Nitric Oxide-Releasing Nanoparticles as an Antimicrobial Therapeutic

The development of new antimicrobial agents has fallen behind microbial drug resistance, posing a significant challenge for combating infectious disease. Nanotherapeutics have revolutionized antimicrobial therapy, providing new mechanisms to combat microbial resistance. Nitric oxide (NO), a simple gaseous molecule with ubiquitous biological activity, represents one such strategy as its antimicrobial properties are well described. Harnessing this potential has proven difficult given the lack of effective delivery vehicles. However, this challenge has been overcome by the generation of a nanoparticulate system capable of generating physiologic concentrations of NO over time. The efficacy of these platforms against bacteria and fungi has been shown in a variety of studies. Here, we review the role of NO-releasing nanoparticulate platforms as an antimicrobial therapeutic agent.