Abstract

The use of microorganisms in the synthesis of nanoparticles emerges as an eco-friendly and exciting approach. Several microorganisms have been known to produce silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), when silver molecules are exposed either intracellularly or extracellularly. Intracellular synthesis may accomplish a better control over the size and shape distributions of the nanoparticles, product harvesting, and recovery are more cumbersome and expensive. The extracellular synthesis by comparison is more adaptable to the synthesis of a wider range of nanoparticles systems. These silver nanoparticles are found to play a major role in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine. This review is thus an overview of Ag NPs, biosynthesis by biosynthetic methods such as biological microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) and plants extract and their advantages.

Key words: Nanotechnology, silver nanoparticles, biological synthesis, antimicrobial agent.