Food spoilage is a major socio-economic problem, and the potential role of QS in food spoilage and food safety has been indicated. Anti-QS materials such as ATNPs are proposed as efficient models for controlling food spoilage. ATNPs incorporated in food packaging materials could play an important role in food preservation and ensure safety of food by prolonging their shelf life.

SummarySilver has attracted a lot of attention as a powerful, broad spectrum and natural antimicrobial agent since the ancient times because of its nontoxic nature to the human body at low concentrations. It has been used in treatment of various infections and ulcers, storage of water and prevention of bacterial growth on the surfaces and within materials. However, there are numerous medical and health benefits of colloidal or nanosilver apart from its microbicidal ability which as yet has not been fully embraced by the medical community. These include antiplatelet activity, antioxidant effect, anticancer activity, wound healing and bone regeneration, enhancement of immunity, and increase in antibiotic efficiency. Additionally silver also provides protection against alcohol toxicity, upper respiratory tract infections and stomach ailments. Although nanosilver has been proposed for various topical applications, its usage by ingestion and inhalation remains controversial due to the lack of detailed and precise toxicity information. These beneficial properties of silver can be utilized by using silver at very low concentrations which are not harmful to the human body and environment. The following review discusses the diverse medical applications of silver and further recommends human clinical studies for its in vivo usage.

Mesoporous Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles with TiO2 homogenous anatase crystalline phase was synthesized using a one-pot sol-gel method. The sample was calcined at 100 degrees C and characterized by XRD, HR TEM, EDAX, IR spectroscopy, DRS, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The BET surface area of the sample was 266 m2/g and the crystallite size as calculated using Scherrer formula was 3.76 nm. The Ag-TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against representative Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cultures and Candida albicans. Complete inhibition of microorganisms was achieved at a very low Ag-TiO2 concentration, in the range of 1.0 to 20 microg/mL (effective Ag concentrations were 11.7 to 234 ppb) in less than 2 h under ambient conditions, without the requirement of photoactivation. Silver ion release studies showed that about 18% of silver ions were present in solution. Thus, it may be inferred that the antimicrobial activity is due to Ag ions released from the TiO2 matrix. The mesoporous nature and antimicrobial activity at low concentrations without photoactivation are important aspects which make this material an excellent candidate for potential application as disinfectant and/or antimicrobial agent.

No abstract