Antimicrobial biocompatible polymers form a group of highly desirable materials in medicinal technology that exhibit interesting thermal and mechanical properties, and high chemical resistance. There are numerous types of polymers with antimicrobial activity or antimicrobial properties conferred through their proper modification. In this review, we focus on the second type of polymers, especially those whose antimicrobial activity is conferred by nanotechnology. Nanotechnology processing is a developing area that exploits the antibacterial effects of broad-scale compounds, both organic and inorganic, to form value-added medical devices. This work gives an overview of nanostructured antimicrobial agents, especially silver ones, used together with biocompatible polymers as effective antimicrobial composites in healthcare. The bactericidal properties of non-conventional antimicrobial agents are compared with those of conventional ones and the advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

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A report is presented on the antibacterial activity of platinum and palladium nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by direct sputtering into glycerol. Prepared platinum faceted NPs (n = 500) with the diameter of (1.7 ± 0.3) nm and palladium faceted NPs (n = 500) with the diameter of (2.4 ± 0.4) nm were investigated. The size and shape of NPs were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the size and its distribution were studied by dynamic light scattering. The concentration of metal NPs in prepared solutions was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The optical properties of aqueous NP solutions were studied by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Antibacterial properties were tested against two common pollutants (E. coli DBM 3138, a Gram-negative bacteria and S. epidermidis DBM 3179, a Gram-positive bacteria). Owing to the increasing resistance of bacteria strains to common antibiotics, this study may provide an alternative way to fight these pollutants.

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