Antibiotics are quite powerful antimicrobial substances and are very often prescribed as medicines. These drugs have been in use for a long time and remain the most effective way to treat bacterial infections in both humans and animals. However, they cannot be used to treat viral infections. The antibiotics used worldwide are generally classified into two main types: bactericidal and bacteriostatic. In addition, major pharmaceutical companies produce antibiotics on a large scale, and the antibiotic market is estimated to be worth approximately 47–50 billion in 2024, with an annual growth rate of around 5–6%. It is projected that by 2032–2033, the market will reach around 71–80 billion USD. Compared to other methods, microbial fermentation remains the most effective method for large-scale production, supported by a rapidly growing microbial fermentation technology market, which is projected to exceed 35 billion USD in 2024 and potentially surpass this figure by 2033–2035. However, the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has cast a dark shadow and made it a global health issue that has already been recognised as the cause of millions of deaths each year. The number of people dying from AMR is thought by the WHO to be around 1. 9 million by 2050 if no new rules are put in place. One measure that can modify antibiotic-use behaviour is multifaceted public interventions, as suggested by various policy analyses, which can substantially change the pattern of antibiotic use. One such example is a campaign that aims to increase the percentage of people restricting antibiotic use from one-quarter to more than two-fifths. Nevertheless, significant gaps remain between high-income and low-income countries, and persistent challenges persist in policy setting and implementation. Consequently, the use of antimicrobial agents has to be dramatically reduced. The review provides an overview of the numerical and mechanistic findings, highlighting that antibacterial biopolymers and polymer–nanoparticle hybrids have paved the way in the medical field and industry, including nanotechnology-driven wound dressings, infection-proofly coated medical devices, and more. This article brings together the domains of microbiology by addressing innovative experimental techniques that combine biofilm and resistance microbiological models with the materials characterisation of high-end biopolymers, thereby providing data-driven design rules for the next generation of antibacterial biomaterials. The schematic emphasises the role of antibiotics and their interrelated functions in fighting resistance while maintaining health control. • Develop diverse antibacterial biopolymers from natural and synthetic sources, i to combat antibiotic resistance. • The paper outlines the multi-mechanistic action of biopolymers, targeting biofilm disruption, membrane disruption, enzyme inhibition, and immunomodulation to enhance bacterial susceptibility. • Advanced synthesis and functionalization techniques for tailoring biopolymers with enhanced antibacterial properties
Bhattacharjee et al. (Thu,) studied this question.