Antimicrobial activity of aluminium oxide nanoparticles for potential clinical applications

The last two decades have seen a drastic increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics and is a major concern for medical professionals world-wide. Metal oxide nanomaterials are currently the most promising tools applied as antimicrobial agents for diagnosis of diseases, drug delivery systems, sun screens and ceramics in biomedical and pharmaceutical arena. The antimicrobial activity of metal oxide nanoparticles is due to the large surface area which ensures a broad range of reactions with bio-organics present on the cell surface. Alumina nanoparticles have immense commercial applications and are being studied for their antimicrobial behaviour. At near-neutral pH, an electrostatic interaction plays a possible role in toxicity of alumina nanoparticles, due to interaction between its positive surface charge and negatively charged bacterial cells leading to NP adhesion onto bacterial surfaces and decrease in cell viability. This review attempts to elaborate the antimicrobial behaviour of alumina nanoparticles and its potential clinical applications.