Nanoparticles for Antimicrobial Agents Delivery-An Up-to-Date Review

Infectious diseases constitute an increasing threat to public health and medical systems worldwide. Particularly, the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens has left the pharmaceutical arsenal unarmed to fight against such severe microbial infections. Thus, the context has called for a paradigm shift in managing bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections, leading to the collision of medicine with nanotechnology. As a result, renewed research interest has been noted in utilizing various nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles, aiming to overcome the limitations of current treatment options. In more detail, numerous studies have loaded natural and synthetic antimicrobial agents into different inorganic, lipid, and polymeric-based nanomaterials and tested them against clinically relevant pathogens. In this respect, this paper reviews the most recently reported successfully fabricated nanoformulations that demonstrated a great potential against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites of interest for human medicine.

Automated summary

Infectious diseases pose a growing threat to public health and medical systems globally, especially with the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. This has led to the convergence of medicine and nanotechnology in order to combat severe microbial infections. Recent research has focused on utilizing various nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles to overcome the limitations of current treatment options. This paper reviews the latest successful nanoformulations that show great potential in combating bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites of interest in human medicine.