The following list of Colloidal Silver Publications contains technical information in papers, tables and graphs, lab reports, and a free book in downloadable format. Most of the information on this website are in pdf format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – A compilation of common questions and answers. This is a work in progress.
About Colloid Particle Size – Describes the exaggerated claims made for colloid particle sizes and what products are advertised using such claims.
About Covalent Silver – Covalent silver is a term being used to sell what are typically ionic silver products. Products claiming to be covalent silver are in fact mostly ionic silver solutions. When reading the description for covalent silver products one will eventually find a reference to silver ions being the antimicrobial agent
About Ionic Silver – Describes the differences between silver ions and silver particles and why it is important to know what type of silver is in a colloidal silver product.
About Silver Protein – Describes why silver protein products are sold in extremely high silver concentrations. It is the high concentration of large silver particles found in silver protein products that cause argyria, a blue-gray discoloration of the skin. Other dangers of using silver protein products are described.
About TEM Images of Ionic Silver Solutions – Describes the problems associated with attempting to use a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) to examine the particles in ionic silver solutions. Why the images produced by a TEM are deceptive and misleading is explained. These images are often used to market ionic silver products.
About True Colloidal Silver – What is true colloidal silver, what does this term really mean? This term was coined by the scientists at the Colloidal Science Laboratory (CSL) during the mid 1990s to describe a silver colloid whose nanoparticle content contained the majority of the silver present, meaning more than 50% of the silver concentration was in the form of nanoparticles.
Antibiotic Resistance a Growing Problem – Increasingly, antibiotics are becoming less effective as germ fighters as the pathogens develop an immunity to their killing power. Because antibiotics are prescribed more often for more mundane conditions, the need for germ fighters that do not cause the germs to become immune is becoming increasingly important.
Bacteriology Study Results – Challenge tests were performed on bacterial and fungal pathogens including Aspergillus niger, Candida Albicans, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli 0157H7 (hemorrhagic e.coli), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Trichophyton rubrum, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), and Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA). These tests were performed by EMSL Analytical, Inc. Microbiology Division.
Bacteriology Studies of Ionic Silver are Bogus – Many ionic silver products are promoted using in vitro tests that claim to prove their effectiveness against bacteria and other pathogens. The design of most of these test protocols is severely flawed resulting in conclusions that are at best misleading and at worst completely false.
Bioactivity of Colloidal Silver is No Surprise – Infectious Disease and Nanotechnology An Introduction by Mitchell Cotter
Bioavailability of Colloidal Silver – Much has been written concerning the bioavailability of colloidal silver products, most of which misrepresents the true meaning of the term.
Blue Man – The story of Paul Karason – a mass media deception orchestrated by pharmaceutical interests to scare the public away from using colloidal silver products. This is one of the most read Colloidal Silver Publications.
Bogus Scientific Claims Made for Ionic Silver Products – Bogus scientific claims used in ads for ionic silver products.
Bogus Scientific Claims Made for Silver Protein Products – Bogus scientific claims used in ads for silver protein products.
Bogus Science from Natural Immunogenics – “Particulate vs. Ionic Silver” A company that produces ionic silver products has published a study titled “Comparative Bacteriology Analysis: Particulate vs. Ionic Silver” wherein they claim to prove that ionic silver kills pathogens but silver particles don’t. Because overwhelming scientific evidence clearly indicates that their conclusions are false, we had their study reviewed by scientific professionals who critique the design of the experiment and the conclusions reached.
Colloidal Silver: Where does it go when you drink it? How long does it stay there? – This paper by Roger Altman describes a study of ingestion and elimination of colloidal silver from the human body. A fixed amount of colloidal silver was ingested each day for several months before a preliminary 24-hour silver balance was attempted by measuring the amount of silver found in feces, urine, nails, hair, and perspiration. This paper details the result of the study.
Colloidal Silver Products – A Response to and a Refute of the NCCAM Publication, NCCAM Pub. No. D209, Aug. 2010
Comparing Colloidal Silver Products – Discusses the rationale for comparing colloidal silver products based on the particle surface area of the colloid. Particle surface area is the property of a colloid that determines its effectiveness. Particle size has a direct effect on particle surface area, but in the exact opposite way from what you might expect . . . because of particle surface area increases as particle size decrease.
Definitions– Definitions of commonly used terms pertaining to the field of colloidal science and specifically to colloidal silver.
Effects of HCL (Stomach Acid) on Colloidal and Ionic Silver – Ingested colloidal silver products enter the stomach and mix with the stomach acid before being absorbed in the small intestines. Stomach acid is hydrochloric acid (HCL). In order to determine how the stomach acid affects the antibacterial effectiveness of colloidal silver products, we asked the scientists at EMSL to design a test protocol that would simulate the effects of stomach acid on two types of silver products, colloidal and ionic silver.
Herxheimer Reaction – The Herxheimer Reaction is a short-term (from days to a few weeks) detoxification reaction in the body. As the body detoxifies, it is not uncommon to experience flu-like symptoms including headache, joint and muscle pain, body aches, sore throat, general malaise, sweating, chills, nausea or other symptoms.
History of The Health Support Uses of Silver – For thousands of years silver has been used as a healing and anti-bacterial agent by civilizations throughout the world. Its medical, preservative and restorative powers can be traced as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman Empires. Long before the development of modern pharmaceuticals, silver was employed as a germicide and antibiotic.
Ions, Atoms and Charged Particles – This paper discusses the forms of silver that are found in colloidal silver, specifically, silver ions, and silver particles and the electrical charges associated with each. Many non-scientific writers confuse ions and charged particles and use the terms interchangeably when describing colloidal silver. Others refer to colloidal particles as though they are single atoms of silver. Much has been written about silver particles having a positive charge, which is false. It is no wonder then that lay people trying to learn about colloidal silver become confused and have a hard time understanding the science involved with the subject matter when so much of what they read is scientifically flawed.
Lab Reports – Here are laboratory reports of experiments pertaining to colloidal silver.
The Myth of Monatomic Colloidal Silver – Monatomic colloidal silver is claimed to be colloidal silver that consists of particles that are single atoms of silver suspended in water. This page describes that monatomic colloids are really ionic solutions.
Particle Surface Area and Effectiveness – The effectiveness of a colloid is predicated on particle surface area, therefore particle surface area is the single most important metric for comparing colloidal products. In the booklet “Silver Colloids” Professor Gibbs wrote “The size of the particles in the colloidal silver suspensions we use for health purposes is very important. Particle size controls the surface area and therefore the effectiveness of the colloidal silver suspension.”
Partial List of Ionic Silver Products – Here is a list of commercial products that are ionic silver.
Partial List of Silver Protein Products – Here is a list of products that are silver protein based products.
Partial List of True Silver Colloid Products – Here is a list of products that are true silver colloid products.
Response to Negative Articles on Nanosilver Products – A response to negative articles on silver nanoparticles.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Images of a Silver Protein Product – These SEM images show the enormous size of silver particles found in silver protein type products.
Silver Nanoparticles: No Threat to the Environment – This report will demonstrate that silver nanoparticles do not remain “nanosize” when they come in contact with normal environmental samples, such as soil and water, but they agglomerate to form much larger, much less biologically effective, silver particles which are non-toxic, non-ionic and have no history of being harmful to the environment or aquatic life.
Silver – The Dark Side of a New Health Craze – Rebuttal – The original article by Jonathan Campbell contained so many inaccuracies, false statements and misinformation that we asked Mr. Marshall Dudley, a recognized researcher in the field of colloidal silver to prepare a rebuttal.
Tables and Graphs – Here are tables of properties and graphs of various kinds.
Technical Papers – Here is a list of technical papers and other technical information on silver particles and solutions.