Coping with antibiotic resistance: combining nanoparticles with antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents.
The worldwide escalation of bacterial resistance to conventional medical antibiotics is a serious concern for modern medicine. High prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria among bacteria-based infections decreases effectiveness of current treatments and causes thousands of deaths. New improvements in present methods and novel strategies are urgently needed to cope with this problem. Owing to their antibacterial activities, metallic nanoparticles represent an effective solution for overcoming bacterial resistance. However, metallic nanoparticles are toxic, which causes restrictions in their use. Recent studies have shown that combining nanoparticles with antibiotics not only reduces the toxicity of both agents towards human cells by decreasing the requirement for high dosages but also enhances their bactericidal properties. Combining antibiotics with nanoparticles also restores their ability to destroy bacteria that have acquired resistance to them. Furthermore, nanoparticles tagged with antibiotics have been shown to increase the concentration of antibiotics at the site of bacterium-antibiotic interaction, and to facilitate binding of antibiotics to bacteria. Likewise, combining nanoparticles with antimicrobial peptides and essential oils generates genuine synergy against bacterial resistance. In this article, we aim to summarize recent studies on interactions between nanoparticles and antibiotics, as well as other antibacterial agents to formulate new prospects for future studies. Based on the promising data that demonstrated the synergistic effects of antimicrobial agents with nanoparticles, we believe that this combination is a potential candidate for more research into treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Yildiz Technical University, Department of Bioengineering, Istanbul, Turkey. adilmoglu@gmail.com
Adil M
AM
Allahverdiyev
Kateryna Volodymyrivna
KV
Kon
Emrah Sefik
ES
Abamor
Malahat
M
Bagirova
Miriam
M
Rafailovich
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D004337:Drug Carriers