Post-1950 Sources Which Demonstrate the Antimicrobial Properties of Silver

NOTE: The following bibliography was compiled by Robert Holladay MS (USA), not by Silver Well.

"Shortly after September 11, 2001 I began collecting information relating to CS with the intent of pursuing a PhD. Because I do not know when I will pursue a PhD, or what I will be researching (CS or benfotiamine), I have decided to copyright my CS research and post it online. My annotated bibliographies were created to provide the reader with access to the medical literature relating to silver without having to spend the countless hours digging up all the relevant literature."... Robert Holladay

Document 1: Post-1950 Sources Which Demonstrate the Antimicrobial Properties of Silver

May 3, 2004 - Robert C. Holladay, MS

(1) Thompson, N.R. 1973. Silver. In Comprehensive Inorganic Chemsitry Vol .3. New York, Pergamon, 79-80.
The germicidal properties of silver, although not recognized as such, have been utilized since the times of the ancient Mediterranean and Asiatic cultures, references being made to the use of silver vessels to prevent spoilage of beverages, and silver foil or plates in the surgical treatment of wounds and broken bones"To primitive life forms oligodynamic silver is as toxic as the most powerful chemical disinfectants and this, coupled with its relative harmlessness to animate life, gives it great potential as a disinfectant".

(2) Grier, N. 1983. Silver and Its compounds. In Disinfection, Sterilization and Preservation. Third Edition. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 375-389.
In 1887 it was reported that a 1:10000 solution of silver nitrate destroyed highly resistant anthrax spores in 48 hours. Mild silver protein solutions, and strong protein silver solutions were made using silver oxide and protein. Silver oxide as a colloidal solution was used to treat infections. Metallic silver can serve as a source of silver ions.
In veterinary medicine, claims have been made that an ionic Ag aerosol, upon inhalation, has protected chickens against coli-bacteriosis and pullorosis-typhus infections"Thus, one may extrapolate to the future and predict a further development and significant place for silver compounds in the prevention and treatment of at least some infectious diseases". Mechanism of action and silver resistance is discussed.
Comment: Other than the literature written by Robert C. Holladay, this article is the best overall summation of the antimicrobial effectiveness of silver.

(3) Tredget, Edward, et al. 1998. A matched-pair, randomized study evaluating the efficiacy and safety of acticoat silver-coated dressing for the treatment of burn wounds. Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation, 19(6), 531-537.
Thirty burn patients were treated with either silver nitrate, or a silver-coated dressing. The silver-coated dressing was more effective in preventing bacterial growth.

(4) Davies, Richard, and Etris, Samuel. 1997. The development and functions of silver in water purification and disease control. Catalysis Today, 36, 107-114.
Silver thiosulfate is effective against E. coli, S. aureus, and HIV-1103. Viruses with sulfhydryl terminuses would react to silver in a fashion similar to bacteria. The antimicrobial mechanism of silver ions is unknown. It is not known how many types of bacteria or viral structures are inactivated by silver. It is not known how many diseases can be successfully treated by silver colloids. "In recent decades, studies have revealed the biochemical reactions of ionic silver that result in the inactivation of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, spirochetes, viruses, etc"However, the broad use of silver as a powerful clinical tool is still in the future because its full range of activity remains to be elucidated." Silver becomes far more potent when combined with oxygen. Silver peroxide, a black oxide long marketed as AgO actually consists of Ag₄O₄. 50% of the silver in Ag₄O₄ has a charge of +1 and 50% has a charge of +3. Ag⁺³ is 200 times as effective a disinfectant as Ag⁺¹. In 78 A.D. Pliny the Elder wrote that the slag of silver "has healing properties as an ingredient in plasters, being extremely effective in causing wounds to close up."
"Tens of thousands of swimming pools in Europe and the United States have used electrically driven silver-copper ion systems to provide satisfactory sanitation for decades." Silver nitrate is mentioned in Roman pharmacopoeia written in 69 B.C.

(5) Haeger, Knut. 1963. Preoperative treatment of leg ulcers with silver spray and aluminum foil. Acta Chirurgica Scandinavica, 125, 32-41.
"During the westward migration in the U.S.A., it was widely believed that suspected infection of drinking water could be counteracted by allowing a silver dollar to lie overnight in the water glass."
Sixteen patients with leg ulcers were treated with a colloidal silver spray. The solution was applied once daily for the first few days, then twice weekly. The infection subsided in all cases. After instruction, patients performed the therapy at home without supervision. No discomfort or side effects were observed. There was no persistent discoloration of the skin that could be attributed to silver.
"in all cases the infection subsided."

(6) Klasen, H.J. 2000. Historical review of the use of silver in the treatment of burns. Burns. 26: 117-130.
Reviews the use of silver in the treatment of burns.

(7) Romans, I.B. 1954. Oligodynamic metals. In Antiseptics, Disinfectants, Fungicides, and Chemical and Physical Sterilization. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 388-428.
The antimicrobial properties of silver are due to the silver ion, and oxidized silver possesses increased antimicrobial capabilities.
Other metallic ions also have antimicrobial characteristics, but are generally inferior to silver. A mixture of several different metal particles can be extremely effective. Metal particles including lead, silver, and copper, cause hemolysis when placed in human blood.
The silver in silver solutions can adsorb onto glass surfaces. The antimicrobial properties of a silver solution become inactivated when placed in tap water.
Comment: This article compiles much of the early literature on the antimicrobial effectiveness of silver and other metals. Over 200 references are cited.

(8) Feng, Qing Ling, et al. 1998. Antibacterial effects of Ag-hap thin films on alumina substrates. Thin Solid Films, 335, 214-219.
"An obvious antimicrobial effect against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis was observed in the samples treated with 20 ppm silver nitrate solution. In contrast to this, the untreated samples did not show any bactericidal effect".

(9) Lansdown, A.B.G., et al. 1997. Silver aids healing in the sterile skin wound: experimental studies in the laboratory rat. British Journal of Dermatology, 137, 728-735.
15mm wounds were induced on the back skin of young rats. Silver sulphadiazine, silver nylon, and deionized water (control) was applied. Wounds treated with silver nylon or silver sulphadiazine healed faster than controls.

(10) Cason, J.S., et al. 1966. Antiseptic and aseptic prophylaxis for burns: use of silver nitrate and of isolators. British Medical Journal, 1288-1294.
"Controlled trials showed the outstanding prophylactic value of 0.5% silver nitrate compresses to burns"a trial in patients with extensive burns showed Ps. Aeruginosa in 70% of swabs from the control series (treated with penicillin cream), but in only 3.1% of swabs from the series treated with silver nitrate compresses"No toxic effects attributable to silver nitrate were detected".

(11) Moyer, Carl A. et al. 1965. Treatment of large human burns with 0.5% silver nitrate solution. Archives of Surgery, 90, 812-867.
"An aqueous solution of silver nitrate (0.5%) is an effective bacteriostatic agent in vitro, and on burn wounds in vivo"It is nontoxic to man, and argyria does not occur during or after its continuous application to burn wounds for as long as 120 days. At this concentration, silver nitrate approaches the ideal antiseptic; it prevents the growth of such bacteria as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa".

(12) Ricketts, C.R. et al. 1970. Mechanism of prophylaxis by silver compounds against infections in burns. British Medical Journal, 2, 444-446.
"The antibacterial effect was found to depend on the availability of silver ions from solution in contact with precipitate"silver nitrate solution in water was rapidly bactericidal"It seems probable that the outstanding prophylactic effectiveness of silver nitrate compresses is due to the high concentration of silver ions present in the dressings for a short while after each replenishment of silver nitrate solution".

(13) Chu, Chi-sing et al. 1988. Therapeutic effects of silver nylon dressings with weak direct current on Pseudonomas aeruginosa-infected burn wounds. The Journal of Trauma, 28(10), 1488-1492.
"The therapeutic and prophylactic effects of nylon dressings coated with metallic silver in a direct current circuit have been examined in a rat model of fatal burn wound sepsis"Silver nylon dressings placed at 4 hours after inoculation but without applied current showed significant effectiveness"Silver in the form of sulfadiazine or nitrate salt is the most common topical agent used in the treatment of burn wounds"This surface effect is probably due to the limited tissue penetration of silver ions"the availability and limited penetration of silver may be the clinically limiting factor".
Silver nylon exerted a stronger antimicrobial effect when it was used as a cathode as opposed to an anode.

(14) Russell, A.D., et al. 1994. Antimicrobial activity and action of silver. Progress in Medicinal Chemistry, 31, 351-370.
When molten silver is cooled in hydrogen, it does not possess antimicrobial activity. When cooled in air, silver exhibits antimicrobial activity"The addition of nitric acid to silver enhances its activity""The general conclusion to be reached from this set of experiments was that pure silver is devoid of activity but that tarnished and/or surface-oxidised silver was active."
Protein inhibits the action of silver. Silver protein solutions are antimicrobial because they possess small quantities of silver ions. Silver ions are bactericidal, antifungal, protozoicidal, and active against herpes simplex virus, but are not effective against spores, cysts of Entamoeba histolytica and mycobacteria. Ricketts (1970) found that silver cations were bactericidal in water, but not in broth.
Silver will adsorb to surfaces and its antimicrobial action is diminished in the presence of phosphates, chlorides, sulfides and hard water. Silver and copper ions are effective agents as drinking water and swimming pool disinfectants.
Silver reacts with sulphydryl groups in bacteria in both structural and functional proteins. Silver also produces structural changes in bacteria and interacts with nucleic acids.
Comment: This source provides an extensive literature review on the mechanism of action of silver and a shorter review on resistance to it. 141 references are cited.

(15) Geronemus, Roy G., Mertz, Patricia M., and Eaglstein, William H. 1979. Wound healing. Archives of Dermatology, 115, 1311-1314.
An experiment was performed in which pigs were given rectangular wounds and different antimicrobial agents were applied. Silver sulfadiazine (Silvadene) is superior to Neosporin and Furacin. "Silvadene promoted healing at the fastest rate of the agents in the study, being 28% faster that the control. Both the agent and its base were significantly faster than the untreated control."

(16) Kjolseth, Dorthe, et al. 1994. Comparison of the effects of commonly used wound agents on epitheliazation and neovascularization. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 179, 305-312.
Mice were wounded and six commonly used topical antimicrobial agents were applied: bacitracin, sodium hypochlorite, silver nitrate, silver sulfadiazine, mafenide acetate, and povine-iodine.
"In our model, we found that, of all drugs studied, silver sulfadiazine lead to the most rapid epithelialization and was one of the fastest neovascularizing agents. These findings support most of the aforementioned studies".

(17) Hamilton-Miller, J.M.T., Shah, Saroj, and Smith, Craig. 1993. Silver sulphadiazine: a comprehensive in vitro reassessment. Chemotherapy, 39, 405-409.
Silver sulphadiazine was applied to 409 strains from 12 different genera of bacteria. Species resistant to multiple antibiotics were uniformly sensitive. No resistant strains were found. The minimum inhibitory concentration was usually in the range of 16-64 ppm. The table below summarizes some of the results.

Species	# of Strains Tested	MIC in micrograms/ml
Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin resistant)	97	64-128
Coagulase-negative staphylococci	20	16
Streptococcus pyogenes	20	8-128
Enterococci	20	32-128
Candida Albicans	20	64
Escheri coli	20	16-32
Klebsiella pnemoniae	20	32-128
Enterobacter spp.	20	64-128
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	20	16-32

Numerous details of experimental procedures were omitted in the 12 publications describing the in vitro effectiveness of silver sulphadiazine between 1973 and 1991, and this casts doubt on the numerical results obtained.

(18) de Boer, P., and Collinson, P.O. 1981. The use of silver sulphadiazine occlusive dressings for finger-tip injuries. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 63B(4), 545-547.
64 patients with fingertip injuries were treated with either Fucidin gauze or silver sulphadiazine cream. Silver sulphadiazine cream proved to be more effective.
4 patients treated with Fucidin developed sepsis, whereas none of the patients treated with silver sulphadiazine developed sepsis.

(19) Buckley, S.C., Scott, S., and Das, K. 2000. Late review of the use of silver sulphadiazine dressings for the treatment of fingertip injuries. Injury, International Journal of the Care of the Injured, 31, 301-304.
Silver sulphadiazine was applied to fingertip wounds. "21 patients were reviewed between 2 and 8 years after injury"the cosmetic results were good"There were no infections in our group"We recommend this method of treatment".

(20) Coward, Joe E., Carr, Howard S., and Rosenkranz, Herbert S. 1973. Silver sulfadiazine: effect on the growth and ultrastructure of Staphylococci. Chemotherapy 19, 348-353.
Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermis are sensitive to levels of silver sulfadiazine that can easily be achieved topically. "There was no relationship between sensitivity to silver sulfadiazine and to sulfadiazine". The table below lists some of the results.

Species

Strain No.

AgSu, MIC, micrograms per milliliter

Pen

S. aureus

1217

3.13

S. aureus

1222

25.0

S. aureus

1223

25.0

S. aureus

1255

<0.78

S. aureus

1293

3.13

S. epidermis

1575

3.13

S. epidermis

1593

3.13

Abbreviations: MIC= minimal inhibitory concentration; S= sensitive; R= resistant; AgSu= silver sulfadiazine;
GM= gentamicin; Cf= cephalothin; AM= ampicillin; Te= tetracycline; C= chloramphenicol; Pen= penicillin G;
E= erythromycin; L= lincomycin; M= methicillin; Su= sodium sulfadiazine.

(21) Kulick, Michael I., et al. 1985. Prospective study of side effects associated with the use of silver sulfadiazine in severely burned patients. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 14(5), 407-419.
"Reports of adverse effects associated with silver sulfadiazine are rare"leucopenia has been reported"Previous studies have documented renal tubular damage caused by sulfadiazine"Vilter reported on 116 patients who developed toxic reactions to sulfadiazine"Based on these previous studies, we cannot exclude renal damage and dysfunction owing to direct effects of sulfadiazine. A significant number of patients in our series had antibodies reacting with sulfadiazine".

(22) Modak, Shanta M., and Fox, Charles L. Jr. 1973. Binding of silver sulfadiazine to the cellular components of Pseudonomas aeruginosa. Biochemical Pharmacology, 22, 2391-2404.
"Silver was bound in considerable amounts, mainly in the fraction containing the cell proteins and carbohydrates"The silver ion appears to be of central importance in the antibacterial effect of silver sulfadiazine"silver sulfadiazine dissociates in the culture medium and only silver is bound to the cells- no binding of sulfadiazine occurs; the antibacterial effect of silver sulfadiazine in vitro against various organisms is practically the same as that of silver nitrate; and while the MIC of silver sulfadiazine is near or identical to that of silver nitrate for most organisms tested, the MIC of sulfadiazine is considerably (200 x) higher".

(23) Chambers, Cecil W., Proctor, Charles M., and Kabler, Paul W. 1962. Bactericidal effect of low concentrations of silver. Journal of the American Water Works Association, 208-216.
"The germicidal action of a specified amount of silver was found to be related to the concentration of silver ions rather than to the physical nature of the silver from which the ions were originally derived".
• Silver ions adsorb onto glass surfaces.
• Exposure to light does not affect the germicidal efficacy of silver ions.
• Germicidal capabilities of silver ions are affected by pH.
• Phosphate interferes with the germicidal capabilities of silver ions.

(24) Wysor, M.S., and Zollinhofer, R.E. 1973. Silver phosphanilamidopyrimidine. Chemotherapy, 18, 342-347.
"An analogue of silver sulfadiazine, silver phosphanilamidopyrimidine, proved to be as effective as the parent compound in vitro and in vivo".

(25) Kawahara, K., et al. 2000. Antibacterial effect of silver-zeolite on oral bacteria under anaerobic conditions. Dental Materials, 16, 452-455.
"The MIC of silver zeolite ranged between 256 and 2048 micrograms/ml, which corresponded to a range of 4.8-38.4 micrograms/ml of Ag⁺".
The substance was tested against Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sangius, Actinomyces viscosus, and Staphylococcus aureus.
Other studies are cited in which silver zeolite has demonstrated antibacterial activity against S. mutans, S. mitis, C albicans, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa in vitro.

(26) Hamilton-Miller, J.M.T, and Shah, Saroji. 1996. A microbiological assessment of silver fusidate, a novel topical antimicrobial agent. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 7, 97-99.
"Silver fusidate at 1 g/l was bactericidal against eight strains of staphylococci, irrespective of their susceptibility to sodium fusidate"It is thought that the antimicrobial activity of silver sulphadiazine is due to the production of small amounts of free Ag⁺ by dissociation".

The table below summarizes some of the test results.

Species [no. tested]	Antimicrobial Compound	MIC (mg/l)
S. pyogenes [20]	Silver fusidate	4-16
	Silver sulphadiazine	4-64
Enterococci [20]	Silver fusidate	0.5-8
	Silver sulphadiazine	4-64
Enterobacter spp. [20]	Silver fusidate	32-64
	Silver sulphadiazine	32>128
K. pnemoniae [20]	Silver fusidate	32>128
	Silver sulphadiazine	32-64
Acinetobacter spp. [20]	Silver fusidate	4-32
	Silver sulphadiazine	4-16
Ps. Aeruginosa [20]	Silver fusidate	32
	Silver sulphadiazine	16-32
Pr. Mirabilis [20]	Silver fusidate	32
	Silver sulphadiazine	16-32
Prov. Stuartii [20]	Silver fusidate	32
	Silver sulphadiazine	16-32
Prov. Morganii [15]	Silver fusidate	32
	Silver sulphadiazine	16-32
Pr. Vulgaris [5]	Silver fusidate	32
	Silver sulphadiazine	16-32
Candida albicans [20]	Silver fusidate	128
	Silver sulphadiazine	64

(27) Chu, C.C., et al. 1987. Newly made antibacterial braided nylon sutures. In vitro qualitative and in vivo preliminary biocompatibility study. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 21, 1281-1300.
Nylon material coated with silver was tested for antimicrobial action.
"Seven types of bacterial species were tested; S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, S. dysenteriae, S. marsuslene, and P. mirabilis."
Silver ions released from the coated nylon thread were responsible for the observed antibacterial property; and the application of a weak direct current to the material enhanced this effect"the new material caused less inflammatory reaction than the control suture up to 60 days after implantation"The material exhibited very good to moderate in vitro bactericidal property toward seven bacterial species"The antibacterial property of the material always appeared in the anode site where Ag⁺ ions were released".

(28) Speck, William T., and Rosenkranz, Herbert S. 1974. Activity of silver sulphadiazine against dermatophytes. The Lancet, 895-896.
Silver sulfadiazine is effective against fungi. The following table summarizes some of the results.

Species	MIC (micrograms of SSD/ml) in a liquid medium	MIC (Micrograms of SSD/ml) in a plate assay
Microsporum audouinii	100	25
Microsporum canis	100	50
Microsporum ferrugineum	100	-
Trichophyton violaceum	50	50
Trichophyton verrucosum	50	50
Epidermophyton floccosum	1.6	50

(29) Wlodkowski, Theodore J., and Rosenkranz, Herbert S. 1973. Antifungal activity of silver sulfadiazine. The Lancet, 739-740.
Silver sulfadiazine is effective against fungi. The following table summarizes some of the results.

Species	MIC (micrograms of silver sulfadiazine per milliliter)
Aspergillus fumigatus	100
Mucor pusillus	50
Rhizopus nigricans	100

None of the strains was inhibited by sodium sulfadiazine.

(30) Miller, Lawrence P., and McCallan, S.E.A. 1957. Toxic action of metal ions to fungus spores. Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 5(2), 116-122.
"Silver is taken up rapidly by fungus spores, so that germination can be completely inhibited after a contact time of 1 minute or less.
Only mercury(I) and (II), and to a lesser extent copper, offer serious competition".

(31) Slade, S.J., and Pegg, G.F. 1993. The effect of silver and other metal ions on the in vitro growth of root-rotting Phytophthora and other fungal species. Annals of Applied Biology, 122, 233-251.
Silver was the most toxic ion to zoospores of Phytophthora nicotianae parasitica. Nickel, cobalt, zinc and copper ions were also tested. The LD50 for Ag⁺ was 11.4ppb. "Silver was similarly toxic to a range of pathogens including Pythium aphanidermatum, Thielaviopsis basicola and Fusarium oxysporum f.spp. Most zoospores of phytophthora spp. Were killed by Ag⁺ in the range 5-50 ppb, bursting at the higher concentrations". All zoospores of nicotianae parasitica were killed at an Ag⁺ concentration of 500 ppb. A population of P. cryptogea were all killed at 100 ppb Ag⁺. "Zoospore cysts and germlings showed the same sensitivity to silver. Oospores were mostly killed over the range 25-100 ppb"Ionic silver was lost from solution during a microscope slide bioassay by binding to the glass surface"It is surprising that no silver-based fungicide has been developed".

(32) Scalzo, M., et al. 1996. Antimicrobial activity of electrochemical silver ions in nonionic surfactant solutions and in model dispersions. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 48, 60-63.
Electrically generated silver ions were introduced to the following microorganisms: E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis, C albicans.
"The wide antimicrobial spectrum, the high microbicidal potency, the good water solubility and the safety of anodic silver, therefore, provide an encouraging background to the investigation of the use of this ion as a preservative in pharmaceutical or cosmetic formulations"The high rate of kill of anodic silver is very useful to ensure a rapid reduction of microorganisms. However, the effectiveness of silver in keeping the number of surviving organisms at less than 0.01% of the starting inoculum after repeated inocula, even in the presence of strong interfering additives, appears the most interesting feature for its possible use as a preserving agent in multiple-dose products".

(33) Chang, Te-Wen, and Weinstein, Louis. 1975. In vitro activity of silver sulfadiazine against Herpesvirus hominis. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 132(1), 79-81.
"Silver sulfadiazine at a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml suppresses or completely inactivates the infectivity of Herpesvirus hominis"Because sulfadiazine does not have antiviral activity, the inhibitory activity of the silver salt of this agent is probably related to the presence of the silver ion"Silver sulfadiazine has been shown to be effective in the prevention of herpetic keratoconjunctivitis and encephalitis in rabbits"Because of the wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity (Treponema, yeast, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Herpesvirus), the use of silver sulfadiazine as a prophylactic agent for genital infections merits serious considerations".

(34) Chang, Te-Wen, and Weinstein, Louis. 1975. Prevention of Herpes Keratoconjunctivitus in rabbits by silver sulfadiazine. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 8(6), 677-678.
"Silver sulfadiazine, at a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml when applied immediately after infection by Herpesvirus hominis, prevented the development of acute herpetic keratoconjunctivitis in rabbits".

(35) Tokumaru, T., Shimizu, Y., and Fox, C.L. Jr. 1974. Antiviral activities of silver sulfadiazine in ocular infection. Research Communications in Chemical Pathology and Pharmacology, 8(1), 151-158.
"Among viruses affecting the eyes, herpes simplex (HSV) and vesicular stomatitis viruses (VSV) were found to be susceptible to direct inactivation by this compound. At 1 microgram/ml it suppressed HSV growth I tissue culture"In the rabbit eye, infection by Pseudomonas aerugionsa was suppressed by similar applications of AgSD".

(36) Chang, Te-Wen, and Weinstein, Louis. 1975. Inactivation of Treponema pallidum by silver sulfadiazine. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 7(5), 538-539.
6.2 micrograms/ml of silver sulfadiazine completely inactivated T. pallidum in 30 minutes. "At 37 C, the amounts of silver sulfadiazine required for inactivation were two- to fourfold less" (than at 28 degrees C)

(37) Montes, Leopoldo F., Muchinik, Guillermo, and Fox, Charles L. 1986. Response of varicella zoster virus and herpes zoster to silver sulfadiazine. Cutis, 38, 363-365.
Silver sulfadiazine inactivates the infectivity of varicella zoster virus. "At a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml or higher the virus was inactivated after thirty minutes"Forty-two patients with herpes zoster were treated topically with 1 percent silver sulfadiazine cream applied four times a day. All patients experienced complete drying of vesicles, marked reduction of erythema and edema, and striking elimination of pain and burning sensation within twenty-four to seventy-two hours"Because sulfadiazine alone does not have known antiviral activity, the inhibitory action of the silver salt of sulfadiazine is believed to be related to the presence of the silver ion".

(38) Hussain, Saber, Anner, Rolf M., and Anner, Beatrice M. 1992. Cysteine protects Na, K-ATPase and isolated human lymphocytes from silver toxicity. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 189(3), 1444-1449.
"Metal-binding proteins are important components of retroviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Therefore, metals could be used as antiviral agents. However, most metals are toxic for humans with the exception of silver which is toxic only to prokaryotic cells and viruses"Thus, non-toxic silver cysteine could be used as an anti-viral and cysteine-replenishing agent"silver is a highly active bactericidal metal with little toxicity for humans. Silver has also been shown to be a potent inhibitor of HIV protease"silver is expected to interact potently with HIV proteins and to interrupt thereby the cellular replication of HIV at various stages such as interaction with surface receptors, gene expression or cellular biosynthesis of viruses. Possible therapeutic forms of silver-cysteine and evalutation of this new compound in cells from patients infected with HIV remain to be investigated".

(39) Bogdanchikova, N.Y., et al. 1992. Activity of colloidal silver preparations against variolovaccine virus. Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, 26(9-10), 90-91.
This article is in Russian but it has an English abstract which states: "The drugs of colloidal silver collargol and protargol were found to have activity against smallpox virus"silver metal particles may make a great contribution to the mechanism responsible for antiviral effects". The same authors published the following article:

(40) Bogdanchikova, N.Y., et al. 1992. Activity of colloidal silver preparations toward smallpox. Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal, 26(9-10), 778.
"The drugs of colloidal silver collargol and protargol were found to have activity against the smallpox virus. The activity of the drugs which was calculated per unit weight of silver was equal"It is suggested from the calculated activity ratio that silver metal particles may make a great contribution to the mechanism responsible for antiviral effects."
Comment: Russian article with English abstract.

(41) Simonetti, N., et al. 1992. Electrochemical Ag⁺ for preservative use. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 58(12), 3834-3836.
Ag⁺ was tested against the following microorganisms: E. coli, P. aeruginosa, C Albicans, A. niger.
"Ag⁺ solutions exhibited better antimicrobial effectiveness against bacteria, a yeast species, and a mold than did analogous silver solutions from inorganic salts(silver nitrate and silver chloride)"Ag⁺ could be used effectively in preservatives"the microbicidal activity of silver is significantly ion influenced ".
A method of manufacturing colloidal silver and testing it for silver content is described.

(42) Bosetti, M., et al. 2002. Silver coated materials for external fixation devices: in vitro biocompatibility and genotoxicity. Biomaterials, 23, 887-892.
"The hypothesis that coating a pin with a silver-containing compound will decrease colonization and/or pin tract infection has been confirmed in other studies in vitro and in vivo experiments"These studies have shown that silver is neither gentoxic or cytotoxic as compared to stainless steel, a material widely used as a metal implant"Silver has long been known to be a potent antibacterial agent with a very broad spectrum of activity and has been used safely in medicine for many years".

(43) Deitch, Edwin A., et al. 1983. Silver-nylon: a new antimicrobial agent. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 23(3), 356-359.
"On the basis of these experiments, it appears that silver nylon is an effective antimicrobial agent"We presume that the release of silver ions from the silver nylon fabric was the basis of the antimicrobial action of silver nylon"Although the bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal sensitivity of organisms to silver vary widely, they are generally in the range of 10 to 20 micrograms/ml"Silver is not associated with significant side effects, is not an allergen, and is only rarely associated with the induction of resistant strains of bacteria".

(44) Marino, Andrew A., et al. 1984. Electrical augmentation of the antimicrobial activity of silver-nylon fabrics. Journal of Biological Physics, 12, 93-98.
Silver nylon exerted an antimicrobial effect on the following microorganisms: Pseudonomas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans.
"A significant enhancement of the fabrics" antimicrobial effect was achieved by the passage of weak DC currents, which cause increased liberation of silver ions".

(45) Tsai, W.C., et al. 1987. In vitro quantitative study of newly made antibacterial braided nylon sutures. Surgery, Gynecology & Obstetrics, 165, 207-211.
"The previously demonstrated antibacterial property of the newly made silver compound coated nylon thread toward a wide range of bacterial species was further confirmed in the present quantitative study"This further supports the concept that it is the silver ions, not their associated compounds which possess or are largely responsible for this antibacterial property".

(46) Falcone, Alfred E., and Spadaro, Joseph A. 1986. Inhibitory effects of electrically activated silver material on cutaneous wound bacteria. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 77(3), 455-458.