Antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and photocatalytic activities of TiO₂ nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and bio-nanocomposites: Recent advances and challenges

Abstract

The applications of nanomaterials specifically metal and metal nanoparticles in various medical and industrial fields have been due to their unique properties compared to bulk materials. A combination of pharmacology and nanotechnology has helped the production of novel antimicrobial agents to control resistant microorganisms of bacteria and fungi. The properties of metal nanoparticles and metal oxides such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu) are well known as efficient antimicrobial agents. In particular, TiO2 nanoparticles have been considered as an attractive antimicrobial compound due to their photocatalytic intrinsic and their stable, non-toxic, inexpensive, and safe physicochemical properties. Therefore, in this review, recent advances and challenges of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and photocatalytic activities of TiO2 nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and bio-nanocomposites are presented to help future studies.

Hybrid Nanosystems of Antibiotics with Metal Nanoparticles—Novel Antibacterial Agents

“…TiO 2 -NPs possess a large surface area, excellent surface morphology, and are non-toxic in nature. Recently TiO 2 -NPs attracted researchers with their photocatalytic antimicrobial activity, exerting excellent bio-related activity against bacterial contamination [ 77 ]. However, oxidative stress, via the generation of ROS, is also proposed for these NPs [ 26 ].…”

Photocatalytic Antimicrobials: Principles, Design Strategies, and Applications

“…74 Thus, cell wall damage is the main cause of fungal disinfection, which has been confirmed in many reports. 75 Viruses are ubiquitous and extremely tiny microorganisms, which contain a protein shell and a core of central gene. 76 The process of photocatalytic virus inactivation is mainly divided into three stages: physical damage, protein degradation, and gene leakage.…”

Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antiviral Nanocomposites: Recent Advances and Mechanisms of Action

“…Under spherical AgNPs (with a diameter range of 1-24 nm) produced by a filtrated suspension of Aspergillus sydowii fungi, C. glabrata has demonstrated a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.125 ppm [43]. Additionally, a hydrothermal technique was used to decorate TiO2@ZnO nanocomposites with AuNPs that shown antifungal activity against C. albicans (MTCC 282) and an antiproteinase activity [44].…”