Gold nanoparticle-based antibacterial materials and bioapplications

In recent years, bacterial infections have emerged as a significant threat to human health. The inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been used as promising antibacterial agents due to their excellent biocompatibility and low propensity for inducing drug resistance. This review outlines the synthesis methods of AuNPs, summarizes their antibacterial mechanisms, and discusses their applications in combating various bacterial infectious diseases, which provides new insights for the development of AuNP-based antibacterial materials.