Editorial: Antimicrobial Nanostructured Polymeric Materials and Nanocomposites

Abstract

Infectious diseases are a significant burden on the public health and the economic stability of societies all over the world. Drug resistance presents an ever-increasing global public health threat that involves all major microbial pathogens and antimicrobial drugs. The considerable concern regarding bacterial resistance to antimicrobial agents, bacterial adhesion, and proliferation has generated intense research in this field. Although urgently needed, an effective and long-lasting solution to this problem, i.e. microbial and especially bacterial colonization, has not yet been found. In the last decades, nanomaterials have attracted much attention because of their unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties, due to their high surface area and size at the nanoscale. Owing to these extraordinary characteristics, nanomaterials are appropriate candidates for various applications in different fields such as medicine, pharmacy, food industry, etc. New strategies based on the use of nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanogels, nanofibers, nanocomposites, or nanocoatings for controlling microbial virulence factors are very promising. In addition special focus recently is paid on nanostructured polymeric materials and nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties. The increasing attention within the scientific community regarding this topic can be easily assessed by searching the suitable keywords in some recognized literature databases. According to Scopus, in the last 10 years, more than 1,300 peer-reviewed documents have been published jointly containing keywords such as “nanocomposites” and “antimicrobial”. Interestingly, in the more specified search which refers to the utilization of nanostructured polymeric materials, it could be observed a similar profile i.e. growing tendency.