NANOTECHNOLOGY IN MEDICINE AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

Nanotechnology is expected to open some new aspects to fight and prevent diseases using atomic scale tailoring of materials. The ability to uncover the structure and function of biosystems at the nanoscale, stimulates research leading to improvement in biology, biotechnology, medicine and healthcare. The size of nanomaterials is similar to that of most biological molecules and structures; therefore, nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. The integration of nanomaterials with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles. In all the nanomaterials with antibacterial properties, metallic nanoparticles are the best. Nanoparticles increase chemical activity due to crystallographic surface structure with their large surface to volume ratio. The importance of bactericidal nanomaterials study is because of the increase in new resistant strains of bacteria against most potent antibiotics. This has promoted research in the well known activity of silver ions and silver-based compounds, including silver nanoparticles. This effect was size and dose dependent and was more pronounced against gram-negative bacteria than gram-positive organisms.