Metallic nanoparticles in the treatment of staphylococcus infections: a scoping review

Infectious diseases constitute a serious public health problem and Staphylococcus species are one of the major pathogens that cause infectious diseases. This review aims to identify metallic nanoparticles used to combat Staphylococcus infections. In this study, three (3) electronic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct) were used to search for relevant literature following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) flow chart. A total of 35 studies were included in this review. Results showed that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were the predominant metallic nanoparticles used for combating Staphylococcus based infections. Other metallic nanoparticles include copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), aluminum nanoparticles (AlNPs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), Nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs), and vanadium nanoparticles (VanNPs). Also, UV-visible spectroscopy was the most frequently reported characterization method, followed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). In the included studies, antimicrobial activities were evaluated using zone of inhibition (ZOI) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. Reported ZOI in the various studies ranged from 4.7 mm to 32 mm, with MIC values generally between 0.25–3125 µg/mL. In conclusion, whereas metallic nanomaterials, particularly copper and silver nanoparticles, have promising antibacterial properties against drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, more thorough and consistent reporting is obviously required in subsequent research.