Structure antimicrobial mechanisms with zinc oxide

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The Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of antimicrobial resistance, rising populations, and climate change have exacerbated the needs for materials which prevent the growth of microbes. The market size for antimicrobial coatings is expected to grow up to £13bn by 2026 [Parihar & Prasad, 2020] while the the global antimicrobial additives market was valued at $4.7 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $9.3 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 7.1% from 2021 to 2030 [Bilagi, Mittal & Prasad 2021].Antimicrobial additives have existed for centuries, but the currently-used chemicals have high toxicities, endangering everything from manufacturers, consumers, to the environment. These chemicals include cheap organic compounds, such as diuron and methylisothiazolinone, and silver, which is costly. Increase in regulations and rise in public awareness are now driving the quest for antimicrobial additives that are non-hazardous, green, and sustainably manufactured.AM has recently developed an extremely cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing process for creating and tuning the structure of antimicrobial nano zinc oxide [Jose et al. 2021], which is known to be nontoxic with regulatory approval, but highly effective against microbes. However, the exact mechanisms of nano zinc oxide's action against pathogenic microbes are still obscure, and further data is needed to create an advanced technology capable to delivering both broad spectrum and targeted antimicrobial activity.Zinc oxide is an incredibly diverse material with known antimicrobial properties in particular nanostructures (see figure right). As its dominant crystal form, wurtzite, is in fact a polar crystal, it can arrange to form a wide range of shapes, sizes and surface features. This ability enables zinc oxide to create a rich landscape of electrical, chemical and physical properties that can play key roles in antimicrobial action. Importantly, the multiple ways in which ZnO can deliver antimicrobial activity makes it highly promising for combatting AMR.Many questions have been posed by recent literature findings - why does size and shape mediate antimicrobial activity? Does particle anisotropy enhance biofilm penetration ability? Why are some species of bacteria more sensitive than others to the same zinc oxide structure? How can the antimicrobial activity be controlled and tailored for specific outcomes?The vision of this co-created programme is to create a fundamental, physical understanding of antimicrobial mechanisms of nano zinc oxide materials, so that new advanced materials can be made, specifically tuned to particularly pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant strains via a holistic approach [Barbieri et al., 2021]. Our ambition in doing this is to create the platform science that will enable rapid industrial adoption.