Antibacterial Activity of Metallic Nanoparticles

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) for medical applications have been documented since earlier times. Advancement in modern medicines results in an increase in utilization of NPs for medical purposes due to their antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiangiogenic properties. In this chapter, three metallic NPs are studied extensively as powerful nanoweapons for the destruction of bacteria. Recent research gives evidence that metallic NPs are very effective in supporting antimicrobial activities. The chemically and laser-ablated silver, gold, and copper NPs exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity than previously reported. The antibacterial mechanism was found dose-and size-dependent and was more profound for Gram-negative bacterium as compared to Gram-positive ones. The dose calculations of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) with NPs have been calculated for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The maximum zone of inhibition by disk diffusion was also experimented against various bacteria. These NPs exhibit excellent performance physically, catalytically, and chemically. Present study will be beneficial in areas of environment, information technology, health, cosmetics, and food department. This chapter will cover the details of fabrication and antibacterial activity results of silver, gold, and copper NPs. This chapter endeavors to demonstrate the use of metallic NPs as an alternative antibacterial nanobiotics.

Copper as an antimicrobial agent: recent advances

“…They have a substantially larger surface-area-to-volume ratio resulting in increased toxicity compared to the metal, alongside improved optical properties making them a desirable replacement. [2][3][4][5] Pathogenic microbes may be transmitted directly from person-to-person or indirectly via contamination of surfaces leading to both healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) and community-acquired infections (CAIs). [6][7][8] The exact mechanism of microbial death from copper is controversial and the significance and relative contribution of each proposed mechanism are unclear.…”

Synthesis and evaluation of eco-friendly carboxymethyl cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol/CuO bionanocomposites and their use in coating processed cheese

“…CuO-NPs were reported to have potent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus depending on the concentration and particle size. 8 Harikumar & Aravind 9 found that copper nanocomposites can inhibit E. coli and that its effect increased with the increase of concentration and contact time. The antimicrobial property of lm containing heat treated CuO-NPs against the growth of E. coli were higher than the lm containing NaBH 4 -treated CuO-NPs.…”

Nanotechnology-based disinfectants and sensors for SARS-CoV-2

“…and ability to be effective at much lower dosage 9,10 . For instance, preliminary evaluations showed that silver nanocluster/ silica composite coating on facial masks had viricidal effects against SARS-CoV-2 11 .…”