ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a rather comprehensive survey of the well-established and newly developed polymer-Ag nanocomposites having anti-infective activity. It describes some standard test techniques, and it includes a series of procedures through which the tests are performed. Metal nanoparticles have been considered to be highly promising antibacterial agents because of their outstanding physical, chemical and biological properties, which are provided by their large active surface area, and studies on metal nanoparticles have been followed by recent advances in the field of nanotechnology. The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria provides the cell with an effective permeability barrier against external noxious agents, including cationic polymer-functionalised Ag NPs, but is itself a target for antibacterial agents. The outer-membrane permeabilisation activity of antibacterial agents was determined by the hydrophobic fluorescent probe 1-N-phenylnaphthylamine (NPN) assay. Silver-based antibacterial coatings have attracted a great deal of attention as a potential solution.
