Review of Nanomaterials, Natural Products, and Their Composites to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is escalating rapidly, creating an unmet urgent need for multi-functional treatment platforms as alternatives to single-target antibiotics. This review explores the antibacterial potential of natural products, nanomaterials, and their hybrid composites as advanced next-generation antimicrobial modalities. Natural products with their structurally diverse scaffolds can alter microbial virulence, quorum sensing (QS), and metabolic processes whereas, nanomaterials exert intrinsic antimicrobial effects through membrane disruption, oxidative stress, and interference of intracellular processes. The integration of nanomaterials and natural products has enabled the formation of nanobio interfaces. In the nanobio interface, nanomaterials serve to stabilize, transport, and enhance the catalytic activity of natural products, leading to improved antimicrobial efficacy, increased bioavailability, and tailored biodistribution. In addition, recent advances in biomedicine, environmental science, and industrial applications are comprehensively analyzed, with a focus on underlying mechanisms, innovations, and translational potential. This analysis highlights the revolutionary potential of nanomaterial–natural product hybrids as resilient and flexible platforms for combating AMR through fusion of material design principles and biological functions.