Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A (2024)

Modern applications for silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) range from nanopharmaceutics to renewable energy. Silver nanoparticles are the most well-recognized substance that may be found in all nanotechnology products. However, the accompanying toxicity to biosystems limits their application. Therefore, for AgNPs to be used effectively, their surfaces must be conjugated with biologically beneficial moieties that increase the bio-acceptability of silver-based nanosystems and other capabilities for extending their special applications. However, the biomolecule-conjugated AgNPs offer practical remedies for time-consuming clinical issues of the modern era, such as multidrug resistance, designing pharmaceuticals with improved bioavailability, superior drug delivery vehicles, and in situ bioimaging of significant metabolites that make use of the biomolecule-anchored surface-engineered AgNPs. Antimicrobial silver nanoparticles have developed as very effective agents against infection due to their ultra-small regulated size, wide surface area, and better reactivity with an active functional structure. The surface ligand coating of the silver nanoparticle used as a drug delivery vehicle highlights the medication's continuous release with little adverse effects when administered into the body. The antimicrobial effectiveness of AgNPs is influenced by several vital physicochemical factors, encompassing their dimensions, morphology, electrostatic properties, concentration, and colloidal stability. These attributes collectively shape nanoparticles' potential to combat microorganisms through diverse mechanisms. The modes of antimicrobial action encompass their attachment to microbial cells, internalization within these cells, initiation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radical production, and modulation of signal transduction pathways in microbes. In the context of the present nanopharmaceutical paradigm, this review epigrammatically examines several intriguing therapeutic uses of surface-conjugated AgNPs with biomolecules such as peptides, nucleic acids, amino acids, and antibodies.