More Good News About Colloidal Silver

RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) --New research into silver’s medical and antibacterial properties may mean good news for silver miners, who are hoping for yet another consumer application for their product.

While silver’s use as a purifier has been known for thousands of years, research focusing on the ability of silver to destroy the pathogens that cause illness, disease, and epidemics is heating up.

In a presentation to the China International Silver Conference, Dr, John Aspley, Executive Director of the Immunogenic Research Foundation (IMREF), explained that silver compounds have been used as medicine since the late 1800s, and also have been used as a treatment against infections internationally.

Meanwhile, silver has been viewed as a natural mineral important to health maintenance in the same class as vitamins containing zinc, chromium, copper, iron and magnesium.

Aspley estimated that over 700 types of pathogens have been documented to succumb to silver-based drugs. There are three distinct silver-based drugs, silver slats, silver proteins, and colloidal silver and silver hydrosol.

Biocides are chemicals capable of killing living organisms, and are more commonly known as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, germicides and so on. Silver basically disables the food source required by bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and fungi to survive and reproduce.

Oligodynamic silver refers to the power of extremely small concentration of metal ions, such as silver, to exert potent biocidal actions. While it is non-toxic to people and animals, oligodynamic silver is lethal to viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and even cancer cells, according to Aspley. Basically, silver ions destroy bacteria, viruses and other germs by disrupting a germ’s membrane proteins, deactivating bacterial enzymes, and preventing bacteria from replicating.

Among the bacteria which find silver lethal are salmonella, staph infections, streptococcus, and typhoid. The viruses which can’t tolerate silver include Herpes, Influenza, and even the common cold. Uniform Picoscalar Oligodynamic Silver Hydrosol (UOPSH) can attack and kill HIV/AIDs because of the ability for the silver particles to bind to the glycoprotein knobs, which supply the AIDs virus with protein.

The non-profit, Washington State-based Immunogenic Research Foundation is interested in clinical research about silver’s potential to combat global epidemics and pandemics including cancer, hepatitis C, HIV, Lymes Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and drug-resistant super-germs.

In a paper published last month in the international scientific journal Current Science, a team of scientists lauded the properties of Silver-Water Dispersion solution as an effective antibiotic. Their study tested 19 different antibiotics against seven pathogens, including resistant superbugs.

A pathogen is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. We encounter pathogens as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa in the form of slime or molds.

While antibiotics may cause illness to patients to temporarily disappear, the antibiotics may also leave behind a host of resistant organisms in the patient’s system. These may reappear at a later date, harming the patient’s immune system.

The scientists then added American Biotech Labs (ABL) silver to the antibiotics. ABL is 23% owned by Clifton Mining Company. Their research found that combining antibiotics with Silver-Water Dispersion solution cleared out resistant organisms.

In a recent news release, Keith Moeller, an ABL managing director, said, “What this means is that we may have discovered a way to make existing antibiotics more effective. ...By adding our silver to antibiotics we may be able to overcome antibiotic resistance. This could increase the life span and efficacy of individual antibiotics and positively impact millions of people.”

On Tuesday, ABL announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued an landmark silver producer and use patent to American Silver, the parent company of ABL. Previous patents issued to ABL governed the technology used in the production of its nano-particle silver. The new patent will provide additional protection for a series of productions the company hopes to introduce in the first quarter of 2007, including an animal wound care product and a cosmetic that helps promote natural healing.


CHINESE RESEARCH
Beijing’s Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS Beijing ChamGo Nano-Tech is among China’s leading companies in research and application of antimicrobial materials and antimicrobial agents.

In a presentation to the China International Silver Conference, Li Bizhong said the potential market and applications for silver antimicrobial agents are significant. He noted that silver-containing antimicrobial agents have been widely used in ceramics for bathrooms, washstands, tableware, floors and walls. Silver antimicrobial agents also have potential applications in foods and food preservation, personal care products, telecommunications, building materials, office supplies, toys, medicine and health-related items, and even musical instruments and cigarette filters.