Themed collection Horizons Community Board Collection: Antimicrobial materials and surfaces

A themed collection on antimicrobial materials and surfaces, guest edited by Materials Horizons and Nanoscale Horizons Community Board members Ignacio Martín-Fabiani and Ignacio Insua.

Complex antibacterial mechanisms of graphene oxide and carbon dots.

This review outlines recent progress and strategies for highly efficient, environmentally-friendly marine antifouling technology based on nanomaterials and nanocomposites, as well as synergistic and biomimetic approaches.

Various semiconductor photocatalyst systems for photo-induced bacterial inactivation.

Nano-scale interactions are key to understand the SARS-CoV-2 infectious potential and bio–nano sciences can provide hints on viral particles behaviour.

This review focuses on the recent progress in polydopamine antibacterial materials, including their structural and functional features, preparation strategies, antibacterial mechanisms, and their biomedical applications.

This review aims to comprehensively summarize the significant developments in design strategies, processing approaches, and application-oriented techniques of 2D nanomaterials for water purification and monitoring.

Ultrasmall Au NCs have recently emerged as functional bionanomaterials due to their unique physicochemical and theranostic properties. To explore the therapeutic potential of Au NCs and to overcome biological barriers, interfacial engineering approaches are discussed in details.

This review summarizes and discusses the construction of iron-free Fenton nanocatalysts for versatile biomedical applications. The facing challenges and future developments of these iron-free Fenton nanocatalysts for clinical translation are also outlooked.

Macrophage-targeted bioorthogonal nanozyme designed to generate antibiotics at the site of infection.  Nanozymes had targeted uptake by macrophages through mannose functionalization, then generated antibiotics to specifically kill infectious bacteria.

Gastrointestinal (GI) tract is one of the hard-to-reach target tissues for the delivery of contrast agents and drugs. Herein we have used novel hafnia nanoparticles encapsulated in probiotics for GI tract imaging using photon counting color-CT.

SAR-Macrophage was developed to rapidly recognize E. coli through strong host–guest interactions, thus improving the internalization of E. coli, which subsequently induced M1 polarization of macrophages to kill bacteria.

A printable ink composed of a photoactive cationic conjugated polymer (PPV) and gelatin/alginate/hyaluronic acid was developed for 3D printing artificial skin patches with the biofunctions of anti-infection and augmenting wound repair.

Hitchhiking bioorthogonal nanozymes on red blood cells for selective killing of pathogenic bacterial infections.

All-natural cross-linked nanoemulsions provide effective treatment of wound biofilm infections.

We use a novel platform combining force-clamp spectroscopy with a fluorescence-based piliated cell selection to study the nanomechanics and dynamics of the retraction of the Caulobacter crescentus Tad pilus.

FePS₃ nanosheets with pH-responsive self-enhanced Fenton activity and ROS scavenging properties, are first explored to realize microenvironment-selective anti-biofilm and anti-inflammatory therapy for bacterial biofilm infections.

RNAi-mediated immunotherapy provided by fusogenic porous silicon nanoparticles demonstrates superior therapeutic efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial infections compared with first-line antibiotics.

We use chemical force microscopy with high spatiotemporal resolution to study the nanoscale distribution of hydrophobicity on living mycobacterial cells.

A bacterial metabolic probe with AIE characteristics shows great potential in in vivo light-up imaging of bacteria and antibacterial therapy.

A tri-thiol bio-inspired ligand triggers thiol-mediated silver nanoparticle assemblies. This novel nanomaterial delivers an amount of Ag(I) sufficient for biocidal activity but no release of AgNPs that makes it a safer solution for future applications.

A bio-inspired proteinosome-based material showed programmed mutual interaction with E. coli by controlling the temperature and ionic strength.

To combat the growing global healthcare threat from drug-resistant pathogens, we demonstrate that midblock-sulfonated block polymers can kill 99.9999% of “superbugs,” including bacteria and viruses, in just 5 minutes due to an abrupt pH reduction.

Flagella detached from the surface of bacteria can promote stem cell differentiation in osteogenic medium.

Protein corona sensor array technology identifies diseases through specific proteomics pattern recognition.

By means of single-cell force nanoscopy we show that sophorolipid biosurfactants feature unusually strong antiadhesion properties against nosocomial pathogens involved in catheter-related infections.

Biodegradable BSA@ZIF-8 can treat cancer by tumor microwave ablation, while simultaneously inhibiting bacteria and resisting infection.

Hydrogel nanofibrous membranes that show visible light-induced disinfection are developed for wound dressing application.

Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticle enhances antibiotic efficacy through localised, sustained delivery to bacterial biofilms.