Synthesis and Antimicrobial Abilities of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

The occurrence of infectious diseases has been reached an alarming level globally. Among a variety of life-threatening diseases, bacterial-borne diseases are most common. Though significant advancements are made against several bacterial infections, the rate of mortality and morbidity still remains high due to the resistance caused by bacteria to antibiotics virtually used for their treatment. Therefore, in an era of increasing bacterial resistance to classical antibacterial agents, the development of new strategies to identify and develop next-generation antibacterial agents has become an imperative need of the day to sustain the battle against the pathogenic bacteria. Recently, metal oxide-based nanoparticles such as Ag2O, TiO2, CuO, ZnO, CaO, and MgO have gained considerable consideration among researchers because of their potential antimicrobial performance against pathogenic bacteria. The main advantage associated with the metal oxide nanoparticle is that it offers a high surface to volume ratio due to its low particle size, which can easily bind with the active site of the disease-causing biomolecules and microorganisms. Thus, research on the antimicrobial abilities of metal oxide nanoparticles are constantly expanding and eye-catching to find new antimicrobial agents as an alternative against resistant bacteria.