Antimicrobial Nano-Agents: The Copper Age

Abstract

The constant advent of major health threats such as antibacterial resistance or highly communicable viruses, together with a declining antimicrobial discovery, urgently requires the exploration of innovative therapeutic approaches. Nowadays, strategies based on metal nanoparticle technology have demonstrated interesting outcomes due to their intrinsic features. In this scenario, there is an emerging and growing interest in copper-based nanoparticles (CuNPs). Indeed, in their pure metallic form, as oxides, or in combination with sulfur, CuNPs have peculiar behaviors that result in effective antimicrobial activity associated with the stimulation of essential body functions. Here, we present a critical review on the state of the art regarding the in vitro and in vivo evaluations of the antimicrobial activity of CuNPs together with absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) assessments. Considering the potentiality of CuNPs in antimicrobial treatments, within this Review we encounter the need to summarize the behaviors of CuNPs and provide the expected perspectives on their contributions to infectious and communicable disease management.

Copper: An Intracellular Achilles’ Heel Allowing the Targeting of Epigenetics, Kinase Pathways, and Cell Metabolism in Cancer Therapeutics

“…However, copper overload can also be toxic, with induction of acute cytotoxicity currently being explored as a therapeutic method. Specifically, copper compounds are being explored as anti‐microbial and anti‐viral agents given the ever‐increasing range of antibiotic‐resistant microbial diseases and novel viruses, [38] and furthermore have demonstrated efficacy in a wide variety of cancer cell lines, with specific cancer cell cytotoxicity observed both in vitro and in vivo [39] . However, despite the promise of these agents, they are still in the development stage, with copper chelators already clinically approved with known modes of actions more rapidly translatable to the clinic.…”

Copper-Containing Nanoparticles and Organic Complexes: Metal Reduction Triggers Rapid Cell Death via Oxidative Burst

“…Biocompatible agents containing copper in an inorganic form or in the context of metal–organic complexes are widely used in a variety of applications, largely as antibacterial and antifungal drugs, as well as in tumor treatment [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Copper oxide-based materials varying from sub-10 nm to 40–60 nm (nanoparticles; NPs) and fine (<10 µM) particles have demonstrated cytotoxicity against prokaryotic, yeast, mammalian cell lines and zebrafish embryos [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Soluções alternativas de desinfecção de superfícies contaminadas com o SARS-CoV-2 / Alternative solutions for disinfecting surfaces contaminated with SARS-CoV-2

“…Pesquisadores consideram algumas hipóteses da ação virucida do cobre esteja focada na sua ação antibacteriana (permeabilização da membrana plasmática, peroxidação lipídica da membrana, alteração de proteínas, inibição da montagem e atividade da proteína, desnaturação de ácidos nucléicos) e que tem alvo no genoma viral. Diversas técnicas para a síntese de nanopartículas de cobre já foram pesquisadas como redução térmica, redução sonoquímica, deposição física a vapor, microemulsão, irradiação a laser e radiação induzida (ERMINI & VOLIANI, 2021;IMANI et al, 2020).…”