An Essential Guide to Antimicrobial Agents

Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a global public health issue, as only a limited number of effective antibiotics are able to treat drug-resistant cases. As such, this compilation discusses the intensive non-clinical and clinical research on the identification of novel and non-conventional anti-infective adjunctive or preventive therapies. The authors review the mode of action of antimicrobial peptides and their therapeutic potential. Their complexity of molecules at the sequential and structural levels allow them to combat a wide variety of bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoan pathogens. Various solvent extracts from the stem of Pongamia pinnata L. are explored in the context of its antimicrobial activity against a wide array of pathogenic microorganisms. In closing, as silver nanoparticles can be more suitable in some bactericidal applications than silver ions, the efficacy of nanosilver as an antimicrobial agent against a range of microbes on the surface of water paints and cotton fabrics is studied.