Review Article
Nano-therapeutics: A revolution in infection control in post antibiotic era

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2017.06.015Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria appear as a perpetual threat due to the fading arsenal of e-cacious antibiotics.

  • Nanoparticles appear to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections especially caused by multi drug resistant strain.

  • Metallic and organic nanoparticles have been found to synergize the killing effect of antimicrobial agents.

Abstract

With the arrival of antibiotics 70 years ago, meant a paradigm shift in overcoming infectious diseases. For decades, drugs have been used to treat different infections. However, with time bacteria have become resistant to multiple antibiotics, making some diseases difficult to fight. Nanoparticles (NPs) as antibacterial agents appear to have potential to overcome such problems and to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, there is significant interest in the use of NPs to treat variety of infections, particularly caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. This review begins with illustration of types of NPs followed by the literature of current research addressing mechanisms of NPs antibacterial activity, steps involved in NP mediated drug delivery as well as areas where NPs use has potential to improve the treatment, like NP enabled vaccination. Besides, recently emerged innovative NP platforms have been highlighted and their progress made in each area has been reviewed.

Graphical Abstract

Schematic representation of antibacterial efficacy of drug versus antibacterial efficacy nanoparticles: A & C. Untargeted drug delivery at infection site causes adverse effects on healthy neighboring cells. B & D. Targeted (cellular or tissue) delivery of nanoparticles at infection site is precise, safer and more effective and therefore provides better treatment.

Image 1
  1. Download : Download high-res image (315KB)
  2. Download : Download full-size image

Section snippets

Classification of nanoparticles

Depending on the material used to produce matrix, NPs have been classified as follows (Table 1).

Antibacterial mechanisms of nanoparticles

The elevated use of NPs in the field of medicine has raised the interest of many researchers to further explore the potential antibacterial mechanisms of NPs, predominantly the metallic NPs. It has been suggested that NPs antibacterial activity requires contact with bacterial cells thereby damnifying them followed by crossing of NPs through the bacterial membrane, interfering with cellular components and metabolic machinery and ultimately leading to cell death. Following are the mechanisms that

Distribution of nanoparticles

The surface characteristics, size and the shape of a NP are the critical factors that affect their bio-distribution in-vivo. Small size NPs are slowly up taken by phagocytic cells and therefore undergo faster distribution in the body due to their rapid dissolution. Also, NPs of smaller size are found to have better drug loading efficiency and enhanced antimicrobial effect and thus lower MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration). However, particles smaller than 5 nm undergo rapid clearance from

Nanoparticles as vaccine

Prophylactic vaccination has turned out to be one of the most powerful and effective interventions in the field of medicine to prevent and treat variety of infections. Recombinant or purified proteins obtained from the corresponding pathogen are being used in contemporary vaccines. They have been found to produce feeble immune response and are not sufficiently effective in the long-term.180 Majority of existing vaccines predominantly focuses on generating opsonizing or neutralizing antibodies,

Deficiency of current research and future prospects

Nanomedicine has come a long way in its brief history but there are still some voids that have to be explored so as to enjoy the bountiful results. Nanoformulation of drugs, that appear to bring a turning point in the use of antibiotics are being extensively studied in multiple nanoplatforms but there are certain clinical limitations that have waned clinicians enthusiasm in the recent past, like the associated toxicity and obstructions in drug delivery.

Conditions inside the body cannot be

Conclusion

As the methods and techniques involved in NPs formulation constantly advances, various innovative strategies have arisen, further augmenting the NP's therapeutic efficacy against different infections. NPs appear to be one of the potential treatments for infectious illnesses by selectively targeting difficult-to reach locations, where pathogens generally reside. Moreover, along with improved efficacy of drugs, NPs optimize physicochemical characteristics, thus permitting the clinical

References (200)

  • U. Gupta et al.

    Non-polymeric nano-carriers in HIV/AIDS drug delivery and targeting

    Adv Drug Deliv Rev

    (2010)
  • Y. Wang et al.

    Mesoporous silica nanoparticles in drug delivery and biomedical applications

    Nanomedicine

    (2015)
  • R.A. Jain

    The manufacturing techniques of various drug loaded biodegradable poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) devices

    Biomaterials

    (2000)
  • H. Zazo et al.

    Current applications of nanoparticles in infectious diseases

    J Control Release

    (2016)
  • J.L. Corchero et al.

    Biomedical applications of distally controlled magnetic nanoparticles

    Trends Biotechnol

    (2009)
  • S. Kulshrestha et al.

    Antibiofilm efficacy of green synthesized graphene oxide-silver nanocomposite using Lagerstroemia Speciosa floral extract: a comparative study on inhibition of gram-positive and gram-negative biofilms

    Microb Pathog

    (2017)
  • R. Cavalli et al.

    Micro-and nanobubbles: a versatile non-viral platform for gene delivery

    Int J Pharm

    (2013)
  • Y. Wang et al.

    Antibiotic-loaded, silver core-embedded mesoporous silica nanovehicles as a synergistic antibacterial agent for the treatment of drug-resistant infections

    Biomaterials

    (2016)
  • B. Wu et al.

    Cu-doped TiO 2 nanoparticles enhance survival of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 under ultraviolet light (UV) exposure

    Sci Total Environ

    (2011)
  • U. Joost et al.

    Photocatalytic antibacterial activity of nano-TiO 2 (anatase)-based thin films: effects on Escherichia Coli cells and fatty acids

    J Photochem Photobiol B Biol

    (2015)
  • V.P. Torchilin et al.

    Which polymers can make nanoparticulate drug carriers long-circulating?

    Adv Drug Deliv Rev

    (1995)
  • C.M. Courtney et al.

    Photoexcited quantum dots for killing multidrug-resistant bacteria

    Nat Mater

    (2016)
  • D. Lembo et al.

    Nanoparticulate delivery systems for antiviral drugs

    Antivir Chem Chemother

    (2010)
  • E.K. Mhango et al.

    Preparation and optimization of Meropenem-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles: in vitro evaluation and molecular modeling

    AAPS PharmSciTech

    (2016)
  • C. Plank

    Nanomedicine: silence the target

    Nat Nanotechnol

    (2009)
  • S. Qayyum et al.

    Nanoparticles vs. biofilms: a battle against another paradigm of antibiotic resistance

    Med Chem Commun

    (2016)
  • J.L. Italia et al.

    Peroral amphotericin B polymer nanoparticles lead to comparable or superior in vivo antifungal activity to that of intravenous Ambisome(R) or Fungizone

    PLoS One

    (2011)
  • A.M. Allahverdiyev et al.

    Coping with antibiotic resistance: combining nanoparticles with antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents

    Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther

    (2011)
  • S. Gurunathan et al.

    Oxidative stress-mediated antibacterial activity of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

    Int J Nanomedicine

    (2012)
  • A. Nagy et al.

    Silver nanoparticles embedded in zeolite membranes release of silver ions and mechanism of antibacterial action

    Int J Nanomedicine

    (2011)
  • Y.H. Leung et al.

    Mechanisms of antibacterial activity of MgO: non-ROS mediated toxicity of MgO nanoparticles towards Escherichia Coli

    Small

    (2014)
  • A. Sirelkhatim et al.

    Review on zinc oxide nanoparticles: antibacterial activity and toxicity mechanism

    Nano-Micro Lett

    (2015)
  • M.E. Davis et al.

    Nanoparticle therapeutics: an emerging treatment modality for cancer

    Nat Rev Drug Discov

    (2008)
  • G. Bozzuto et al.

    Liposomes as nanomedical devices

    Int J Nanomedicine

    (2015)
  • A. Akbarzadeh et al.

    Liposome: classification, preparation, and applications

    Nanoscale Res Lett

    (2013)
  • I.I. Muhamad et al.

    Designing polymeric nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery system

    Nanomedicine

    (2014)
  • N.E.H.A. Yadav et al.

    Solid lipid nanoparticles-a review

    Int J Appl Pharm

    (2013)
  • R. Dinali et al.

    Iron oxide nanoparticles in modern microbiology and biotechnology

    Crit Rev Microbiol

    (2017)
  • S. Zanganeh et al.

    Iron oxide nanoparticles inhibit tumour growth by inducing pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization in tumour tissues

    Nat Nanotechnol

    (2016)
  • S. Laurent et al.

    Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: promises for diagnosis and treatment of cancer

    Int J Mol Epidemiol Genet

    (2011)
  • J. Drbohlavova et al.

    Quantum dots—characterization, preparation and usage in biological systems

    Int J Mol Sci

    (2009)
  • B. Panchapakesan et al.

    Gold nanoprobes for theranostics

    Nanomedicine

    (2011)
  • A.M. Schrand et al.

    Metal-based nanoparticles and their toxicity assessment

    Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol

    (2010)
  • L. Ding et al.

    Nanotoxicity: the toxicity research progress of metal and metal-containing nanoparticles

    Mini-Rev Med Chem

    (2015)
  • X.F. Zhang et al.

    Silver nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, properties, applications, and therapeutic approaches

    Int J Mol Sci

    (2016)
  • C. Bharti et al.

    Mesoporous silica nanoparticles in target drug delivery system: a review

    Int J Pharm Investig

    (2015)
  • R.R. Arvizo et al.

    Intrinsic therapeutic applications of noble metal nanoparticles: past, present and future

    Chem Soc Rev

    (2012)
  • M.M. Barroso

    Quantum dots in cell biology

    J Histochem Cytochem

    (2011)
  • U. Resch-Genger et al.

    Quantum dots versus organic dyes as fluorescent labels

    Nat Methods

    (2008)
  • C. Gao et al.

    The new age of carbon nanotubes: an updated review of functionalized carbon nanotubes in electrochemical sensors

    Nanoscale

    (2012)
  • Cited by (145)

    • Biofilm and How It Relates to Prosthetic Joint Infection

      2024, Orthopedic Clinics of North America
    • Local delivery systems of drugs/biologicals for the management of burn wounds

      2023, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology
    • Bioengineered silver nanoparticles for antimicrobial therapeutics

      2023, Bioengineered Nanomaterials for Wound Healing and Infection Control
    • Novel perspectives on phytochemicals-based approaches for mitigation of biofilms in ESKAPE pathogens: recent trends and future avenues

      2023, Recent Frontiers of Phytochemicals: Applications in Food, Pharmacy, Cosmetics, and Biotechnology
    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

    Funding: This study was supported by DST-PURSE Program Phase-II (Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence) No. SR/PURSE Phase 2/9.

    View full text