Mycogenic Metal Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Mycobacterioses

Abstract

Mycobacterial infections are a resurgent and increasingly relevant problem. Within these, tuberculosis (TB) is particularly worrying as it is one of the top ten causes of death in the world and is the infectious disease that causes the highest number of deaths. A further concern is the on-going emergence of antimicrobial resistance, which seriously limits treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened current circumstances and future infections will be more incident. It is urgent to plan, draw solutions, and act to mitigate these issues, namely by exploring new approaches. The aims of this review are to showcase the extensive research and application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and other metal nanoparticles (MNPs) as antimicrobial agents. We highlight the advantages of mycogenic synthesis, and report on their underexplored potential as agents in the fight against all mycobacterioses (non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections as well as TB). We propose further exploration of this field.

Insecticidal Potential of Botanicals from Red Seaweeds against Stored Grain Pests, Rice Weevil (Sitophilus oryzae L.) and Cowpea Weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus Fab.)

“…Compared to the other MNPS, nano-Se has lower toxicity, anti-biofilm ability, and can treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (Estevez et al, 2020). The potential of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and other MNPs to treat mycobacterium remains to be explored (Simoes et al, 2020). Magnetic nanoparticles modified on the surface of isoniazid can be used to fight Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Zargarnezhad et al, 2020).…”

Opportunist Coinfections by Nontuberculous Mycobacteria and Fungi in Immunocompromised Patients

“…Natural approaches are also gaining consideration in overcoming antimicrobial resistance in NTMs, especially compounds from plants and venoms [194]. Another alternative are mycogenic metal nanoparticles produced by filamentous fungi with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity [195]. However, conventional therapy is still the most effective to treat immunocompromised patients coinfected with multiple infectious agents.…”

From infection niche to therapeutic target: the intracellular lifestyle of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

“…Indeed, anti-inflammatory agents such as the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [4] and signalling modulation agents such as metformin [5] provide a promising avenue for a new line of adjunctive TB therapeutics termed host-directed therapies (HDTs) discussed in this paper. HDTs join nano-medicine [6][7][8] as promising novel treatment options for Mtb infections. Here we review the current state of development of tuberculosis therapies, focusing on novel compounds that act on or inhibit processes manipulated by Mtb inside the host macrophage.…”