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. 2021 Jul 3;12(3):449–465. doi: 10.34172/apb.2022.049

Table 1. The antimicrobial performance of pristine carbon nanotubes in different studies .

Types of CNTs Synthesis method Concentration Species Main findings References
SWNTs CO disproportionation 5 µg/mL E. coli Releasing intracellular content due to irrecoverable outer membrane damage. 15
SWNTs CO disproportionation 5 µg/mL E. coli Microbial cells lost their cellular integrity. 16
MWNTs CVD method 5 µg/mL E. coli Many of the bacterial cells remain intact and preserve their outer membrane. 17
SWNTs and MWNTs CVD method 20 µg/mL, 50 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL L. acidophilus, E. coli, B. adolescentis, E. faecalis, and S. aureus The antimicrobial mechanism is associated with length-dependent wrapping and diameter-dependent piercing upon microbial cell membrane damage and the release of intracellular contents. 19
MWNTs Nanocycle productions 1.5 mg/L-1 – 100 mg/L-1 E. coli The MIC values of MWNTs were high, indicating low microbial toxicity. 38
MWNTs - - E. coli, B. subtilis, and P. aeruginosa The viability results demonstrated that the toxicity of MWNTs (2-log cell density reduction) against selected pathogens. 39
DWNTs and MWNTs NE scientific productions 20 µg/mL – 100 µg/mL Staphylococcus aureus, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and C. albicans MWNTs demonstrated higher antimicrobial activity than DWNTs against selected pathogens. 21
MWNTs Nanotech Labs productions 20 mg/20 mL P. fluorescens The percentage of inactivated bacteria by MWNTs was recorded at 44%. It was observed that MWNTs showed a significant effect on the inhibition of microbial adhesion due to the electrochemical potential. 40
SWNTs - 5 µg/mL Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis No obvious physical destruction was observed below 10 nN of applied force. 41
SWNT, DWNT, and MWNT Electric arc discharge, and CCVD 100 µg/mL Staphylococcus aureus, P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans Microbial death induced by the aggregation of CNTs that were trapped on the microbial cell surface. 42
SWNTs, and MWNTs - 0.2 mg/mL E. coli Laser-activated CNTs had the potential to control the growth of bacteria. 43