Researchers are now looking to nanomaterials to fight serious infectious diseases that cause outbreaks and even pandemics. SARS-CoV-2 brought chaos to almost every walk of life in the past 2 years and has challenged every available treatment method. Although vaccines were developed in no time against it, the most pressing issue was the emergence of variants of concern arising because of the rapidly evolving viral strains. The higher pathogenicity and, in turn, the higher mortality rate of infections caused by these variants renders the existing vaccines less effective and the effort to produce further vaccines a costly endeavor. While several techniques, such as immunotherapy and repurposed pharmaceutical research, are being studied to minimize viral infection, the fundamentals of nanotechnology must also be considered to enhance the anti-SARS-CoV-2 efforts. For instance, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been applied against SARS-CoV-2 effectively. Similarly, nanomaterials have been tested in masks, gloves, and disinfectants to aid in controlling SARS-CoV-2. Nanotechnology has also contributed to diagnoses such as rapid and accurate detection and treatment such as the delivery of mRNA vaccines and other antiviral agents into the body. The development of polymeric nanoparticles has been dubbed a strategy of choice over traditional drugs because of their tunable release kinetics, specificity, and multimodal drug composition. Our article explores the potential of nanomaterials in managing the variants of concern. This will be achieved by highlighting the inherent ability of nanomaterials to act against the virus on fronts such as inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry, inhibition of RNA replication in SARS-CoV-2, and finally, inhibition of their release. In this review, a detailed discussion on the potential of nanomaterials in these areas will be tallied with their potential against the current and emerging future variants of concern.

Antibiotic resistance puts a tremendous strain on the healthcare system. Bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that cause diseases like endocarditis, pneumonia, and Urinary tract infections have now become resistant to many previously used antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse must be reduced as it has become a public health threat paving the way to pandemics. Instead of creating new antibiotics, repurposing existing medicines that have faced resistance is one way forward. Plant-based antimicrobials have been explored as antibiotics to boost or augment the capability of existing antibiotics. It has been proposed that conjugates of plant-based products and antibiotics have increased activity and that the conjugated groups could help circumvent the beta-lactam antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Antibiotics have been combined with plant-based substances like Berberine, and a considerable synergy has been reported among them. Nanomaterials also promise a powerful environment-friendly strategy for weaponizing antibiotics with plant compounds. Nanoparticles could attach with many biological molecules such as DNA, enzymes, ribosomes, and lysosomes, further affecting the permeability of the cell membrane. The interaction of nanoparticles with many biological targets makes it hard for bacteria to develop resistance against them. Low molecular weight nanomaterial based on antibiotics could be very effective against multidrug-resistant gram-negative pathogens. Our study aims to analyze the progress done at the front of nanomaterials and nano-antibiotics against infectious diseases.