Antibacterial Microbial Polysaccharides: A New Approach to Fighting Bacteria
Antibacterial Microbial Polysaccharides: A New Approach to Fighting Bacteria
Niloofar Soleimani Dorcheh,1Sayed Hossein Mirdamadian,2,*
1. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran. 2. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology, Falavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
Introduction: Today, due to the global spread of antibiotic resistance, a significant part of research is focused on developing strategies based on antimicrobial polysaccharides and exploring their potential applications in medicine, healthcare, food packaging, wastewater treatment, and other fields. Several factors, such as temperature, pH, oxygen availability, and environmental conditions, play an important role in the biological processes of microorganisms and influence the production of microbial polysaccharides. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of antimicrobial polysaccharide use various industries and examine the future prospects of this method in reducing the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
Methods: In this review study, the use of microbial polysaccharides with antibacterial properties in various industries was explored using library methods and a review of related articles from reliable databases.
Results: Due to the rapid progress in medical science, research on polysaccharide biosynthesis has gained significant importance. Studies indicate that, in addition to polysaccharides like chitosan, hyaluronic acid, dextran, cellulose, and their derivatives, other antibacterial polysaccharides can also be produced through modern techniques such as genetic manipulation and the development of microbial strains specifically engineered for polysaccharide production. These methods offer economic and efficiency benefits. In a study, scientists produced N-(3-azido-2-hydroxypropyl) chitosan, which showed higher antibacterial activity than ampicillin and gentamicin. In addition, antimicrobial polysaccharides can be used to produce antibacterial nanofibers that can be used in wound healing dressings, packaging of food products such as meat to increase shelf life, and in gels to treat superficial skin infections.
Conclusion: Because of the wide range of applications for microbial polysaccharides and their unique properties, such as scalable production, affordability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, they have garnered the attention of scientists and industry experts. The rapid spread of drug-resistant microbial infections has become a major global challenge. However, studies on microbial polysaccharides suggest that we are approaching a post-antibiotic era, where the use of novel substances could become a viable solution.