Alginate-based nanocomposite hydrogels for antimicrobial and antibiofilm applications

Alginate-based hydrogels are a common biomaterial used for biomedical applications, such as encapsulation and transplantation of cells, antiadhesion material, drug delivery, scaffolds for tissue regeneration, implants, and wound dressings. One of the major challenges encountered while utilizing them for biomedical applications is the manifestation of infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms at the site of implantation. The threat posed by them is further augmented when they are capable of forming biofilms. These microbial infections and their biofilms not only hinder the functions of the biomaterial but can also lead to the failure of implants in the body. At the same time, the alarming concern of increasing antibiotic and drug resistance in clinical pathogens also threatens the human health and the health care system as the ineffectiveness of antibiotics increases the severity of the infection making the treatment more challenging. Therefore it is necessary that the employed biomaterials possess antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity for their successful application and they should be able to employ novel methods to kill the microbes while surpassing the issue of drug resistance. To tackle these issues, nanoparticles possessing antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity can be embedded within the alginate-based hydrogels giving rise to alginate-based nanocomposite hydrogels endowed with enhanced antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties with novel mechanisms.