Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective treatment of ever increasing infections caused by various microorganisms. Antimicrobial potential of silver nanoparticles opened up a new frontier for better therapeutic interventions over the emerging multidrug-resistant pathogens and short shelf life of various drugs. This chapter provides a robust strategy for targeting various multidrug-resistant microorganisms with least nonspecific reactivity. The mechanisms by which silver nanoparticles induce microbicidal activity in terms of DNA damage, membrane rupture, interference with the cellular biomolecules, generation of free radicals induced reactive oxygen species, and dissolution of ions are discussed. Finally, the defence responses of these microbes toward silver nanoparticles are illustrated.
