TABLE 1.

Antimicrobial peptides, metal nanoparticles, and combinatorial treatments: mechanism of action, tested bacterial strains, advantages, and disadvantages.

	Mechanism of action	Tested bacterial strains	Advantages	Disadvantages
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)	1. Alteration in membrane integrity. 2. Inhibition of DNA and protein synthesis. 3. Inhibition of bacterial cell wall formation. 4. Inhibition of metabolic pathways.	Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp., multidrug-resistant strains.	1. Show potent microbicidal activity in the micromolar range. 2. Rapid bacterial death action. 3. Low resistance selection.	1. High sensitivity to proteolytic digestion in different body fluids. 2. Low in vivo stability. 3. Reduced pharmacokinetic profile.
Metal nanoparticles (MNPs)	1. Disruption of cell membrane and increased permeability. 2. Releasing metal ions. 3. Interaction with DNA	Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella dysenteriae, Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus subtilis, multidrug-resistant strains.	1. Broad therapeutic index. 2. Controlled drug release. 3. Less prone to bacterial resistance. 4. Fewer side effects than chemical antimicrobials.	1. Need to improve metal ions release from MNPs. 2. Moderate stability in biological fluids. 3. Reduced long-term toxicity studies.
Combinatorial treatments	1. Synergistic response. 2. Multiple cellular targets for antimicrobial action. 3. Combination of bactericidal and bacteriostatic mechanism of action.	Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli Mycobacterium tuberculosis multidrug-resistant strains.	1. Require lower dose than a single drug. 2. Reduced toxicity. 3. Synergisms and more effective response. 4. Decrease the probability of resistance evolution. 5. Better efficacy against multidrug-resistant bacteria.	1. Physical-chemical compatibility among antimicrobial agents. 2. Possible pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions.