Abstract

IRON OXIDE NANOPARTICLES: AN ALTERNATIVE AGAINST DRUG-RESISTANT UROPATHOGENS

Aishwarya Kamble*

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Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is a major concern worldwide, its misuse led to the development of drug-resistant bacteria and it is one of the greatest challenges for medical practitioners. Also, it has become a significant global threat due to its major cause of morbidity and mortality. Urinary tract infections caused by uropathogens (UPEC, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, P. mirabilis) have shown drug-resistance against a wide range of conventional antibiotics and has posed a danger to the human health. The replacement of conventional antimicrobials by nanotechnology developing iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) to counteract drug-resistant uropathogens is ongoing. The effectiveness of IONPs depends upon how the pathogens and IONPs interact with each other. The development of effective IONPs requires in-depth knowledge of its physicochemical properties and the biological aspects of urinary tract pathogens. It has been proved that IONPs possess remarkable antimicrobial potential because of its various unique properties, it also has excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability and can be used as nanocarriers during drug delivery. Hence, it is an alternative therapy against drug-resistant uropathogens. The present review discusses about IONPs and its properties, pathogenicity of drug-resistant uropathogens and its interaction with IONPs, its antibacterial effect, biocompatibility, biodegradability, drug delivery systems and future prospects.

Keywords: UTI, drug resistance, uropathogens, iron oxide nanoparticles, antimicrobial mechanism, drug delivery, alternative therapy.