Silver nanoparticles: synthesis, bio-applications, and their effects on human health

Recently, the applications of a high number of available products containing nanoparticles, especially metallic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), have significantly increased worldwide. In this review, an attempt is made to critically explain methods of AgNPs production, including chemical, physical, microemulsion, UV-initiated photoreduction, photoinduced reduction, electrochemical, microwave-assisted, irradiation, and green synthetic methods. Different methods are used for the detection of synthetized Ag NPs. The most common methods are UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray energy dispersive spectrophotometer (EDAX). Also, the applications of AgNPs in different fields of medicine, including the treatment of infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as fatal human diseases such as cancer and nervous diseases, are discussed. In addition to the studies that are discussed in this review, it is necessary to conduct further studies on the toxicity of AgNPs in relation to vital organisms.