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Silver Nanoparticles Found to be Alternatives for Infections and Burns

Posted: July 24, 2009

Researchers from the Centre for Nanobioscience at the Agharkar Research Institute, have found an alternative to silver-based, topical gels for burn patients and to treat infections.

The researchers reported in Molecular Pharmaceutics, a publication of the American Chemical Society, that silver nanoparticles, each 1/50,000th the width of the human hair, are more effective than traditional gels with silver sulfadiazine or silver nitrate at healing the skin. The gel, which contains 30 times less silver than silver sulfadiazine, did not have any apparent toxic effects when applied to the healthy skin of test animals.

The researchers demonstrated that their gel killed a broad range of harmful bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the most common causes of burn infections, as well as several drug-resistant microbes.

According to Kishore Paknikar and colleagues, topical silver agents can lose effectiveness in the body, cause skin discoloration, and damage cells. Drug-resistant bacteria also can make these treatments less effective.

The researchers state that silver nanoparticles could provide a safer alternative to conventional antimicrobial agents in the form of a topical antimicrobial formulation.