ABSTRACT
Nanomaterials have been promising owing to their distinctive properties, including unique surface morphology and high surface area, and for their effective utilization in eco-friendly technologies. In the recent past, due to the extensive manifestation of multidrug-resistant microorganisms, there has been expanding attention to the employment of innovative nanostructured materials for antimicrobials properties. Nanomaterial-based microbial sensors have been designed for the direct determination of pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, nanomaterial–microbe interaction has a key role in the treatment of microbial diseases. Inorganic nanomaterials have been noticeably more stable in severe conditions than organic nanomaterials and turned out to be more exploited in antimicrobial studies. Hence, significant impacts have been reported for nanomaterials involving metals such as silver, copper, iron, gold, etc., against pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungal species. The current chapter covers these aspects with major contents, including (i) introduction, (ii) scope of nanomaterials as antimicrobial agents, (iii) metal-based nanomaterial in microbial studies. Subheadings of this chapter include (a) transition metal-based nano-antimicrobial agents, (b) 416Alkaline earth metal-based nano-antimicrobial agents, (c) metal derivatives as nano-antimicrobial agents, (iv) nanomaterial-based microbial sensors, (v) impact of nanomaterials on microbial ecosystem, and (vi) summary.
