Antimicrobial nanomaterials as water disinfectant: Applications, limitations and future perspectives

Nanotechnology and its application is one of the rapidly developing sciences. As demand of fresh drinking water is increasing, nanotechnology can contribute noticeable development and improvement to water treatment process. Disinfection process is the last and most important step in water and wastew...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2014-01, Vol.466-467, p.1047-1059
Main Authors: Hossain, Fahim, Perales-Perez, Oscar J., Hwang, Sangchul, Román, Félix
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology
Antimicrobial
Bacteria - drug effects
Disinfectants - pharmacology
Disinfection
Disinfection - methods
Health impact
Nanomaterial
Nanostructures - chemistry
Nanotechnology
Societal impact
Water Purification - methods
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Summary:Nanotechnology and its application is one of the rapidly developing sciences. As demand of fresh drinking water is increasing, nanotechnology can contribute noticeable development and improvement to water treatment process. Disinfection process is the last and most important step in water and wastewater treatment process. Some nanomaterials can be used as disinfectants due to their antimicrobial properties and reduce the possibility of harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation during traditional disinfection process. A significant number of research efforts is done or going on to understand the mechanisms and enhance the efficiency of nanomaterials as antimicrobial agents, although it will take more time to understand the full potential of nanomaterials in this field. This review paper focuses on inactivation pathways of benign nanomaterials, their possible and probable application and limitations as disinfectants and future opportunities for their application in water cleaning processes. [Display omitted] •Some nanomaterials can be used as disinfectant due to their antimicrobial properties.•Understanding inactivation pathways can facilitate the application processes.•More research is necessary to overcome the adverse impacts of nanomaterials and convert those impacts as benefits.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.08.009