The components and engineered structures of nanomaterials significantly influence their properties and functionalities. Inspired by the effective interfacial interactions between natural viruses and host cells, we developed a novel virus-like lignin/silver (Ag) nanoparticle with a spiky surface designed for antibacterial and antioxidant therapies. This study comprehensively examined the antibacterial performance of these composite materials with different morphologies against E. coli and S. aureus. It is worth noting that their rough surfaces enhanced bacterial adhesion, and reduced the effective interaction distance between ROS, Ag