Prospects of Using Metal Cations to Develop Antimicrobial Complexes

Antibacterial drugs when used for a long time are known to cause antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Rapid development of resistance to modern antibacterial drugs by microorganisms makes it necessary to look for new therapeutic methods. The use of metal nanoparticles and their oxides as a basis for creating new generation antimicrobial agents is a promising alternative, which makes it interesting to study the methods for metal nanoparticles synthesis as well as their physical, chemical and pharmacological properties. The review discusses how antibiotic resistance develops in biofilms and possible ways to overcome it in the case of nanosize metal particles, describes the synthesis and nature of action of silver, copper and zinc cation-containing nanoparticles, and provides the results of assessing the effects of metal nanoparticles on antibiotic sensitivity in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi as compared to the known dosage forms. Cu2+ cations and Zn2+ cations have a marked antibacterial effect towards Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ag+ cations showed the highest activity against S. aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Candida albicans.