Prabhu Chaitra, Satyaprasad Akshath Uchangi, Deekshit Vijaya Kumar
Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbial Genomics, NITTE (Deemed to be University), NITTE University Centre for Science Education and Research, Paneer Campus, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, India.
Department of Bio and Nano Technology, NITTE (Deemed to be University), NITTE University Centre for Science Education and Research, Paneer Campus, Deralakatte, Mangaluru, India.
J Basic Microbiol. 2025 Feb;65(2):e2400596. doi: 10.1002/jobm.202400596. Epub 2024 Dec 18.
Antimicrobial resistance is a global health problem as it contributes to high mortality rates in several infectious diseases. To address this issue, engineered nanoparticles/nano-formulations of antibiotics have emerged as a promising strategy. Nanoparticles are typically defined as materials with dimensions up to 100 nm and are made of different materials such as inorganic particles, lipids, polymers, etc. They are widely dispersed in the environment through various consumer products, and their clinical applications are diverse, ranging from contrast agents in imaging to carriers for gene and drug delivery. Nanoparticles can also act as antimicrobial agents either on their own or in combination with traditional antibiotics to produce synergistic effects, earning them the label of "next-generation therapeutics." They have also shown great effectiveness against multidrug-resistant pathogens responsible for nosocomial infections. However, overexposure or prolonged exposure to sublethal doses of nanoparticles can promote the development of resistance in human pathogens. The resistance can arise from various factors such as genetic mutation, horizontal gene transfer, production of reactive oxygen species, changes in the outer membrane of bacteria, efflux-induced resistance, cross-resistance from intrinsic antibiotic resistance determinants, plasmid-mediated resistance, and many more. Continuous exposure to nanoparticles can also transform an antibiotic-susceptible bacterial pathogen into multidrug resistance. Considering all these, the current review focuses on the mode of action of different heavy metals and nanoparticles and possible mechanisms through which bacteria attain resistance towards these heavy metals and nanoparticles.
抗菌耐药性是一个全球性的健康问题，因为它导致了几种传染病的高死亡率。为了解决这个问题，工程化的纳米颗粒/抗生素纳米制剂已成为一种有前景的策略。纳米颗粒通常被定义为尺寸最大为100纳米的材料，由无机颗粒、脂质、聚合物等不同材料制成。它们通过各种消费品广泛分散在环境中，其临床应用多种多样，从成像中的造影剂到基因和药物递送的载体。纳米颗粒也可以单独或与传统抗生素联合作为抗菌剂产生协同作用，因此获得了“下一代疗法”的标签。它们还对引起医院感染的多重耐药病原体显示出巨大的有效性。然而，过度暴露或长期暴露于亚致死剂量的纳米颗粒会促进人类病原体耐药性的发展。耐药性可能源于多种因素，如基因突变、水平基因转移、活性氧的产生、细菌外膜的变化、外排诱导的耐药性、固有抗生素耐药决定因素的交叉耐药性、质粒介导的耐药性等等。持续暴露于纳米颗粒还可以将对抗生素敏感的细菌病原体转变为多重耐药性。考虑到所有这些，本综述重点关注不同重金属和纳米颗粒的作用方式以及细菌对这些重金属和纳米颗粒产生耐药性的可能机制。
