In the era of superbugs and antimicrobial resistance to conventional
antibiotics, there is an urgent need for alternative drug delivery systems to optimize
antimicrobial administration. Traditionally, routes of antimicrobial administration
include oral, intravenous, intramuscular, intracerebroventricular, aerosol, rectal, and
topical methods. However, more innovative drug delivery systems are required for the
treatment of antimicrobial resistance at the cellular level. With recent advances, hefty
research has been underway, including the use of nanotechnology and antimicrobial
peptides in the fight against multi drug-resistant microorganisms (MDROs). Metal and
polymer nanoparticles with or without surface functionalization and antimicrobial
peptides act through different mechanisms of actions than conventional antibiotics.
Some of these mechanisms of actions are included but are not limited to oxidative and
non-oxidative stress, binding to the bacterial membrane, altering cell permeability and
integrity, and activation of adaptive immune pathways. This chapter encompasses the
cause and effect of multidrug resistance in addition to the nanoparticles, antimicrobial
peptides, and gene editing techniques as an alternative or combinatorial antimicrobial
combat mechanism for the 21st century.
Keywords: AMPs, Antibacterial, Antimicrobial Peptides, Microbial Resistance,
Nanoparticles, Non-Oxidative Stress, Oxidative, Stress.
