Silver is well known as one of the most universal antimicrobial
substance. Silver ions and silver-based compounds are highly toxic
to microorganisms, which showed a strong biocidal effect against
many microbial species. The mechanism of inhibitory action of silver
ions on microorganisms is partially known. It is believed that
DNA loses its replication ability and cellular proteins become inactivated
on Ag+ treatment [21]. In addition, it was also shown that
Ag+ binds to functional groups of proteins, resulting in protein
denaturation [22]. However, the silver ions or salts have only
limited usefulness as antimicrobial agents for several reasons: the
interfering effects of salts and the discontinuous release of inadequate
concentrations of silver ions from the metal. In contrast,
these limitations can be overcome by using silver nanoparticles because
these are highly reactive species due to their large surface
areas [23].