Nano antibiotics are potentially a next generation of antimicrobial for bacteria and drug resistant pathogens.Nanoantibiotics should be the main focus due to the growing amount of ‘super-bugs’ or multi-drug resistant bacteria as one of the major clinical problems all around the globe.

1. Nano Antibiotics
Asif Nawaz
MPhil (Microbiology)
AUST

3. What is Nano Antibiotics
 Nanoantibiotics are potentially a next generation of antimicrobials for
bacteria and drug resistant pathogens.

4. INTRODUCTION
 Nanoantibiotics should be the main
focus due to the growing amount of
‘superbugs’ or multi-drug resistant
bacteria as one of the major clinical
problems all around the globe.
 Biological production of
nanoparticles has found its greatest
application towards medicine and
mainly in drug delivery systems

5. History
 Nanotechnology is introduced in
1980’s by which it is possible to
build things at the nano scale by
controlling molecules at the
atomic level.
 In later years technology has
accepted and improved and
found its use in various fields
including electronics, organic
chemistry, biomaterials, medicine
etc.
 Nano medicine uses this nano
scale particles for the benefit of
mankind. specificity and
understanding the pathogenesis
of the disease.

6. Using these nanoparticles
therapeutically has made a
significant improvement in the
field of medicine that is used in
diagnosis, therapy and as
biomaterials in imaging.
 Their medical application
includes nano materials, nano
electronic, biosensors and the
future molecular
nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology has comforted
us with treating the disease
with absolute

7. Nano Particles (NPs)
 Nano particles that are found to
have antimicrobial activity
which includes copper, zinc,
titanium, gold, silver,
magnesium and alginate and
some of them are found to have
strong antimicrobial activities
against many bacteria, viruses
and other microbes.
 Nanoparticles having
antibacterial ability consist of
groups involving metals and
metal oxides, carbon-based nano
materials, naturally occurring
substances with antibacterial
activity.

8.  Various nano materials having
effective antibacterial activity
are believed to have high
surface area to volume ratios
and a unique chemo-physical
property .
 There are different studies
conducted to evaluate the
development of resistance by
bacteria to nanoparticles but all
the studies reported that
naturally occurring bacteria do
not develop any resistance to
metal nanoparticles

9. ZINC Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
 Use of NPs as antibiotics should be lethal to
bacteria and at the same time it should also
have minimal side effects on human and
animal cells.
 Some of the nanoparticles are made of
metal oxides that are stable under harsh
processing conditions with the properties of
high antibacterial effects and minimal side
effects to humans.
 Zinc as metal oxides, ZnO NPs can be used
as an anti-bacterial agent as they were
found to have antibacterial activity against
some food borne bacterial pathogens such
as E.coli, that it can be used for preserving
agricultural products and food

10.  The properties of ZnO NPs such as low production cost, UV blocking
ability and its white appearance make it more advantageous than Ag
NPs.
 On its application part, it showed excellent ability of nanoZnO multi-
layer deposition on cotton fabrics having antibacterial activity against
S. aureus .
 The ability of ZnO NPs to kill the bacteria by disrupting its cell
membrane (lipids and proteins) and releasing its intracellular contents
makes it valuable antibacterial particles.
 It also generates hydrogen peroxide and Zn+2 ions in addition, which
makes them more vital to kill bacterial cells.
 Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-coated ZnO NPs having increased
membrane permeability, cellular internalization and changes in
intracellular structure

11. SILVER
 Ag NPs have efficient anti-bacterial
activity and antibiotics such as
ampicillin will act on the bacterial
cell wall and allow Ag NPs to enter
inside the cell which inhibits DNA
unwinding that leads to cell death.
 Modified Ag NPs in combination
with titanium are toxic to E. coli
and S. aureus. Natural activity of
Ag NPs is to bind with the bacterial
membrane and disrupt its integrity
and individual silver ions will bind
with sulphur , oxygen, and nitrogen
of biological molecules and totally
inhibit bacterial growth

12. GOLD
 It is widely used to control the
proliferating rate of bacteria
Experimental design of Au NPs
conjugated with anti protein A
against selective killing of S.
aureus
 Latest improvements in
nanotechnology proved that
chitosan-capped Au NPs coupled
with ampicillin showed at least
two-fold increase in its
antimicrobial activity, comparing
with traditional free ampicillin.

13.  Conclusively, gold nanoparticles are promising adjuvants
for replacing antibiotic therapy in treating serious bacterial
infections including multi-drug resistant bacteria with its
reduced dosage and minimal adverse effects.

14. Copper Nanoparticles
 Copper as an antibacterial agent is
more superior because many
enzymes in the living micro
organisms have copper in their
structural constituent
 Environ-mental Protection Agency
(EPA) reported the antimicrobial
activity of almost 300 different
copper surfaces in 2008 after
which metallic copper was studied
as a major antimicrobial agent

15.  Bacillus subtilis is killed by Cu NPs that has a greater affinity to
amines and carboxyl groups on the surface of the organism and it
also showed better activity than Ag NPs .
 Copper oxide (CuO) remains relatively stable chemically and
physically, and also cheaper as compared to silver
Bacillus Subtilis

17. Advantages of Nano Antibiotics
Nanoparticles (NPs) as antibiotics may
help to avoid developing resistance and
also these nano sized particles aid in
efficient antibiotic delivery.
 Recent studies show that some nano
metal antimicrobial activity have been
effective in controlling infective
diseases.
It also holds the advantage with
reduced toxicity, low cost, improved
pharmacokinetics factors, overcoming
the resistant bacteria and the biggest
advantage is that they can retain longer
than the conventional antibiotics aiding
in sustained therapeutic effect

18. Adverse effects of Nano
Antibiotics
 Side effects of nano antibiotics are still unknown but
researcher view that these nano particle which act as
antibacterial, store in body which may harm body.