An effective approach to combating microbial contamination in food consists in developing new antimicrobial materials, which incorporate antimicrobial agents that can interact with food or the headspace in the package. The final purpose obviously is to extend as much as possible the shelf life of food products without affecting food quality. Both, silver and silver-based compounds have been used for centuries as antimicrobial agents.
They are known to have an antimicrobial activity against many strains of bacteria, fungi and viruses, and are stable due to their low volatility. More recently, they have been incorporated into packaging materials in the form of silver nanoparticles. In general, the term “nanoparticles” identifies the atomic or molecular aggregates with a diameter comprised between 1 and 100 nm.
