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Metal nanoparticles: understanding the mechanisms behind antibacterial activity Slavin, Yael N.; Asnis, Jason; Häfeli, Urs; Bach, Horacio

Abstract

As the field of nanomedicine emerges, there is a lag in research surrounding the topic of nanoparticle (NP) toxicity, particularly concerned with mechanisms of action. The continuous emergence of bacterial resistance has challenged the research community to develop novel antibiotic agents. Metal NPs are among the most promising of these because show strong antibacterial activity. This review summarizes and discusses proposed mechanisms of antibacterial action of different metal NPs. These mechanisms of bacterial killing include the production of reactive oxygen species, cation release, biomolecule damages, ATP depletion, and membrane interaction. Finally, a comprehensive analysis of the effects of NPs on the regulation of genes and proteins (transcriptomic and proteomic) profiles is discussed.

Item Metadata

Title
Metal nanoparticles: understanding the mechanisms behind antibacterial activity
Creator
Slavin, Yael N.; Asnis, Jason; Häfeli, Urs; Bach, Horacio
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2017-10-03
Description
As the field of nanomedicine emerges, there is a lag in research surrounding the topic of nanoparticle (NP) toxicity, particularly concerned with mechanisms of action. The continuous emergence of bacterial resistance has challenged the research community to develop novel antibiotic agents. Metal NPs are among the most promising of these because show strong antibacterial activity. This review summarizes and discusses proposed mechanisms of antibacterial action of different metal NPs. These mechanisms of bacterial killing include the production of reactive oxygen species, cation release, biomolecule damages, ATP depletion, and membrane interaction. Finally, a comprehensive analysis of the effects of NPs on the regulation of genes and proteins (transcriptomic and proteomic) profiles is discussed.
Subject
Nanoparticles; Metals; ROS; Mechanism of defense; Bacteria; Transcriptomics; Proteomics; Gene regulation; Antibacterial resistance
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2017-10-04
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0356394
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63207
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of; Infectious Diseases, Division of; Medicine, Department of
Citation
Journal of Nanobiotechnology. 2017 Oct 03;15(1):65
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s12951-017-0308-z
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)