title: Antimicrobial activity of the metals and metal oxide nanoparticles.
abstract: The ever increasing resistance of pathogens towards antibiotics has caused serious health problems in the recent years. It has been shown that by combining modern technologies such as nanotechnology and material science with intrinsic antimicrobial activity of the metals, novel applications for these substances could be identified. According to the reports, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles represent a group of materials which were investigated in respect to their antimicrobial effects. In the present review, we focused on the recent research works concerning antimicrobial activity of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles together with their mechanism of action. Reviewed literature indicated that the particle size was the essential parameter which determined the antimicrobial effectiveness of the metal nanoparticles. Combination therapy with the metal nanoparticles might be one of the possible strategies to overcome the current bacterial resistance to the antibacterial agents. However, further studies should be performed to minimize the toxicity of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles to apply as proper alternatives for antibiotics and disinfectants especially in biomedical applications.
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Solmaz Maleki
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Dizaj
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lotfipour
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barzegar-Jalali
authors.affiliation: Drug Applied Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Zarrintan
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center and Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address: adibkia@tbzmed.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Khosro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adibkia
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D010316:Particle Size; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D017610:Calcium Compounds; D017895:Manganese Compounds; D010087:Oxides; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; C009495:titanium dioxide; C027424:manganese oxide; D006046:Gold; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C016538:lime; D014025:Titanium; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Metal nanoparticles; Metal oxide nanoparticles; Reactive oxygen species