Nanoantibiotic formulations to combat antibiotic resistance - Old wine in a new bottle.

BACKGROUND Antibiotic resistance is becoming one of the major obstacles to treatment success in various pathological conditions. Development process of a new antimicrobial agent is slow and difficult, whereas bacterial resistance is decreasing the arsenal of existing antibiotics. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel antibiotic formulations to combat the resistance of existing antibiotics. Nanoparticles are investigated as novel antibiotic formulation, but are often inefficient in practical applications. Nanotechnology presents a new frontier to overcome the issue of antibiotic resistance through the development of functionalized particles. Balance of physicochemical characteristics such as small particle size and high drug loading capacity along with improved stability are the challenges associated with large scale manufacturing of nanoantibiotic formulations. In the last 1-2 decades, a gradual increase in patents on nanoantibiotic formulations has been noted to address the resistance issues of antibiotic. The aim of this review is to consolidate recently-investigated nanoantibiotic formulations to combat antibiotic resistance.