Fig. 1

Examples of nanotechnology-based solutions that could help to prevent, detect or treat bacterial infections. Trigger-dependent release of silver ions from silver nanoparticles could help to prevent bacterial spread on surfaces of implants, cathethers or external surfaces and textiles in hospitals (top left). Aggregation of gold nanoparticles induced by the presence of an analyte changes the color of emission in a way that is visible to the naked eye, thus providing an attractive way to rapidly detect (single) biomolecules in a point-of-care compatible setting (top right). Drug molecules, such as antibiotics, can be encapsulated in enzyme-cleavable capsules. This allows the trigger-dependent and sustainable use of antibiotics (bottom left). Pathogens can be removed from whole blood by magnetic blood purification. Tiny magnetic particles capture the pathogens (for example, bacteria) and can then be separated from the blood by an external magnetic field (bottom right)