Table 1.
The inhibitory ability of some copper-containing nanoparticles on oral microbes.
| Nanoparticles (Diameter and morphology) | Test oral microbes | Anti-microbial test method | Antimicrobial efficiency | Mechanism of action | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CuO NPs (40 nm) |
S.mutans (PTCC 1683) C.albicans Candida krusei (C. kruse) Candida krusei (C. glabrata) |
MIC (37°C, 48 h) |
S.mutans: 1–10 µg/ml (MIC50) C. albicans, C. kruse and C. glabrata: 1000 µg/ml (MIC50) |
Produce ROS | (20) |
| CuO NPs (39.87 nm, spherical) | Oral bacteria from the teeth crown surface | CuO NPs (10, 50, and 100 µg /ml) were treated with 106 CFU/ml bacterial cells (37°C,16 h) | 10 µg/ml: 66% (NA agar plates) and 59% (MRS agar plates) inhibition of bacteria 50 µg/ml: Inhibits 82-92% of bacteria The EC50 values: 22.5 µg/ml (NA agar plates) 25 µg/ml (MRS agar plates) |
Unclear | (21) |
| CuO NPs (18–20 nm, spherical) | S.mutans (700610) | Sonochemical coating of CuO NPs on artificial tooth surface treated with 107 CFU/ml bacterial cells (37°C, 24 h) | Biofilm formation is reduced by 70% Bacteria in the medium was not affected. |
Produce ROS | (149) |
| CuCh NPs (131 ± 36 nm) | S.mutans (ATCC 25175) | MIC and MBC (37°C , 48h) | MIC: 35 µg/ml MBC: 60 µg/ml |
Produce ROS Inhibit the activity of glucosyltransferase (GTF) |
(42) |
| CuO (10.7 nm, nanobar) Cu2O (36 nm, nanocube) |
C. albicans (ATCC 90028) | CuO and Cu2O were treated with 5 × 106 CFU/ml bacterial (37°C , 24 h) | The MIC of CuO and Cu2O is 150 µg/ml and 250 µg/ml respectively, and biofilm inhibitory concentration (BIC) for both NPs is 1 µg/ml | Produce ROS Destroy cell membranes Inhibits ergosterol and causes loss of virulence Inhibits yeast-to-hyphal transition |
(24) |
| CuO Cu2O Ag + CuO composite [70% (w/w) Ag] (10–50 nm) |
P. gingivalis (W83) Prevotella intermedia (P. intermedia, ATCC 25611) Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) subsp. nucleatum (ATCC 25586) Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans, ATCC33384) |
CuO, Cu2O and Ag + CuO composite (100, 250, 500, 1,000 and 2,500 µg/ml ) were treated with 5 × 106 CFU/ml bacterial cells (37°C , 48 h) | For CuO: P. gingivalis: 500 µg/ml (MIC), 2500 µg/ml (MBC) P. intermedia: 250 µg/ml (MIC), 250 µg/ml (MBC) F. nucleatum: 250 µg/ml (MIC), 250 µg/ml (MBC) A. actinomycetemcomitans: 250 µg/ml (MIC), 250 µg/ml (MBC) For Cu2O: P. gingivalis: <100 µg/ml (MIC), <100 µg/ml (MBC) P. intermedia: <100 µg/ml (MIC), <100 µg/ml (MBC) F. nucleatum: <100 µg/ml (MIC), <100 µg/ml (MBC) A. actinomycetemcomitans:1,000 µg/ml (MIC), 1,000 µg/ml (MBC) For Ag + CuO composite: P. gingivalis: <100 µg/ml (MIC), <100 µg/ml (MBC) P. intermedia: <100 µg/ml (MIC), 100 µg/ml (MBC) F. nucleatum: 500 µg/ml (MIC), 500 µg/ml (MBC) A. actinomycetemcomitans: 250 µg/ml (MIC), 250 µg/ml (MBC) |
Damage to cell membrane permeability Produce ROS |
(23) |
| Fe doped CuO NPs (Rectangular shape assembled from approximately 23 µm microspheres and sheets with an average thickness of 150 nm) | C. albicans | Fe doped CuO NPs were treated with 1% overnight cultures of C. albicans (30°C, 24 h) | 20 µg/ml: inhibited biofilm formation by 7.2%. 100 µg/ml: reduced the growth OD to 0.28 and inhibited the formation of biofilms by 76.4% |
Release metal cations Combine with bacterial cells The Trojan horse mechanism |
(26) |
| chitosan-copper NPs (The diameters of NPs containing 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 wt% chitosan are 50–300 nm, 50–270 nm, 5–50 nm and 2 nm, respectively) | C. albicans | chitosan-copper NPs (2,500 µg/ml) were treated with 1 × 105 CFU/ml fungal cells (37°C, overnight) | The inhibition rates of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 wt% of NPs on C. albicans were 82.75, 82.2, 81.37 and 65.86%, respectively | The Trojan horse mechanism | (159) |