Nanosilver market has emerged as one of most opportunistic business spheres in recent times. Prominent players across the electrical, medical, textile, and food & beverage sectors have been depicting considerable interest in deploying nanosilver in their products pertaining to its special optical, biological, and electrical properties. In fact, conductive nano-inks, used for printing continual conductive polymers have emerged as another precise application of nanosilver. These polymers are extensively used in electronics equipment to modernize chip technologies, the extensive proliferation of which is slated to influence nanosilver industry share positively. The scientific community, it has been observed, has been continually involved in the development of new innovative technologies in the nanosilver space. For instance, a team of researchers from the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU) and Ohio University have detected that silver nanoparticles have the capability to reduce energy consumption in light-based computer systems. In consequence, the adoption of this technology for various applications will lead to energy conservation in the future, which may considerably impact nanosilver market trends.
U.S. nanosilver market size, by end-user, 2013 - 2024 (USD Million)
Nanosilver is extensively used to manufacture printing inks, which are heavily deployed for 3D printing applications. Of late, the 3D printing technology is being utilized widely across the medical and automotive domains, on the grounds of which it has been forecast that nanosilver market will stand to gain much from the humongous proliferation of 3D printing. Taking into account the future scope of this dynamic technology, prominent nanosilver market players have been forging alliances with 3D printing equipment manufacturers to enhance product functionality. For instance, NovaCentrix and nScrypt have partnered to develop a next-generation 3D printing tool for manufacturing functional and complex products. The United States Army Research Laboratory has also established a partnership with FlexTech to use 3D printing technology for rapid prototyping of electronic devices and its components. These instances validate the vast expanse of 3D printing, which would incidentally propel nanosilver market share as well. Speaking of which, some of renowned participants in nanosilver industry include NovaCentrix, Creative Technology Solutions Co. Ltd., SILVIX Co., Ltd., Nano Silver Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Bayer MaterialScience, Advanced Nano Products Co Ltd., and Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc.
Nanosilver particles are reputed to encompass beneficial medicinal properties – they are antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory as well, pertaining to which, they are extensively used for various biomedical, clinical, water purification and textile material applications. The widespread deployment of this product in biomedical applications especially, is likely to augment the overall nanosilver market share.
How biomedical applications would influence nanosilver market outlook
Nanomedicine plays a promising role in revolutionizing medical therapies and treatments such as drug delivery, tissue generation, faster diagnosis, and imaging. Owing to its strong antibacterial properties, doctors are often found suggesting nanosilver based medicines for burns and wounds.
Nanosilver is popularly used in wound healing, which is a rather complex and multi-step process, at it involves the integration of several activities of different cell lineages and tissues. Subject to its incredible characteristics, nanosilver assures quick healing and shows better cosmetic results, thereby stimulating nanosilver market size from medical applications.
Another profound medical application making a substantial impact on nanosilver industry size is surgical mesh that is primarily used to tie large wounds and tissue repairs. Though these meshes are rather effective, they are prone to microbial infections. As per the statistics, yearly, about 1 million patients suffer from nosocomial infections due to prosthetic devices across the globe. In order to reduce the rate of prosthetic infections, nanocrystalline silver antibacterial coatings are used extensively on prosthetic devices, which would influence nanosilver industry size over the years ahead.
The textiles domain is yet another fascinating realm that deploys nanosilver. The product is liberally utilized across this sector for enhancing the functionality and properties of different fabrics such as bleaching resistant, antistatic, self-cleaning, antibacterial, and reinforced. Silver nano particles, it is observed, protects these fabrics against microbial contamination very effectively – in fact, silver oxide treated silk fabrics do not depict any notable change in color. Silver oxide is also prominently used for textile finishing antimicrobial efficacy instead of other metal oxide nano particles, which will further stimulate nanosilver industry trends from the textile sector.
Lately, silver is being primarily used in domestic water filters to control the level of biofilm growth. In hospitals especially, silver and copper are ionized and the combined product is used in hot water systems as a preventive measure on the colonization of Legionella spp. According to a clinical survey, in 2003, about 16 hospitals across U.S. installed copper-silver ionization system to control Legionella. The widespread usage of these systems across the healthcare fraternity will impel North America nanosilver industry, that accounted for a revenue of USD 400 million in 2016.
Considering the widespread benefits of nanosilver, researchers are strongly focusing on the development of new technologies to use silver for several medical devices and prosthetics. Recently, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) brainstormed nanosilver coated fibers for the spinal cord. The innovation affirms the fact that noteworthy technological advancements in the medical sector are likely to impel nanosilver market size. In addition, researchers are also utilizing silver nanoparticles for modern supercomputers for improved performance and speed. Driven by increased R&D investments for product innovations, nanosilver industry is certain to register an appreciable growth rate in the years ahead.