Antimicrobial Nanomaterials for the Future

Abstract

The increasing resistance of microbial pathogens to new antibiotics or antimicrobial agents raises the possibility of a return to the no-antibiotic era, and some other materials for the treatment of infections will be needed. In facing this complicated public health problem, scientists are directing their research toward sources of alternative materials as antimicrobials. The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the global use of nanomaterials as innovative compounds to combat the high rates of antibiotic resistance. Nanomaterials have emerged as promising antimicrobials that can act at several cellular levels and block defined bacterial resistance mechanisms. Among them, metal (silver, copper, zinc, etc.) nanoparticles and their oxides, which possess antimicrobial effects through nonspecific activity alone or in combinations with other materials as nanocomposites, can achieve high efficacy against resistant microbes due to their high surface area, sorption capacity, and selectivity for target microbes. Although yet to be advanced in the clinic, these nanomaterials are vast and underexplored compounds that could lead to a much-needed new class of antimicrobials. This chapter summarizes the progress in countering antimicrobial resistance and their cytotoxicity through published data. It also discusses innovative approaches and challenges to the future application of such materials for the treatment of infectious diseases.