Targeted Antimicrobial Nanoparticles to Overcome Multidrug Resistance: Mechanisms, Biofilm Strategies, and Translational Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15377/2409-983X.2025.12.6Keywords:
Biofilm penetration, Efflux pump inhibition, Targeted drug delivery, Multidrug resistance (MDR), Antimicrobial nanoparticles.Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is advancing at a concerning ratio, challenging the effectiveness of modern medicine. Pathogens responsible for multidrug resistance are now prevalent in public areas such as healthcare facilities, agricultural environments and community settings, limiting treatment options and contributing to higher illness rate and medical costs. These pathogens have become resistant to traditional antibiotics due to their bacterial defence mechanism including efflux pump amplification, enzymatic inactivation, biofilm establishment and genetic exchange. Antibiotics engineered with nanoparticles offer physiochemical characteristics including unique nano-scale size, high surface-area-to-volume ratio, tunable composition via surface modification with targeting ligands, etc., enabling them to evade or disrupt microbial defence mechanisms. This review presents an in-depth analysis of targeted antimicrobial nanoparticles, discussing their design principles, interaction with microbiological resistance pathways, and recent advancements in biofilm penetration, efflux pump inhibition, and enzyme-triggered drug activation. It also highlights microbiology driven nanoparticle, resistance-limiting antimicrobials, while also addressing challenges in safety, large-scale production, and regulatory approval.
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