Engineered nanomaterials for antimicrobial applications: A review

•Material solutions to mitigate the serious crisis associated with antibiotic resistance microorganisms is of great interest.•Nanomaterials are a new generation of antimicrobial agents which have action modes dissimilar from conventional antibiotics.•Engineered nanoparticles show promising applications in medical, packaging, water treatment and a range of consumer products.•Antibiotic resistance of microorganisms is irrelevant for engineered nanoparticles.