The proposed mechanism for its antimicrobial action is binding to the negatively charged bacterial cell wall, with consequent destabilization of the cell envelope

and altered permeability, followed by attachment to DNA with inhibition of its replication.4, 5 and 6 Human beings are often infected by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast, mold, virus, etc.7 Silver and silver ion based materials are widely known for their bactericidal and fungicidal activity. Lin et al8 explained SRT1720 supplier that in general, silver ions from Ag NPs are believed to become attached to the negatively charged bacterial cell wall and rupture it, which leads to denaturation of protein and finally cell death. The attachment selleck inhibitor of either silver ions or nanoparticles to the cell wall causes accumulation of envelope protein precursors, which results in dissipation of the proton motive force. On the other hand, Lok et al9 elucidated that Ag NPs exhibited destabilization of the outer membrane and rupture of the plasma membrane, thereby causing depletion of intracellular ATP. Silver has a greater affinity to react with sulfur or phosphorus-containing biomolecules in the cell. Thus sulfur containing proteins in the membrane or inside the cells and phosphorus-containing elements like DNA are likely to be the preferential sites for

silver nanoparticle binding10 and 11 which leads to cell death. The advantage of this nanocomposite is that, it is biodegradable, i.e., it can be degraded by the enzymes present in the body making it suitable for the treatment of cancer. Apart from the treatment of cancer, the nanocomposite also possesses good

antimicrobial1 and biosensing activity. In this work, by using chitosan and AgNO3 as a precursor, porous chitosan/silver to nanocomposite films were prepared and characterized. The best preparation condition was systematically investigated and the bactericidal activities of these chitosan/silver nanocomposites were presented by using Gram-negative strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica and Gram-positive strain Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus. All chemicals and reagents were of analytical grade and used as received without further purification. High molecular weight (MW) grades of chitosan with MW of 100, 400 and 600 KD, respectively, were purchased from Fluka Biochemica, Japan. Their degree of deacetylation was 85%. Silver nitrate (AgNO3) and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) were purchased from Merck, Germany. The test strains, P. aeruginosa, S. enterica, S. pyogenes and S. aureus were collected from SRM Hospital, Chennai. A solution of chitosan 3 mg/ml in 1% acetic acid solution was first prepared. Due to the poor solubility of chitosan, the mixture was vortexed to achieve complete dissolution, and then kept overnight at room temperature. The solution was filtered through a 0.