review · International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Antimicrobial resistance is accelerating worldwide due to the misuse and overuse of treatments across humans, animals, and agriculture. This causes conventional antibiotics to lose their effectiveness, creating an urgent need for replacement therapeutics. Combining metallic nanoparticles with existing antibiotics presents a potential solution because of the broad antimicrobial characteristics of metals. Nanoparticles based on silver, zinc oxide, copper, and gold have been actively researched alongside antibiotics. When joined, their combined interactions can prove synergistic, additive, or antagonistic. Achieving synergy is the primary objective for developing effective new treatments. Although these combinations hold promise for biomedical applications, their precise biological mechanisms of action remain incompletely understood. Furthermore, substantial clinical hurdles still impede the practical translation of nanoparticle-antibiotic conjugates into routine medical care.
Rising antimicrobial resistance threatens modern healthcare by rendering common antibiotics ineffective against routine infections. Exploring combinations of existing drugs with metallic nanoparticles offers a way to restore treatment potency. Understanding how these materials interact can help scientists design better alternatives to failing therapies, ultimately preserving the capability to treat dangerous bacterial infections effectively.
The work focuses on applications within the biomedical field, specifically aimed at clinicians and pharmaceutical developers seeking new treatments for drug-resistant infections. Because the biological mechanisms remain incompletely understood and major clinical hurdles persist, the technology remains at an early stage of exploratory research and requires significant development before reaching practical healthcare markets.
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As per the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a natural phenomenon whereby microbes develop or acquire genes that render them resistant. The rapid emergence and spread of this phenomenon can be attributed to human activity specifically, the improper and excessive use of antimicrobials for the treatment, prevention, or control of infections in humans, animals, and plants. As a result of this factor, many antibiotics have reduced effectiveness against microbes or may not work fully. Thus, there is a pressing need for the development of new antimicrobial agents in order to counteract antimicrobial resistance. Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are well known for their broad antimicrobial properties. Consequently, the use of MNPs with current antibiotics holds significant implications. MNPs, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPS), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), have been extensively studied in conjunction with antibiotics. However, their mechanism of action is still not completely understood. The interaction between these MNPs and antibiotics can be either synergistic, additive, or antagonistic. The synergistic effect is crucial as it represents the desired outcome that researchers aim for and can be advantageous for the advancement of new antimicrobial agents. This article provides a concise and academic description of the recent advancements in MNP and antibiotic conjugates, including their mechanism of action. It also highlights their possible use in the biomedical field and major challenges associated with the use of MNP-antibiotic conjugates in clinical practice.
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DOI: 10.3390/ijms25168915
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