Fighting Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms: Current Status and Emerging Strategies Using Nanomaterials

The high prevalence of pathogens resistant to antimicrobials poses a huge threat to the treatment of a wide range of serious infections. Emerging strategies using nanoparticles to treat these infections is promissory, thus, the current research emphasizes the development of promising new antimicrobial drugs in the near future. Nanotechnology offers the opportunity to exploit the biological properties of these materials by manipulating their size to dimensions on the nanometer scale. The importance of the eradication of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses resistant to multiples antimicrobials in the first moments of colonization justify the need to find new therapeutic alternatives associated with the eradication and control of infections. The main objective of antimicrobial treatment is to minimize the microbial inoculum, which implies the need to use biocidal drugs, which do not allow the selection of resistance mechanisms.

The few effective antimicrobials against resistant microorganisms emphasize the need for new approaches through the development of different therapeutic strategies. Due to their small size and large surface area, nanomaterials possess excellent electrical, optical, magnetic, structural, and chemical properties. Optimizing the interface between biomolecules and/or ligands with nanostructured materials is currently a promising path for research of new antimicrobial therapies. The fact that nanoparticles are similar in size to intra- and extra-cellular biological components allows them to specifically interact with molecular and sub-cellular processes and manipulate biological states, structures, and functions in a radically new way, making them extremely attractive for new biomedical applications. The combination of materials science and nanomedicine has given rise to a new alternative field that involves the functionalization of nanostructures with different biologically active materials. The potential microbiological impact of nanoparticles is not only determined by their physicochemical properties, but also by the interactions of these with the immediate surrounding biological environments.

Our purpose is to highlight research from different parts of the world and we look forward to valuable contributions on the following topics:

• Development of new therapeutic strategies that use biotechnological tools to combat resistant microorganisms.
• Synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials with an antimicrobial activity using different chemical, physical or biological methodologies.
• Studies in vitro or in vivo of nanomaterials over different microorganisms that can be exploited in nanomedicine.
• Alternative models to address nanomaterial toxicity against persister infections.
• Nanotechnology studies for the diagnosis and treatment of microbial infections.
• Individualized treatment options for microbial infections.
• Functionalization of nanoparticles with antimicrobial activities.
• The design and engineering of advanced nanomateriales for the development of novel gene sequencing technologies that enable single-molecule microbial detection.
• Use of nanoribbons to help local infectious diseases or prevent infections injuries.
• Nanotechnology for improving vaccines, including vaccine delivery.
• Biomedical applications with nanomaterials for antimicrobial drug delivery.
• Nanomaterials based biosensors for microbial analysis applications.

We welcome submissions of article types including Original Research, Hypothesis & Theory, Reviews and Perspectives.

Important Note: All submissions/contributions to this Research Topic must be in line with the scope of the journal/section they are submitted to. While authors are encouraged to draw from other disciplines to enrich their papers where relevant, they must ensure papers fall within the scope of the journal/section, as expressed in its mission statement.

Prof. Garcia Martinez is the inventor of five patents. All other Topic Editors do not declare any competing interests related to this Research Topic.