Antiviral efficacy of silver nanoparticles against herpes simplex virus type 1: a systematic review of <i>in vitro</i> studies

Background This systematic review aimed to answer the following question: “Do silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibit antiviral and virucidal efficacy against herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1)?.”Methods Five databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Embase) and Google Scholar (gray literature) were accessed to search for articles up to 20 September 2024. Eligibility criteria included in vitro experimental studies evaluating the virucidal and antiviral activity of AgNPs against HSV-1, published in peer-reviewed journals.Results AgNPs demonstrated high virucidal activity and moderate antiviral activity against different HSV-1 strains, especially in pre-treatment and co-treatment assays.Discussion The available evidence indicates that AgNPs exhibit potential in vitro antiviral and virucidal activity against different strains of HSV-1.This systematic review was registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF) platform (https://osf.io/xyj9d/).