Silver nanoparticle antimicrobials and related materials

Silver is an effective antimicrobial agent which was serendipitously discovered long before the concept of microorganism was even known. It has been added as an effective component in many therapeutic medications, as well as antibacterial materials. In this chapter, we first briefly introduce the history of silver as a primitive germicide. Then, we review the antibacterial mechanisms and the evaluation methods for this ancient antimicrobial from a modern perspective. In the third part of this chapter, a variety of inorganic and polymeric silver-based antibacterial materials, including glass, ceramics, textiles, polymers, films and coatings, are covered. Some challenging issues such as material biofouling and the emergence of silver-resistant bacteria and superbugs are discussed in the final section. Several solutions are proposed based on the latest progress in antibacterial polymers and anti-fouling coatings. This chapter should provide our readers with a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of silver-based nano-antimicrobial materials.