Assembly of Polymers/Metal Nanoparticles and their Applications as Medical Devices

Metallic nanoparticles have attracted much attention and have found applications in diff erent fi elds such as medicine, pharmacy, controlled drug delivery, optics, electronics, and other areas. Among the most promising nanomaterials with antibacterial and antiviral properties are metallic nanoparticles (silver, gold, platinum, etc), which exhibit increased chemical activity due to their large surface to volume ratios, crystallographic surface structure and unique size-dependent optical, electrical and magnetic properties. However, it has been reported that bare metallic nanoparticles can be toxic. Th is supports the concept that this toxicity is associated to the presence of the bare metallic nanoparticle surface, while particles protected by an organic layer, i.e. polymer, are much more biocompatible, and thereby less toxic. Unrelated to the bare metallic surface, several recent studies indicate that, at a cellular level, metal nanoparticles interact with biological molecules within mammalian cells and can interfere with the antioxidant defense mechanism leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increase of ROS levels may result in significant damage to cell structures known as oxidative stress. This review article reports on obtaining metallic nanoparticles with special emphasis on obtaining silver nanoparticles, their incorporation within various polymer materials, physiochemical and biological properties of such obtained systems as well as about their application as medical devices