Advances in Antimicrobial Applications of Ag, Cu, and AgCu Nanoparticle-Doped Polymeric Composite Materials

Galhano, Joana; Capelo-Martinez, José Luis; Lorenzo, Julia; Lodeiro, Carlos; Oliveira, Elisabete

http://hdl.handle.net/10362/190063

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Autores

Galhano, Joana

Capelo-Martinez, José Luis

Lorenzo, Julia

Lodeiro, Carlos

Oliveira, Elisabete

Resumo(s)

The growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has driven the search for alternative strategies to conventional antibiotics, with metallic nanoparticles (NPs), particularly silver (Ag), copper (Cu), and their bimetallic hybrids (AgCu), emerging as promising candidates. These nanoparticles exhibit strong, multifaceted antimicrobial activity and, when integrated into polymeric matrices, form composite materials that offer enhanced stability, controlled release, and broad applicability across healthcare, food safety, and industrial sectors. This review highlights the major synthetic routes for the production of Ag, Cu, and AgCu nanoparticles and discusses their integration into polymeric systems. Furthermore, the antimicrobial mechanisms of these nanomaterials are explored. Finally, the review emphasizes the potential of these nanocomposites to serve as next-generation antimicrobial surfaces, wound dressings, and functional materials, while addressing key synthesis challenges and proposing future research directions to optimize their performance and expand their applications.

Descrição

Funding Information: This work was financed by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the scope of the project UID/50006/2023 of the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry- LAQV REQUIMTE; as well as the PROTEOMASS Scientific Society (Portugal) for funding support (General Funding Grant 2023–2024). J.G. thanks FCT/MCTES for doctoral support (Grant 2022.09495.BD; 10.54499/2022.09495.BD) and E.O. for the individual contract (CEECIND/05280/2022). The Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [grant number PID2021-127983OB-C22] and AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya [grant number 2021 SGR 00135]. Publisher Copyright: © 2025 American Chemical Society

Palavras-chave

Antimicrobial activity Bimetallic nanoparticles Copper nanoparticles Food packaging Healthcare applications Nanoparticle-doped polymers Polymeric matrixes Silver nanoparticles Silver−copper nanoparticles General Materials Science General Engineering General Physics and Astronomy