Nanoparticles and their antimicrobial properties against pathogens including bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses

In recent year, propagation and resistance of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and virals) to common antimicrobial agents has led to serious health and food problems. Today, nanotechnology science and nanoparticles (NPs) have been identified as a new approach to deal with this problem because of their inherent antimicrobial activity. Several studies have reported that, NPs (metal and metal oxide) are considered as a group of materials that can be studied due to their antimicrobial properties. In this review, we investigated recent studies regarding the antimicrobial activity of NPs with their mechanism of action. Many research has proved that particle size is a significant factor which indicates the antimicrobial effectiveness of NPs. The use of NPs as antimicrobial component especially in the food additives and medical application can be one of the new and considerable strategies for overcoming pathogenic microorganisms. Nevertheless, more studies must be conducted to minimize the possible toxicity of NPs in order to use as suitable alternatives for disinfectants and antibacterial agents in food applications.