Nanoparticles of metal/metal oxide embedded fabrics to impart antibacterial activity to counteract hospital acquired infections

Abstract

Abstract The spread of infectious diseases by the bacterial cells through hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) has become a major threat throughout the world. Fabrics used in the healthcare sector such as bedsheets, healthcare uniforms, and patient gowns can act as growing substrates for infectious bacterial cells and have become one of the causes of the spread of HAIs. The development of MDR by the bacterial cells further makes the situation worse. However, the metal ion toxicity and generation of reactive oxygen species by the metal/metal oxide-based nanoparticles (NPs) have the ability to counteract the proliferation of MDR bacterial strains. In this context, several NPs have been synthesized and functionalized over fabric to impart antibacterial activity. This process could hinder bacterial growth and biofilm formation over fabrics and thus, can prevent the spread of HAIs through contaminated fabrics. Therefore, the present review focuses on the types of NPs that are utilized to develop antibacterial fabrics.