Abstract

Since antimicrobial drug resistance rises at an alarming rate worldwide, there is an urgent need for the development of novel and effective antimicrobial strategies. Especially multiple-antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains are increasingly recognized as a significant global health threat.  Chlorination, ozone, ultraviolet light, and the application of organic antibacterial agents are examples of traditional treatment methods. However, these are typically costly and problematic for public health and the environment. The development of efficient and targeted substitute antimicrobial agents are urgently needed. Nanotechnology turned out to provide promising solutions where small structures can be produced by different physical, chemical and biological methods. Metal-based nanomaterials, such as EPS-metalloids, got attention because of their potential in treating different bacterial, fungal and viral diseases. Balancing antibacterial efficacy with toxic side effects on human cells, tissues and organs limits their clinical applicability. Nanostructures of carbon, like graphene oxide, nanotubes of carbon, carbon and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) cause strong antibacterial action but excellent biocompatibility with non-target human tissues. GQDs provide exceptional chemical, physical, and biological properties. Promising biomedical applications are possible due to their smaller size, low costs for synthesis, suitability for fluorescent labeling, drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, and antimicrobial activity at low cytotoxic side effects. Our findings highlight the multifunctionality of nanoparticles – N-doped GQDs and EPS-metalloids being examples – offering alternative, novel and effective approaches in the combat of bacterial and other microbial infections at times of drug resistance.