True colloidal silver products are the least prevalent type of colloidal silver on the market due to high degree of manufacturing complexity and the resulting high cost of production.
In true colloidal silver, the majority of the silver content is in the form of silver particles. True colloids will typically contain more than 50% particles (often 50 – 80%), while the balance (20% to 49%) will be silver ions. When referring to colloidal silver, the word colloid means silver particles.
The two critical factors to look for in determining true colloids are the percentage of silver particles and the particle surface area.
Of all the types of silver marketed as colloidal, true colloidal silver products have the highest particle surface area. High particle surface area is achieved by a high percentage of silver particles combined with very small sized particles. Of the three types of silver on the market, true silver colloids have the highest particle surface area relative to the total silver content. The ratio of particle surface area to total silver content indicates how efficiently the colloid is able to produce particle surface area which determines effectiveness. Higher conversion efficiencies are more desirable.
The nanometer-sized particles in true silver colloids remain in colloidal suspension without requiring protein or other additives. It is the mutual repulsion of the particles created by the zeta potential charge that keeps the particles uniformly distributed in the colloid.
Determining True Silver Colloids
Because of the high concentration of silver particles, true silver colloids are never clear like water. True colloidal silver with a sufficient concentration of particles does not look like water because silver particles — even very small particles — block light from passing through, making the liquid appear darker.
Dangers
Due to the very low concentration of ionic silver and small particle size, true silver colloids do not cause argyria, a condition that causes the skin to turn blue-gray.
List Of True Colloidal Silver Products
Click here for a partial list of true silver colloid products by brand name.