Fundamentals of Silver Nanoparticles and Their Toxicological Aspects

The silver nanoparticles have their unique optical, thermal, electrical and biological properties and are being used in various consumer products that range from photovoltaics to chemical sensors and biological health-care products owing to their strong antimicrobial properties. This chapter documents the updates information on various aspects silver nanoparticles. The historical background and brief description on their evolution from the ancient history to present era are elaborated herein. The basic techniques of synthesis of silver nanoparticles including their pros and cons are also given in this chapter. A brief account on various properties of silver nanoparticles, especially their biological properties owing to the strong antimicrobial activity, are discussed in detail. In this chapter, special emphasis is given to the potential environmental threats due to the increasing use of silver nanoparticles in modern materials and ensures large amount of silver release into ecosystem. This chapter also focuses the various toxicity effects of silver nanoparticles in different organism and human beings based on the updated studies. Furthermore, the toxicity effects of silver nanoparticles on various part of the body, illustrating gaps in current knowledge.