Comparative antimicrobial potential of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles versus chlorhexidine and tetracycline-based local drug delivery agents against periodontal pathogens: a systematic review.

Authors

Shahabe Saquib Abullais, Prasad Dhadse, Mohan Kumar P

Published in

Discover nano. Volume 21. Issue 1. Nov 02, 2026. Epub Nov 02, 2026.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to compare the antimicrobial effectiveness of Silver (Ag) and Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with both Chlorhexidine and Tetracycline used as TDS's through in-vitro studies.The study employed a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines to identify and select studies published up to 2025 from the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and WEB of Science. No search limit was set. Studies selected reported in vitro comparisons between Ag and/or ZnO nanomaterials and traditional antimicrobial drugs using oral microbial pathogens. Both assessors independently performed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. The primary outcomes were minimum inhibitory concentrations and zones of inhibition. Of the ten studies included in this analysis, none of the studies found Ag nanoparticles to be less effective than chlorhexidine against a range of microorganisms; however, Ag nanoparticles had significantly lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values than chlorhexidine and had a significantly larger zone of inhibition than chlorhexidine in most studies examined. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were found to have moderate, concentration-dependent antimicrobial activity, which tended to be comparable to chlorhexidine, but not to antibiotic tetracycline. Ag nanoparticle-antibiotic combinations exhibited a synergistic effect in seven of the studies reviewed. Few studies reported a risk of bias. Based on the included in vitro studies, Ag nanomaterials demonstrated promising direct antimicrobial activity against periodontal pathogens. However, owing to methodological heterogeneity and the absence of clinical evidence, definitive conclusions regarding their superiority or routine clinical use cannot yet be drawn. Further standardized biological, preclinical, and clinical investigations are warranted.

PMID:
42970030
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Nov 2026.

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