Many possible mechanisms have been proposed to describe the
antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles, including attachment
to the cell membrane leading to decreasing membrane permeability
and respiration and activity in the cell [18–30]. The general concensus
is that the antibacterial activity is due to silver ions released
from silver nanoparticles [25,26]. When elemental silver nanoparticles
are in contact with water or dissolved oxygen, silver ions are
released from the surface of nanoparticles in accordance with the
following equation.