Nanosilver: an inorganic nanoparticle with myriad potential applications

Bionanotechnology is the field dealing with the synthesis and application of different nanomaterials. Nanoparticles usually form the core of nanobiomaterials. For the past decade, a variety of inorganic nanoparticles have been newly created to provide superior material properties. Nowadays, synthesis of nanoparticles is the area of interest due to their physical, chemical, optical, electronic properties, and most importantly their larger surface area-to-volume ratio. Synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles is done by various physical and chemical processes, but biological route of synthesis is gaining more importance due to their eco-friendly nature. Bioactivity of nanoparticles broadly involves the wide range of nanoparticles and their biological application. They have been used as new tools not only for investigation of biological processes but also for sensing and treating diseases. In this respect, they are appearing to be novel antimicrobial agents even against drug-resistant microorganisms. On the other side at higher concentration, they show toxicity to the humans and ecosystem. Therefore, in the present review, we have briefly described the synthesis of different metal nanoparticles by different approaches mainly paying attention to their biosynthesis, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity. As silver nanoparticles are finding many applications among all of the inorganic nanoparticles, we paid special attention to them, too.