Microbial infections have a long history of causing serious illnesses for human and animals. The presence of harmful bacteria, especially on the surface of the objects and equipment in hospitals, causes many mortalities for ill patients and is a major global challenge. The inappropriate usage of antibiotics has lead to antimicrobial resistance development in bacteria. The global concern about antimicrobial resistance has triggered the development of new and more effective antimicrobial agents. A promising method is the use of novel nanomaterials against bacteria in a rapid way so that these bacteria may not be able to develop resistance. The nanoparticles (NPs) possess enhanced physicochemical properties compared with their bulk counterparts owing to a high surface to volume ratio. The metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) such as Ag, Cu and TiO₂ NPs have proven to be effective in killing bacteria through various mechanisms such as ion originating from the dissolution of NPs and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from the photocatalytic process. This research project is focused on synthesizing of effective antimicrobial nanocomposites/nanomaterials with novel characteristics such as rapidness, multi-mode mechanisms and induction in the visible light range.Thesis (MPhil) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemical Engineering, 201
