A Critical Review of the Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activities of Green-Synthesized Plant-Based Metallic Nanoparticles
Miryam M. Luzala,
Claude K. Muanga,
Joseph Kyana,
Justin B. Safari,
Eunice N. Zola,
Grégoire V. Mbusa,
Yannick B. Nuapia,
Jean-Marie I. Liesse,
Christian I. Nkanga,
Rui W. M. Krause,
Aistė Balčiūnaitienė,
Patrick B. Memvanga
Affiliations
Miryam M. Luzala
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Claude K. Muanga
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Joseph Kyana
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medecine and Pharmacy, University of Kisangani, Kisangani XI B.P. 2012, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Justin B. Safari
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Public Health, Official University of Bukavu, Bukavu B.P. 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eunice N. Zola
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Grégoire V. Mbusa
Centre Universitaire de Référence de Surveillance de la Résistance aux Antimicrobiens (CURS-RAM), Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Yannick B. Nuapia
Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jean-Marie I. Liesse
Centre Universitaire de Référence de Surveillance de la Résistance aux Antimicrobiens (CURS-RAM), Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Christian I. Nkanga
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rui W. M. Krause
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Makhana 6140, South Africa
Aistė Balčiūnaitienė
Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Institute of Horticulture, 54333 Babtai, Lithuania
Patrick B. Memvanga
Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa XI B.P. 212, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) produced by green synthesis using plant extracts have attracted huge interest in the scientific community due to their excellent antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm activities. To evaluate these pharmacological properties, several methods or protocols have been successfully developed and implemented. Although these protocols were mostly inspired by the guidelines from national and international regulatory bodies, they suffer from a glaring absence of standardization of the experimental conditions. This situation leads to a lack of reproducibility and comparability of data from different study settings. To minimize these problems, guidelines for the antimicrobial and antibiofilm evaluation of MNPs should be developed by specialists in the field. Being aware of the immensity of the workload and the efforts required to achieve this, we set out to undertake a meticulous literature review of different experimental protocols and laboratory conditions used for the antimicrobial and antibiofilm evaluation of MNPs that could be used as a basis for future guidelines. This review also brings together all the discrepancies resulting from the different experimental designs and emphasizes their impact on the biological activities as well as their interpretation. Finally, the paper proposes a general overview that requires extensive experimental investigations to set the stage for the future development of effective antimicrobial MNPs using green synthesis.