Metal-Based Nanoparticles as Antimicrobial Agents: A Review

Abstract

Antibiotic abuse has become a rising public health concern in recent years, leading to dangerous bacteria developing antibiotic resistance to most antibiotic medicines currently in use. Traditional antimicrobial medications have been helpful in the early stages of treating numerous forms of serious bacterial infectious diseases; however, despite the significant therapeutic benefit, there are a number of issues with follow-up treatment. Metalbased nanomaterials, which have properties including the difficulty of establishing drug resistance and the advantages of reduced cytotoxicity, have been considered promising antimicrobial substances. This review discusses the most important types of metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs), such as copper, titanium, zinc oxide, etc., with a focus on the antimicrobial applications of gold-and silver-based nanoparticles. Furthermore, the advanced research progress of MNPs as antimicrobial agents and the stimuli-responsive metal nanoparticle antimicrobial strategies working under photothermal, magnetic, and pH stimulation are also summarized in this article. In general, with the advancement of technology, antimicrobial materials based on MNPs will offer excellent prospects for improving drug resistance and antimicrobial applications.

Assessing the Potential of Aconitum Laeve Extract for Biogenic Silver and Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis and Their Biological and Catalytic Applications

“…The increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics represents a significant global health challenge, underscoring the urgent need to develop novel and potent agents capable of treating a diverse range of microorganisms and effectively combating the escalating bacterial resistance. Metal-based nanomaterials, specifically noble metal NPs, have demonstrated considerable potential as antimicrobial agents due to their intrinsic antibacterial activities [ 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Therefore, substantial research interest has been focused on the development of Ag and AuNPs.…”

“…Studies have indicated that the size of nanomaterials plays a crucial role in bactericidal activity. Small nanoparticles (2–10 nm) are known to cause more membrane damage than larger ones due to their increased surface area contact with bacterial cells [ 78 , 79 ]. The diminished toxicity of the NPs@AL against E. coli can be ascribed to the diversity in cell wall composition between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.…”