Abstract

EXPLORING SILVER NANOPARTICLES: STRATEGIES OF SYNTHESIS AND ITS DIVERSE APPLICATIONS

Pushpa Vijay Ram and Vedika G. Dadlani*

Abstract

Recent years have observed a significant increase in the scope of research focused on nanotechnology. The field of nanotechnology is multidisciplinary and includes significant overlap in the fields of nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, and nanobiotechnology. Nanoparticles have been able to resolve several fundamental issues with conventional small molecules or biomacromolecules (such as DNA, RNA, or protein) by facilitating targeted delivery and bypassing biological barriers in some disorders. Metallic nanoparticles are frequently employed in the fields of biology and engineering. The application of metallic nanoparticles in drug delivery systems provide significant benefits, including increased stability and drug carrier half-life in circulation for required biodistribution, and passive or active targeting into the desired target site. Therapeutic applications use a variety of metal nanoparticles, including gold, titanium oxide, and selenium nanoparticles. Silver is the most economically significant metal utilized in the production of nanoparticles and nanomaterials as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antioxidant. They have exceptional physicochemical properties such as optical, thermal, electrical and catalytic properties, relative to bulk materials. There are several advantages of silver nanoparticles as drug carriers due to its size and shape, increased stability of surface-bound nucleic acids, transmembrane delivery without any requirement for a severe transfection agent, and protection of the connected tissue. Further they prevent degradation and increase the possibility of better and controlled intracellular medication administration.

Keywords: Silver nanoparticles, Green chemistry approach, Antibacterial, Antiviral, cancer therapy.