resistance, up to the creation of the feared bacterial biofilms. Antibiotics are a precious but equally labile resource that must be preserved but at the same time reinforced to safeguard their effectiveness. Nanoparticulate systems such as nanobactericides, with their inherent antibacterial activity, and nanocarriers, which operate as drug delivery systems for conventional antibiotics, are innovative therapies made available by nanotechnology. Inorganic nanoparticles are effective both as nanobactericides (AgNPs, ZnONPs, and TiO₂NPs) and as nanocarriers (AgNPs, AuNPs, ZnONPs, and TiO₂NPs) against sensitive and multi-drug-resistant bacterial strains. Liposomes are among the most studied and flexible antibiotic delivery platforms: conventional liposomes allow passive targeting at the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS); “stealth” liposomes prevent macrophage uptake so as to eradicate infections in tissues and organs outside MPS; thanks to their positive charge, cationic liposomes interact preferentially with bacterial and biofilm surfaces, acting as innate antibacterials as well as drug delivery systems (DDS); fusogenic liposomes have fluid bilayers that promote fusion with microbial membranes; and finally, ligand-targeted liposomes provide active targeting at infection sites. Dendrimers are among the most recent and attractive nanoparticulate systems, thanks to their multibranched nanoarchitecture, which equipped them with multiple active sites for loading antibiotics and also interacting with bacteria. Finally, nanoantibiotics represent a new hopeful generation of antibiotic candidates capable of increasing or even restoring the clinical efficacy of “old” antibiotics rendered useless by the resistance phenomena.

Overproduction of oxidants in the human body is responsible for oxidative stress, which is associated with several diseases. High intake of vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, as they are sources of bioactive compounds capable of contrasting the free radical effects involved in cancer, obesity, diabetes, and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Capsicum annuum L. cv Senise is a sweet pepper that is grown in the Basilicata region (Italy). It is an important source of polyphenols, carotenoids, and capsinoids and can play a key role in human health. In this study, an ethanol extract was obtained from C. annuum dried peppers and the analysis of the phytochemical composition was performed by LC-ESI/LTQ Orbitrap/MS. The extract was incorporated into liposomes, which showed small size (~80 nm), good homogeneity, negative surface charge, and good stability in storage. The biological activity of the extract was evaluated in the human hepatoma (HepG2) cell line, used as model cells. The extract showed no cytotoxic activity and reduced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in stressed cells. The antioxidant activity was further improved when the extract was loaded into liposomes. Moreover, the extract promoted the expression of endogenous antioxidants, such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase through the Nrf-2 pathway evaluated by RT-PCR.