Natural sepiolite has great potential for application in wound healing, haemostasis and medicines. This paper introduces a versatile solid-state sintering technique for preparing sepiolite-based nanocomposites with enhanced antibacterial properties, and the physical, structural, rheological and antibacterial properties of which were determined to be enhanced. The incorporation of nanosized Ag and metal oxides into sepiolite composites results in a notable improvement in their antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison to the unmodified sepiolite. With a low silver content of just 5%, the sepiolite–Ag composite achieves an antibacterial rate of ~100%. Furthermore, the rheological properties exhibited by the sepiolite composites are noteworthy, suggesting their suitability for use in wound-dressing applications due to their exceptional workability. The methodology employed in this research has the potential to offer a viable substitute for the production of economical and effective natural antibacterial nanocomposites.

Engineered nanoparticles, in particular metal oxide nanoparticles, with their unique and novel properties, enable a plethora of new applications in various fields of research. These new properties have raised concerns about potential adverse effects for the environment and human health and are nowadays very controversial. A reliable, cost- and time-effective, rapid and mechanistic-based testing strategy is needed to replace current conventional phenomenological assessments. Today’s in vitro technology, providing human-based advanced cellular models representing different organ barriers such as skin, lung, placenta, or liver, may cover this need. The aim of this article is to present the current changes in (nano) toxicology strategies, the extent to which in vitro models have achieved general acceptance, and how the relevance of these models can further be improved using examples of selected metal oxide nanoparticles.