A Short Overview of Recent Developments on Antimicrobial Coatings Based on Phytosynthesized Metal Nanoparticles

Abstract

The phytosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles represents an exciting new area of research, with promising perspectives, gaining in the last decades an increasing importance. Nanotechnology represents an important tool and an efficient option for obtaining particles with controlled morphology and shapes, phytosynthesized nanoparticles (NPs) being a good alternative to remove hazardous reagents. Due to the practical applications of the phytosynthesized nanoparticles, which are mainly associated with their antimicrobial potential, the abundance of scientific literature in this domain is given by researches in the phytosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles (3654 articles) and the evaluation of their antimicrobial properties (2338 papers). The application of phytosynthesized nanoparticles as antimicrobial coatings represented the subject of only 446 works, which lead us to the subject of this review paper. Application of antimicrobial coatings containing phytosynthesized nanoparticles for the development of antimicrobial textiles, other biomedical applications, protection of food (including fruits and vegetables), as well as for other types of applications based on their antimicrobial potential are covered by the present review.

Phytosynthesized Metallic Nanoparticles—between Nanomedicine and Toxicology. A Brief Review of 2019′s Findings

“…The weakest effect was observed for Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella flexneri and Proteus mirabilis lines (MIC = 8 mg/mL), as well as Proteus mirabilis (MBC = 16 mg/mL). The superior effect on Gram-positive bacteria can be mainly assigned to the absence of the outer membrane for Gram-positive bacteria (compensated by the thicker yet permeable peptidoglycan layer of the NPs [48,49].…”

Selected Aspects Regarding the Restoration/Conservation of Traditional Wood and Masonry Building Materials: A Short Overview of the Last Decade Findings

“…Nowadays, nanotechnology emerged as a research field with successful application in the cultural heritage domain. As our group previously presented [67], the application of nanotechnology for the development of antimicrobial coatings represents an emerging field, which could offer valuable resources for specialists in restoration/conservation. In spite of the wide-spread use of nanomaterials, their application as biocidal agents in cultural heritage stone conservation represents the subject of a surprisingly low number of articles (details presented in Table 4).…”

Plantago media L.—Explored and Potential Applications of an Underutilized Plant

“…is related to the nanotechnology area, in particular for the nanoparticles phytosynthesis (synthesis of materials using plant extracts). Briefly, the phytosynthesis mechanisms involve the reduction of metals from metallic salts precursors to zero-valent nanoparticles or metallic oxides, using the different plant phytoconstituents [ 113 ]. The mechanism, presented in multiple studies [ 114 ] uses the phytocomponents both as reduction and capping agents.…”

“…The mechanism, presented in multiple studies [ 114 ] uses the phytocomponents both as reduction and capping agents. This alternative method of nanoparticles synthesis leads to materials with enhanced properties, valuable for a series of medical and industrial applications [ 113 , 115 ], enhancing the intrinsic properties of the nanoparticles [ 116 ], as well as a potential reduction of their toxicity [ 114 ]. The application was explored for P. major aqueous leaves extracts, leading to the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs—spherical, 4.6–30.6 nm) and the exploration of their environmental applications, for the enhanced phytoremediation of soil and water contaminated with the insecticide fipronil [ 117 ] and for the removal of methyl orange dye, respectively [ 118 ].…”