Silver antimicrobial agents

Uses. Silver fluoride has found many laboratory and special industrial appHcations. It is used as a soft (nHld) fluorinating agent for selective fluorination (7—17), as a cathode material in batteries (qv) (18), and as an antimicrobial agent (19). Silver fluoride is commercially available from Advance Research Chemicals, Inc., Aldrich Chemicals, Cerac Corp., Johnson/Matthey, PCR, Atochem, and other sources in the United States. The U.S. price of silver fluoride in 1993 was 1000— 1400/kg and the total U.S. consumption was less than 200 kg/yr. 

Antimicrobial agents are used where there is a need to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth. The additives can consist of copper, germanium, zinc and zinc compounds, metal oxides or sulfides, metal zeofltes, as well as silver and copper oxide-coated inorganic core particles (154—159) (see Industrial ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS). 

Metal compounds, particularly compounds of the heavy metals, have a history of importance as antimicrobial agents. Because of regulations regarding economic poisons in the environment they are no longer widely used in this appHcation. Mercury, lead, cadmium, uranium, and other metals have been imphcated in cases of poisoning that resulted in government response. The metals whose compounds have been of primary interest as antimicrobials are mercury, silver, and copper. 

Silver and its compounds have long been used as antimicrobial agents in medicine. The mechanisms of silver toxicity as they relate to human exposure to pharmaceuticals have been reviewed (328). Silver is active at low concentrations and has a low toxicity. The practice of instilling the eyes of infants with 1% of AgN03 solution immediately after birth is still common in some countries, for prevention of opthalmia neonatorum (329). Silver sulfadiazine 77 is clinically used as a topical antimicrobial and antifungal agent and applied as a cream to prevent bacterial infections in cases of severe burns. It is an insoluble polymeric compound and releases Ag(I) ions slowly. 

The pnrpose of onr stndy was (a) to quantitatively estimate antimicrobial effect of silver nanoparticles comparing it with that of silver ions and (b) to study the efficacy of nanosilver as an antimicrobial agent against a range of microbes on the surface of paints and 100% cotton fabrics. 

Despite the pronounced antimicrobial effect, silver ions have only limited usefulness as an antimiaobial agent in applications such as medicine, clothing, and household products. This is due to their rapid binding to or inactivating by components of the medium. This limitation can be overcome by using as an antimicrobial agent, silver nanoparticles, which continuously release Ag ions in sufficient concentration [16]. 

Silver nanoparticles synthesized by a cost-effective three-stage electrochemical technique have demonstrated great promise as antimicrobial agents. Nanosilver was less effective against E. coli, S. aureus, B. subtilis and P. phoeniceum compared to silver ions. However silver nanoparticles have prolonged bactericidal effect as a result of continuous release of Ag ions in sufficient concentration and thus nanoparticles can be more suitable in some bactericidal applications. The synthesized silver nanoparticles added to water paints or cotton fabrics have demonstrated a pronounced antibacterial/antifungal effect, despite the fact that they tend to agglomerate into clusters up to 200 nm. 

Fox C L, Modak S M. Mechanism of Silver Sulphadiazine Action on Bum Wound. Infections. Antimicrobial Agents Chemother. 5 582-588.1974. 

Balogh, L., Swanson, D.R., Tomalia, D. A., Hagnauer, G.L., and McManus, A.T. 2001. Dendrimer-silver complexes and nanocomposites as antimicrobial agents. Nano Letters, 1 18-21. 

Silver(I) carbene complexes are characterised by a broad range of different structures [314]. Hence, it is not surprising that Melaiye et al. [488] found an infinite chain structure as the underlying motif in a water soluble silver(l) pincer carbene complex (see Figure 3.168). Water solubility was achieved by the introduction of pendant hydroxyalkyl wingtip groups. Water solubility of the silver(l) pincer carbene is desirable when the compound is used as an antimicrobial agent in medical applications [489]. 

Silver sulfadiazine (AgSD Figure 9) is a preferred antimicrobial agent for severe bum cases, and is applied after debridement of the wounds as an ointment containing... 

Silver and its compounds have long been used, in one form or another, as antimicrobial agents. The silver compound of major therapeutic interest at the present time is silver sulphadiazine. Many in health care, however, will... 

Three classes of antimycotic antibiotic are available polyenes, azoles and nucleoside analogs. In addition, non-specific antimicrobial agents such as povidone iodine, chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine can be adapted for ophthalmic use. 

Silver, P.M., Little, J.T., Choiniere, J., and White, T.C. (2005) Drug-induced regulation of the MDR 3 promoter in Candida albicans. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 49, 2785—2792. 

At the University of Freiburg in Germany, scientists have made a polymer with nano-sized particles which can act as an antimicrobial agent. The nano-material contains silver nano-particles within modified polyethylene imide derivatives in solution Fnll details of the development are given in this article. 

The compositions consist of one or more matrix-forming polymers, such as biomedical PU, biomedical silicones or biodegradable polymers, and antimicrobial agents, especially a synergistic combination of a silver salt and chlorhexidine or its salts. 

Silver sulfadiazine cream 1% is a soft, white, water-miscible cream containing the antimicrobial agent silver sulfadiazine in micronized form. Each gram of cream 1% contains 10 mg micronized silver sulfadiazine. The cream... 

Silver nanoparticles. nanoparticles are well known antimicrobial agents, with the highly reactive silver (I) ion (Ag > interacting with the functional groups found on the microbial cell walls. This hinders nutrient transport to and from the cell leading to cell death [24]. Aside from its antimicrobial property, Ag" is attractive as a food preservation additive as it is non-toxic and non-inflammatory [25]. 

The nurse is discussing the application of silver nitrate, an antimicrobial agent, to a client with a partial-thickness burn to the left leg. Which information should the nurse teach the client when discussing how to apply this medication after discharge ... 

Berger T, Spadaro J, Chapin S, Becker R. (1976). Electrically generated silver ions Effects on bacterial and mammalian cells. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 9 357-358. 

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