Organic-inorganic antimicrobial nanostructures for health care applications

In recent years, the drug resistant microorganisms are a serious and increasing public health problem. New strategies for controlling bacteria activity are urgently needed and nanomaterials can be a very promising approach, as the small size of the particle gives large surface area and consequently reactivity (and in many cases toxicity) increases substantially. The most tested metallic nanoparticles are silver, copper, gold, aluminum, titanium, iron, zinc, bismuth and others. Some of these metals have been coated onto several other materials. Another strategy is to incorporate these metals into a substrate such as polymethyl methacrylate forming organic-inorganic antimicrobial nanostructures. With respect to bacteria and fungi, the most frequent candidates for microbial experiments are: Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Bacillus subtilis among other species. The antimicrobial potential of these nanostructured particles, their mechanism of action and health care applications are presented and discussed at length in this review.