TABLE 9.

Future potentials of nanoparticle-antibiotics synergy.

Nanoparticle	Antibiotics	Properties	Antibacterial mechanisms	References
Fullerene (C60)	Vancomycin	1. Unique carbon cage structures, size, hydrophobicity, electronic configurations, and three-dimensionality	1. Disruption of membrane integrity in bacteria	Bakry et al. (2007); Tang et al. (2007); Prylutskyy et al. (2014)
		2. Production of high quantum yield singlet oxygen	2. Fullerene interacts with the hydrophobic cavity of enzymes and thus inhibits enzyme activity
		3. Can cleave DNA due to the electron transfer from excited state fullerene to DNA base	3. Induce oxidative stress
		4. For hybrid nanostructures, fullerene provides high encapsulation efficiency with lipidic NPs	4. Perturb energy metabolism
			5. Interact with cytochrome P450S, cysteine, and serine proteases
			6. Cationic fullerenes react with negatively charged bacterial surfaces and the potential to disintegrate cell membranes by redox damage or mechanical breakage of the lipid bilayer
Carbon quantum dots (CDQs)	Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride	1. High ciprofloxacin loading capacity	1. Controlled release of Ciprofloxacin at a slower rate from the surface of CDQs	Thakur et al. (2014)
		2. Avoid non-specific deposition, only reach the site of infection	2. Deliver high concentration of antibiotic
		3. Can be used as a molecular-tag to locate the infection site in a host	3. Various functional groups of CDQs inhibit cellular proliferation
			4. ROS generation from the charge-separated CDQs species
Polymer	Penicillin, tetracycline, sulfonamide, fluoroquinolones	1. Multifunctionality, good biocompatibility, and stable drug delivery both at in-vitro and in-vivo conditions	1. As opposed to free antibiotics, polymeric NPs functionalized with antibiotics can overcome tissue barriers and improved penetration through cell wall and membranes	Xiong et al. (2014)
		2. Improved biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of antibiotics	2. The synergy of polymeric NPs and antibiotics provide slow, sustained release of drug molecules at inaccessible specific site overcoming thick tissue layer
		3. Provides environmental deactivation
		4. Due to being bioactive in nature, dose and frequency can be reduced
Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)	Vancomycin	1. MWCNT’s carboxyl group and Van’s amide group form a robust antibacterial conjugate	1. Can effectively breakdown various human gut microbe’s membranes	Chen et al. (2013); Liu et al. (2017)
		2. This powerful agent can kill both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria	2. Rupture the DNA and RNA components, followed by the destruction of cell membranes
			3. Inhibit the biosynthesis of cell wall peptidoglycan and may reduce RNA synthesis
Nanoemulsions	Erythromycin	1. Overcome poor drug solubility	1. Increased drug entrapment and loading efficiency enable high concentrated localized drug delivery	Sutradhar and Amin. (2013); Tran et al. (2017)
		2. long term activity	2. Better drug absorption, penetration, and accurate dosing at target specific site ensure appropriate drug concentration, thereby reduces the chances of antibiotic resistance development
		3. Target specific
		4. High retention time
		5. Require low dose
		6. Erythromycin stability improves under acidic condition
		7. Enhancement of bioavailability
		8. Better absorption inside cellular systems