RESUMO
Efforts to restrict the emergence and progression of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains should heavily involve the scientific community, including government bodies, researchers, and industries, in developing new and effective photocatalytic antimicrobial agents. Such changes warrant the modernization and upscaling of materials synthesis laboratories to support and expedite the mass production of materials at the industrial scale for the benefit of humankind and the environment. Despite the massive volume of publications reporting the potential usage of different types of metal-based nanomaterials as antimicrobial agents, reviews uncovering the similarities and differences among the various products remain lacking. This review details the basic and unique properties of metal-based nanoparticles, their use as photocatalytic antimicrobial agents, and their therapeutic modes of action. It shall be noted that compared to traditional antibiotics, the mode of action of photocatalytic metal-based nanomaterials for killing microorganisms are completely different, despite displaying promising performance against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Besides, this review uncovers the differences in the mode of actions of metal oxide nanoparticles against different types of bacteria, as well as towards viruses. Last but not least, this review comprehensively describes previous published clinical trials and medical usages involving contemporary photocatalytic antimicrobial agents.