The "terminology" used in the silver supplement market has truly become confusing, frustrating and many times downright misleading. Sadly, between well-meaning manufacturers who honestly don't know the difference between the two main types of silver (or what they are actually producing), to those who knowingly mislead the consumer through deceptive claims and pseudo-science, it's rare to find a general consumer that could actually know the difference between the two main types of silver solutions.
What's worse, virtually all silver solution manufacturers resort to some degree of pseudo-science as to how their silver solution is unique and better than all others. First, let's take a look at the basics of getting the terminology accurate and understood.
Colloidal Silver:
Colloidal silver is properly defined as a silver solution that is comprised of a majority of silver particles. Silver particles are pure pieces of silver metal that are not ionic nor bound to any other constituents such as oxygen (AgO or Ag2O for example.) The word "colloidal" is the most misrepresented term for almost all silver solutions produced today.
First, the general consumer only knows one word concerning silver solutions; that word is "colloidal." It's safe to say that 9 out of 10 consumers have never even heard of the term "ionic", which is what 90% of all silver solutions sold today actually are.
Second, silver solution manufacturers realize that the general consumer does not know the word ionic and would not dare label their product anything other than "colloidal" due to the risk of not selling their solution to the pre-conditioned "colloidal" shopper.
Ionic Silver:
Ionic silver is properly defined as a silver solution that is comprised of a majority of silver ions. Silver ions are individual atoms of silver missing their 1 outermost valence electron which gives them a positive charge. Ions are simply atoms that have lost or gained 1 or more of their orbital electrons which shifts their charge to negative or positive accordingly. This is what 90% of all silver solutions on the market today actually are. To put it another way, 90% of all silver solutions marketed as colloidal are absolutely not colloidal by proper definition of the term and are in fact almost entirely ionic.
Ionic vs. Colloidal:
Although most silver solutions sold today are actually ionic solutions (and misbranded as colloidal), this doesn't mean that ionic silver is without merit or less effective than true colloidal silver. In fact, both forms are valuable based on the administration method chosen.
Silver solutions can be administered in vivo (inside of the body) or in vitro (outside of the body) - topically. This is why it will pay to know the difference between the two types and why having the ability to produce (both forms) of these two silver solutions is an invaluable luxury to the (educated) silver supplementing consumer.
Silver Oxide:
Although it's rare to find an over the counter-silver-solution that is almost entirely silver oxide (due to its inherent instability in water), you will find this type of silver solution produced in some home silver generators which use the "bubble type" stirring system outlined in detail above. Silver oxide (AgO or Ag2O) is by no means true colloidal silver by proper definition.
As summarized previously, constant bubbling of a silver solution during electrolysis converts the ionic silver produced into (AgO) which is one silver atom and one oxygen atom. This type of silver begins the decomposition of silver and oxygen back into free silver ions and free oxygen over the course of roughly 7 days. This makes it very impractical and inconvenient for the consumer who wants ionic silver immediately available right after production.
When this type of (AgO, silver oxide) silver solution is consumed orally, it will immediately favor the chloride reaction discussed previously (as AgO and Ag2O are both very unstable in the acidic chloride-rich environment of the stomach) and will produce the same silver compound that raw ionic silver will produce in the stomach called silver chloride (AgCl.)
Although every known form or compound of silver has some antibacterial properties associated with it, nothing is more preferred than true ionic silver or true colloidal silver depending on the administration type, as we discussed previously.
How can a consumer determine the difference between the two?
Although there are many fine details and exceptions that allow for some deviance(s) in determining exactly what form of silver a solution is, there are some very reliable "basics" that can answer your questions in most cases. If you are buying a silver solution to evaluate or simply looking to educate others who make their own at home, here are some of the key points and attributes to ionic and colloidal silver that you can look for when trying to make a determination.
A true colloidal silver solution that is comprised of nano-particles of pure silver metal that are less than 40 nanometers in diameter will (always) exhibit a yellow hue. If the concentration of a true colloidal silver solution moves into the 15 PPM range of concentration or greater, the color will fade into a deep amber and then brown depending on how far beyond 15 PPM of concentration the solution is.
This resulting yellow color is because silver nano-particles that are in this size range absorb the blue/violet/indigo spectrum of white light and thus reflect all other colors (except for) the spectrum that has been absorbed. This phenomenon of particle physics is called "plasmon absorption resonance" and is not a theory but rather a very well understood attribute of silver nano-particles in solution.
This same phenomenon also applies to other metals such as gold, platinum, palladium and copper, each exhibiting their own unique colors such as blue, green, red, etc. The yellow resulting color in true colloidal silver solutions is from the perception of the white light reflecting off the particles absent of the blue/violet/indigo spectrum, which has been selectively absorbed instead of also reflected, which then leaves the subtractive color difference of yellow.
If the silver nano-particles begin to grow beyond 40 nanometers in size, the spectrum of light that is absorbed begins to move away from blue/violet/indigo and into other spectrums. If this happens, the colloidal solution would begin to change to colors such as green, pink, blue, etc. If the nano-particles continue to grow beyond the (absorbed) color ranges that the human eye can perceive, they will no longer absorb any of the visible spectrums and the solution will then turn clear as if it were ionic.
Ultimately, particles that become too large will precipitate to the bottom as very large agglomerates of silver which would not be for human consumption. Be sure to check that a silver solution does not have any large particulates floating in solution or settled to the bottom as this is not a quality silver solution for human consumption.
Always remember that the "yellow" color range is the color of choice for a true colloidal silver solution as this demonstrates that the colloid contains very small nano-particles of pure silver metal smaller than 40 nanometers in size.
When you are looking at a silver solution that is clear and colorless, it is absolutely not a true colloidal silver solution comprised of pure metallic silver nano-particles unless the particles are far larger than 40 nanometers in diameter. If the solution is clear and colorless (as are 90% of all silver solutions produced today), you can almost entirely rely on the assumption that it is ionic.
To look closer, if you have the availability of a water test meter (TDS or conductivity) and can measure a reading on the meter between 5 and 200 (for a clear solution), this is another very strong indicator that the solution is ionic. Remember that particles of pure metal (colloids) do not conduct electricity in water (nor do silver oxide species) and thus will not be detected by a water test meter. Whereas ionic silver does conduct electricity in water and the silver ions are detected by the water test meter.
Most ionic silver solutions will measure between 5 and 40 PPM on a conductivity water test meter and between 3 and 20 PPM on a TDS/PPM water test meter. The difference in measurement is because these two different types of meters implement different "correction factors" within their design. Silver solutions that measure beyond 20 or 40 PPM (conductivity or TDS/PPM respectively) will be the type that are mixed with an additive such as citrate, fulvic acid, etc.
The primary point of the citrate/fulvic additive is to allow the ionic silver saturation limit to go far beyond its natural saturation point in average pure water. The natural saturation limit of ionic silver in pure water with pH levels ranging from 5 pH to 10 pH is approximately 7 to 20 PPM, while still remaining free ions.
Citrate solutions are also "marketed" as a way to allow the valuable silver ions to move beyond the acidic chloride-rich stomach environment and into the blood or intestinal area where they will be released later, yet these manufacturers fail to inform you that it really doesn't matter when or where the ions are finally released, as the entire body (in vivo) is riddled with thousands of PPM of chloride at every turn.
The ions that are released (whenever/wherever) will almost immediately bind with the chloride ions to form a "compound" called silver chloride (AgCl.) Although silver chloride still carries some anti-bacterial attributes, it is by no means a contender for pure silver nano-particles (absent of chloride) nor a free roaming silver ion for topical administration where chloride is not prevalent.
Again, delaying when or where the ions are released from the citrate (as free ions of silver) is of no real consequence in the end. The real value of citrate/fulvic-based silver solutions is the advantage of higher concentrations made possible lies in the advantage of creating solutions as high as 200 PPM vs. the typical ionic concentrations found between 5 and 20 PPM.
However, you can achieve the same (total) amount of silver from a lower concentration form of a pure ionic/colloidal solution, simply by administering more of the solution to compensate accordingly.
This is why true colloidal silver (meaning complete pieces of silver metal that are not ionic nor bound to any other agents) is the species of choice (in vivo), as pure metal particles of silver do not form weaker chemical compounds of silver anywhere in the body.
Summary:
Ionic silver solutions are best suited for low (or no) chloride environments, while true colloidal solutions (particles of pure metal) are the species of choice for chloride-rich environments such as the stomach and blood. Silver oxide solutions offer no antibacterial advantages over ionic silver nor true colloidal silver and are found to quickly decompose in the acidic chloride-rich stomach environment to form silver chloride (AgCl), a greatly diminished form of silver in a compound.
thanks for this clarification PBD. My CS maker makes a pale yellow solution... its called a sliver puppy machine and has a magnetic stirrer. Silver puppy fans say that it generally makes a 15 to 20ppm solution.
Do you know what the shelf life is on such a solution? Do the silver atoms fall out of solution over time? Can I make solutions and store them for 5 or 10 years. I store put all my CS in old hydrogen peroxide bottles, those dark brown ones.
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"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Marcus Aurelius
thanks for this clarification PBD. My CS maker makes a pale yellow solution... its called a sliver puppy machine and has a magnetic stirrer. Silver puppy fans say that it generally makes a 15 to 20ppm solution.
Do you know what the shelf life is on such a solution? Do the silver atoms fall out of solution over time? Can I make solutions and store them for 5 or 10 years. I store put all my CS in old hydrogen peroxide bottles, those dark brown ones.
The shelf life is a couple of years under normal circumstances, as long as it is kept away from direct sunlight, although I haven't seen direct evidence to support that, and by keeping the solution in dark glass bottles and stored away in a cupboard, the shelf life could easily be doubled.
Since ionic silver atoms are positively charged, and science tells us that like charges repel, they should remain positively charged forever, in theory. The deciding factors include the purity of the water used to make the solution, any contaminates on the silver rods, any airborn contaminates such as dust or hair that may end up in the solution, and the contition of the storage container.
Ions, not particles, make silver toxic to bacteria
July 11, 2012 Enlarge
Silver ions delivered by nanoparticles to bacteria promote lysis, the process by which cells break down and ultimately die, which makes silver nanoparticles a superior and widely used antibacterial agent. New research by Rice University found that silver ions, not the particles themselves, are toxic to bacteria. They also found that ligands in the vicinity of a bacteria can bind silver ions and prevent them from reaching their target. Credit: Zongming Xiu/Rice University (Phys.org) -- Rice University researchers have settled a long-standing controversy over the mechanism by which silver nanoparticles, the most widely used nanomaterial in the world, kill bacteria.
What do you guys think of "new nano technology" silver solutions? My choices seem to be limited between nano technology 10ppm or ionic at 5pmm. Thanks any adivice would be great.
Ionic Silver Vs. Colloidal Silver
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