Cyanobacteria—From the Oceans to the Potential Biotechnological and Biomedical Applications

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms which represent a significantsource of novel, bioactive, secondary metabolites, and they are also considered an abundant source ofbioactive compounds/drugs, such as dolastatin, cryptophycin 1, curacin toyocamycin, phytoalexin,cyanovirin-N and phycocyanin. Some of these compounds have displayed promising results insuccessful Phase I, II, III and IV clinical trials. Additionally, the cyanobacterial compounds applied tomedical research have demonstrated an exciting future with great potential to be developed into newmedicines. Most of these compounds have exhibited strong pharmacological activities, includingneurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and antiviral activity against HCMV, HSV-1, HHV-6 and HIV-1, so thesemetabolites could be promising candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Therefore, the effective large-scale production of natural marine products through synthesis is important for resolving the existingissues associated with chemical isolation, including small yields, and may be necessary to betterinvestigate their biological activities. Herein, we highlight the total synthesized and stereochemicaldeterminations of the cyanobacterial bioactive compounds. Furthermore, this review primarilyfocuses on the biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria, including applications as cosmetics,food supplements, and the nanobiotechnological applications of cyanobacterial bioactive compoundsin potential medicinal applications for various human diseases are discussed.Stockholm UniversityPeer Reviewe