Types of Silver
Because of the known benefits of silver, there are a multitude of colloidal silver products marketed with different claims about their attributes. A colloid is a substance which contains suspended microscopic particles.
Silver is a heavy metal, but is not classified as a toxic heavy metal. However, all metals can be toxic, just as all elements may be toxic at certain levels – even water. As with anything that has a toxicity profile, one should only take the amount required to achieve a therapeutic effect. One would never take a 20 gram tablet of aspirin, so why would one take a 5,000 ppm silver product? In fact, with metals, the oligodynamic effect discovered in the late 1800s showed that certain metals, at extremely low concentrations, exerted much greater activity than at higher concentrations.
There also exist many forms of silver. (Similarly, there are many forms of chlorine: i.e. sodium chloride, as in table salt, free chlorine, like you put in the pool, or chlorofluorocarbons, which deplete the ozone layer, among others.) Most have different physical and chemical properties, giving them entirely different efficacy and toxicity profiles; the body metabolizes them differently, and absorbs, distributes and eliminates them via different pathways or methods. Their uses and applications vary, as a result.
Some common forms of silver marketed as ingestible dietary supplements under DSHEA in the USA or for topical applications include:
|
TERM |
DEFINITION |
CHEMICAL NAME |
EXAMPLE |
TOXICITY |
PARTICLE SIZE, CHARGE |
REMARKS |
|
Colloidal silver |
A suspension containing silver particles plus silver ions. When homemade, a typical do-it-yourself product without control of materials, concentration or composition |
Silver, Ag |
Homemade |
Low to medium; highly variable |
Variable particle size (10-1000nm), average 8-12% charge |
The most common and cheapest form, involving a mixture of ions, particles, and neutral/precipitate silver; unknown concentration/form |
|
True colloidal silver |
A marketing term with no scientific definition; implies completely suspended silver and no ionic silver |
Silver Ag |
Typical concentration: |
Low to medium; highly variable |
Variable particle size (range 1-1000nm), average 8-12% charge |
A completely suspended silver is unstable, as it reacts readily with atmospheric gases |
|
Ionic silver |
A solution containing silver ions with a charge (+1) |
Silver ion Ag+, usually added as a salt, such as silver nitrate |
Silver nitrate |
Concentration-dependent; Toxicity rises with concentration |
No particles; High percent charge |
Still used in medicine, i.e. to prevent blindness in newborns |
|
Silver protein |
Ionic or colloidal silver with a protein added for stability |
Added proteins are typically egg albumin, casein from milk, or soy based. |
Mild Silver Protein (MSP) |
Medium; Depends on exact composition |
Variable particle size (50-2000nm), 10-20% charge |
Addition of protein may reduce potency of silver significantly |
|
Silver hydrosol |
Pure mixture of silver in suspension and solution, with the highest charge ratio |
Shorthand description of this mixture is Ag(n)+1 |
Sovereign Silver |
Extremely low |
Particle size more than 99% under 2nm, with average 0.8nm, 98% charged |
An extremely pure form of colloidal silver, appropriately called silver hydrosol to distinguish it from other forms of colloidal silver |
|
Homeopathic silver |
A specially made formulation containing immeasurably low amounts of silver, achieved by dilution and succussion |
N/A |
Argentum Nitricum, Argentum Metallicum |
None |
N/A |
In the USA, efficacy of Homeopathic Medicines is evaluated by the HPCUS. It is outside the scope of the FDA. Once efficacy is established, substances are listed by the HPUS and/or different Materia Medica, such as Clarke, Boericke, Kent, among others. |
|
Silver compounds |
A compound is a substance formed when two or more chemical elements are chemically bonded together. In a silver compound, one of the elements must be silver |
Varies depends on the specific compound. |
Silver sulfadiazine |
Depends on the specific compound. Can be high |
N/A |
Some are widely used in medicine still, including for the treatment of severe burns |
* above numbers and representations are general in nature.
What distinguishes Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol from the rest of them?
Colloidal silver is the generic term for all supplement forms of silver containing substances that include particles in suspension. But this does not tell you anything about species, particle size, particle charge or the purity.
Silver generators are often used to produce low quality poorly defined homemade colloidal silver (with greater potential for causing argyric reactions), of mostly unknown purity, concentration, particle size and particle charge. It is the most rudimentary form of colloidal silver, yet equally effective than more toxic forms of silver without the same toxicity profile.
Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol is a mixture of suspended silver nanoparticles averaging 0.8nm in size, and dissolved silver ions. It is not to be confused with “ionic silver” which means, by definition, that the product should be comprised entirely of silver ions. A Silver Hydrosol is composed of only 2 ingredients: 99.999% pure silver and USP 23 grade pharmaceutical purified water, with more than 98% positively charged silver content. It represents a unique blend of the most active and effective species of silver (positively charged silver ions and positively charged silver nanoparticles or clusters) at such low concentration as to present no fear of toxicity. A Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol has the smallest particles and highest charge ratio of any colloidal silver product, and so represents the ultimate refinement of the colloidal silver category.
Silver Hydrosol is not “true colloidal silver” either, meaning the solution should be 100% particulates. Scientifically, 100% particulate silver would be totally unstable, as particles react with atmospheric gases, and so the product decomposition would begin immediately upon opening the bottle. The term “true colloidal silver” is a marketing term with no basis in science to distinguish it from other colloidal silver products.
Ionic silver is a solution of silver that does not necessarily contain silver particulates. Ionic silver is effective, but has a significantly higher toxicity index than colloidal silver or Silver Hydrosol, and contains a limited number of ions available for interaction. Recent literature has illustrated the fact that silver particles actually operate as a reservoir for further ions, which are emitted from the particle as it interacts with atmospheric gases.
Silver protein is a silver compound, and includes ingredients that compromise purity (addition of a casein or soy protein to keep the silver in solution), and has a significantly higher toxicity index. Although the body knows how to eliminate silver (and other metals), silver compounds and complexes are known to be more difficult to excrete, and so present greater risk of bio-accumulation. In the US, some silver proteins are considered Drugs by the FDA.
There are other forms of silver besides those mentioned above, but one is trading increased toxicity for reduced efficacy, and so there is little reason to expound further upon them.
Silver Hydrosol as a raw material in the manufacture of cosmetics:
Silver hydrosol carries its own INCI name: 20786
INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. The INCI system was established in the early 1970’s and the list is maintained by the Personal Care Products Council. INCI names are used in the United States, the European Union, China, Japan, and many other countries, for listing ingredients on cosmetic product labels.
With few exceptions, the INCI labeling names in all countries are the same. Silver hydrosol was assessed for its finesse and lack of toxicity, the latter being the most critical aspect of product safety correlated to the product’s intended usage: to be applied onto the skin, mainly the face, which is exposed to UV light.
Among data provided to assess product safety were a Phototoxicity study, results of which clearly demonstrate that there is no possible risk of Argyria associated with Silver Hydrosol at dosages as high as 1000 mcg/mL. The study is available upon request. [see Relative Toxicity by General Species of Silver]
Some Facts
- One cannot make colloidal silver without the presence of silver ions; in other words, all colloidal silver contains some ionic silver
- Ionic silver may or may not contain particles (although particles of some kind are also ubiquitous)
- Since ancient times, the silver ion has been known to be effective against a broad range of microorganisms
- Particles have been found to act as a reservoir for the further release of ions (when reacting with atmospheric gasses)
- Suspended (particulate) silver is generally less stable than ionic silver (and will have a shorter shelf life)