As multiresistant and pan-resistant infections continue to emerge, and because the development of novel antimicrobial drugs is a slow process, nanotechnology offers valuable alternatives for fighting resistant bugs, mainly by improving the therapeutic effect of current antimicrobials. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global health threats of the 21st century, but nanotechnology is offering new solutions to the problem. Nanostructured biomaterials, nanoparticles in particular, have unique physicochemical properties such as ultra small and controllable size, large surface area to mass ratio, high reactivity, and functionalizable structure. These properties can be applied to facilitate the administration of antimicrobial drugs, thereby overcoming some of the limitations in traditional antimicrobial therapeutics. Carbon-based nanomaterials such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (especially single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)) and graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles) show potent antimicrobial properties. Nanocoating and shuttle systems have shown great promise in vitro and animal models. Noble metals nanostructures, particularly silver, have attracted much attention in the fields of medicine due to their unique properties which are strongly dependent on the size and shape of metal nanomaterials. Recent development of nanocarriers, improved the drug therapy of different diseases, together with the mechanisms of microbial inhibition.
Fluorinated graphene nanoribbons from unzipped single-walled carbon nanotubes for ultrahigh energy density lithium-fluorinated carbon batteries
