Silver Nanoparticles and Their Antimicrobial Activity on Multidrug Resistant Bacteria (AgNPs): A Literature Review
Maria HR Marques*, Eduarda S Fabri, Heitor AB Da Silva, Thiago R Silva, Lavinia M Barbosa, and Romulo DA Andrade*
ABSTRACT
The rise in antibiotic resistance has driven the search for new therapeutic strategies. It is estimated that antimicrobial resistance was associated with approximately 4.95 million deaths in 2019, 1.27 million of which were directly attributable to resistant bacteria. In current studies, silver nanoparticles have attracted significant scientific interest due to their ability to bind to components of the bacterial cell wall and membrane, making them susceptible to lysis, and promoting the release of silver ions, which induce oxidative stress and inhibit DNA replication a process that, in turn, causes oxidative imbalance and failure in genetic replication. The objective of this study was to review the antimicrobial potential of AgNPs against multidrug-resistant strains, as well as their potential efficacy in combination with conventional antibiotics already in use. The searches were conducted in PubMed and SciELO using subject related keywords, restricted to studies published since 2019, addressing research on the antimicrobial activity and clinical and experimental applications of silver nanoparticles. It was indicated that nanoparticles effectively inhibit the growth of multidrug-resistant organisms through mechanisms involving cell membrane disruption and the induction of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, their combination with antibiotics reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration, indicating a synergistic effect and greater clinical efficacy. These findings highlight the potential of silver nanoparticles in the treatment of resistant infections, both as a standalone therapy and as an adjunct in combination with commonly used antibiotics. Despite their efficacy, further studies are
needed on safety, standardization, and production to enable the application of silver nanoparticles in clinical settings.
