Fig. 6
From: Promising antimicrobials from Phoma spp.: progress and prospects
Reproduced from Dakal et al. (2016) under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY)
The four most prominent routes of antimicrobial action of AgNPs. 1. AgNPs adhere to microbial cell surface and results in membrane damage and altered transport activity; 2. AgNPs penetrate inside the microbial cells and interact with cellular organelles and biomolecules, and thereby, affect respective cellular machinery; 3. AgNPs cause increase in ROS inside the microbial cells leading to cell damage and; 4. AgNPs modulate cellular signal system ultimately causing cell death.