Similarities and Differences in the Mechanism of Antibacterial Action of Silver Ions and Nanoparticles

The growing number of clinical cases of the discovery of new antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains makes it necessary to search for alternative ways to solve the problem of multidrug resistance. Colloidal silver stabilized with different compounds, including those with biological activity, is a promising approach to problem of antimicrobial resistance, at least when it is applied topically in the treatment of complicated infectious lesions of the mucous membranes and skin. This review summarizes the results of experimental studies of the mechanisms of the antibacterial action of silver in the ionic and nanodispersed forms. Special attention is paid to works of the last decade that compared the differences in the action of ionic and colloidal silver at the molecular level. It was shown that silver nanoparticles certainly possess an additional bactericidal factor due to their effective binding to the bacterial membrane and the rupturing its structure, which leads to a significant increase in the intracellular concentration of Ag+ ions.