MINI REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1688413
Antibacterial nanoagents: An emerging arsenal against bacterial persisters
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanjing Polytechnic Institute, Nanjing, China
- 2Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
- 3Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China
- 4A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Singapore, Singapore
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Bacterial persisters represent a metabolically dormant or slow-growing subpopulation within bacterial communities that exhibit resistance to antibiotics. These cells are capable of resuming active proliferation upon the removal of environmental stressors, hence serving as reservoirs for recurrent infections. Extensive clinical evidence links persister cell formation with chronic infection and post-therapeutic recurrence. In this minireview, we highlight the challenges in eradicating persisters and review recent advances in nanomaterial-based antimicrobial strategies that specifically target these resilient cells. We also discuss key translational barriers impeding the clinical application of antibacterial nanoagents. By integrating these insights, we aim to provide a conceptual roadmap for the development of next-generation therapies against persistent bacterial infections.
Keywords: bacterial persisters, nanomaterial, recurrent infection, Antimicrobial strategies, Bacterial infection
Received: 20 Aug 2025; Accepted: 25 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Yang, Yuwen and Zeng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dongliang Yang, yangdl1023@njtech.edu.cn
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.