Differences between Colloidal Silver and Ionic Silver
The answer to this question can be quite complicated, even a bit technical.
In the modern world, which is full of chemically harmful substances, one would like to find the most useful and safe product for health. And silver is a well-known active natural element. Many dietary supplements, including supplements for immune support, may contain silver in one form or another. Despite many claims to the contrary, there are generally two forms of silver used in supplements: colloidal silver and ionic silver. Both colloidal silver which is a suspension of metallic silver in a liquid and ionic silver solutions which are dissolved atomic silver has gained popularity due to the antibacterial properties of the metal. The difference between these forms isn`t understood enough by the public. Mostly every person who decides to use silver as a supplement is confused about these forms of silver. As a result, they take the wrong form of silver, which can be harmful. Here is a summary of these silver forms.
Silver is an all-natural active element.
What is ionic silver?
The widespread usage and applications of ionic silver have raised certain public safety concerns about their possible harmful effects on the environment and human health. These fears seem to be confirmed as scientists have generally confirmed the negative influence of ionic silver on many live cell cultures, including human and fetal cells. What happens when ionic silver enters a living organism? – a person or an animal, what’s next? Ionic silver is a dissolved solution, meaning that trillions of separate silver atoms are dissolved and floating in a liquid.
The popularity of ionic silver is high and easy to explain by the ease of availability and of preparation of such a solution. Silver-based preparations generally have a broader antibacterial spectrum than antibiotics. Generally, microorganisms do not show resistance to silver-based preparations. So what seems to be the problem?
5 ml
83 drops
20000 PPM
15 ml
250 drops
20000 PPM
30 ml
500 drops
20000 PPM
Ionic silver toxicity and side effects
Bioavailability, that is, the ability of a drug to be absorbed in an unchanged state and be available to the cells, is often discussed by various sources. To use this term in the case of supplements or preparations containing different forms of silver? The term «bioavailability» in general applies to prescription medication because it is a key component of their effectiveness. The problem with ionic silver is that, immediately after entering the body, ionic silver instantly interacts with just about anything, including the stomach acid, but also proteins, and cell components. Because of this reaction, the silver ions are bound and neutralized in a very, very high proportion. This neutralization is almost complete. This high reactivity of silver ions explains their toxicity. It is the high reactivity of ionic silver that leads to irritation and burns of internal organs, tissues, and mucous membranes. [1]
Argyria – a rare but NOT dangerous side effect
Research by scientists over the past decades has revealed several major seemingly scary side effects of taking silver. These are ulcerative formations on the mucous membrane of the digestive system and argyria. This condition is caused by the massive and prolonged ingestion of products containing ionic silver or after massive ingestion of home-made silver. As a result of this massive ingestion, the silver ions or big home-made particles get trapped in the skin and internal organs, giving the skin a grayish-blue tint. [2] Silver nitrate, from which ionic silver is mostly derived, is the main source of transparent silver on the market.
What is colloidal silver?
Colloidal silver preparations, in contrast to ionic silver, contain metallic silver in microscopic balls made of thousands of silver atoms but in a finely dispersed state. Colloidal silver preparations are generally less toxic, and when uniform and small in size almost nontoxic. Small silver particles are mostly engulfed in the cells and have mainly no destructive effect on cell membranes like ionic silver. Аt normal concentrations, colloidal silver is not irritating or caustic like ionic silver. The colloidal silver particles are more stable and chemically reactive, therefore do not react as easily with proteins and cellular components.
Colloidal silver has shown its high antibacterial activity even at very low concentrations.[3] Unlike ionic silver, colloidal silver does not dissolve in a liquid but floats in it, like snowflakes in the sky. For those uninitiated in the subtleties of silver formulations, there may be, superficially, not much of a difference between these two forms of silver. However, in reality, the difference is enormous.
The difference between ionic silver and colloidal silver
Colloidal silver contains small particles (nanoparticles) of silver made out of many thousands of atoms. A nanoparticle is a million times smaller than a millimeter, but still contains a few good thousand electrically neutral silver atoms combined together into spherical shapes as little balls of metallic silver small crystals, they are balanced.A silver ion is one silver atom, devoid of an electron, which is why it is very active, chemically attaching by the millions of trillions to just about everything they get in contact with. As a result of this attachment, the silver loses its chemical reactivity, and, due to the attachment of a missing electron mostly ceases to be effective.
The difference between these two forms of silver is that one does not dissolve in water, it just floats, while the other, on the contrary, dissolves completely, but at an immensely higher concentration, trillions of times higher, which makes it caustic to the cells. The advantage of colloidal silver is its stability both in water and in another liquid, like human blood. Ionic silver, on the contrary, is highly reactive and unstable, and as a result, it is more toxic.
Comparison between colloidal silver, ionic silver, and silver hydrosol
Increasingly, various brands are offering products called «silver hydrosol» on the market. How does this form of silver differ from the other two forms mentioned above?
- Silver hydrosol – is a manipulative term for ionic silver. This term is used by some companies to deceive the public to think they have a new product superior to colloidal silver. They use a fancy word to make it look like they have a new and unique product. When you google the term “hydrosol” you will see it is in fact chemically the same thing as a colloidal solution.
- Colloidal silver – is stable dispersion – it is a suspension of particles not dissolved but dispersed in a liquid (between 1 and 200 nm).
- Ionic silver – is chemically reactive atomic silver, which is chemically unstable and a highly reactive solution. When ingested into the body quickly and in high amounts, it reacts with various body structures, including proteins and DNA – causing their deformation and denaturation.
Guess what kind of supplement silver is mostly sold on the market? When you think logically, the answer is – ionic silver, of course. Why?
The reason why most products are ionic silver
The relative ease of making ionic silver and the easy availability of components for such a «business» explains the fact that it is ionic silver that is seriously marketed often labeled as being colloidal. Given that most of this is «made» from silver nitrate, ionic silver is most dangerous to ingest. What do some unscrupulous «businessmen» do? They buy silver nitrate, online mix it with water or a gel, and sell it. Simple, easy and very cheap! Avoiding mass poisoning with such ionic silver «products» is because these unscrupulous traders only use very small doses of silver nitrate.
There are many ways to prepare colloidal silver. The simplest way is to find a nine-volt battery and two silver wires. But you don’t really need to have a physics degree to guess: such a solution is only useful for cleaning the floor. The quality of a solution containing silver is influenced by many factors like the presence of foreign or other substances in the water. True colloidal silver will always have a persistent yellow color. The more concentrated the colloidal silver isthe darker the color is. The normal color of a high-quality colloidal silver solution changes from light golden at low concentrations to yellow-brown then dark brown, almost black at higher concentrations.
Which is the most effective form of silver?
The vague definition of colloidal silver and the abundance of fake colloidal silver on the market is the reason for the undifferentiated criticism of colloidal silver in general. We know by now colloidal silver is generally safer for the human body and cells than ionic silver. However, colloidal silver, in turn, is produced in many different ways with many different characteristics. Some are safer, some are less. One of the safest forms of colloidal silver is using coated particles [4].
Coated colloidal silver is one of the safest form of silver.
Colloidal silver coating means that each individual silver particle is protected by a very special protective compound. This coating ensures that the silver particles inside the body don’t clump together, attach to body structures, or break down in your gastrointestinal tract. As a result, the side effects of silver and risks are very much minimized, and the gentle effectiveness of taking silver, on the contrary, increases.
Coated colloidal silver is the pinnacle of science-based nanotechnology. It is a pure and uniform product, consisting of smaller than microscopic silver particles suspended in demineralized and deionized water[5]. What are the advantages of coated colloidal silver? They are:
- Antimicrobial properties. Coated colloidal silver helps to fight infection as well or even better than antibiotics. In particular, it is known to be effective against such dangerous pathogens as staphylococcus, streptococcus, bacteria of dysentery, typhoid fever, salmonella, pseudomonas, candida, E. Сoli, and others gram-negative bacteria.[6]
- Minimal or no side effects. The coating helps to avoid the accumulation of silver in tissues and internal organs.
- Ease of use. Coated colloidal silver is a concentrated suspension containing coated nanoparticles. You can dilute the concentrated solution yourself to your concentration, according to the dosage recommended by your health professional.
- Stable – Coated silver supplements are very stable, both in time and in different water based liquids. It can be added to virtually any water-based liquid without compromising its integrity and effectiveness.
Our Verdict: only high quality coated colloidal silver can help your immune system and improve your health. It would seem it is possible to make a truly safe colloidal, but only using modern and sophisticated knowledge, technology, and equipment. However people are always looking for cheap products, therefore low- quality colloidal silver and dangerous ionic silver are flooding the markets. They are always trying to prepare colloidal silver at home or buying silver drugs of dubious quality from unverified manufacturers.
Please do yourself a favor: Do not self-medicate, and do not self-prescribe silver preparations to yourself – always consult a health professional, and take the correct dosage for an appropriate duration.
Always choose professionally manufactured colloidal silver.
For improved health and immune system, superior in quality colloidal silver should be used.
How do you recognize a serious and experienced manufacturer?
You can recognize a serious manufacturer based on their technology, experience, and expertise behind the product. Noble Elements LLC is one of the few innovative companies out there that combines experience, innovation, world-class expertise, and the real science behind their product. One of the company’s experts – Professor Dan V. Goia is known as a researcher of comparative evaluation of commercial colloidal silver offerings [7-14] and others.
Coated Silver – it’s not just a brand, it accumulates more than 80 years of combined experience of world-class chemists and scientists, integrative and evidence-based medicine, business, and international law.
Among the distributors of Coated Silver are David Wolfe and «Cymbiotika». The army of «Coated Silver» fans is growing every day and this is not surprising at all. Are you wondering where to buy true colloidal silver from? Look no more! You found the best product on the market. Coated Silver. It is available now at www.coatedsilver.com or through a network of distributors.
Join us now in promoting and distributing this one-of-a-kind colloidal silver product!
“This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
- Teodora Miclauş, Christiane Beer, Jacques Chevallier, Carsten Scavenius, Vladimir E. Bochenkov, Jan J. Enghild & Duncan S. Sutherland, «Dynamic protein coronas revealed as a modulator of silver nanoparticle sulphidation in vitro», Published: 09 June 2016.
- Nathan A. Bracey, MD PhD, Jonathan S. Zipursky, MD, and David N. Juurlink, MD PhD, «Argyria caused by chronic ingestion of silver», published 2018 Feb.
- ECHA(European chemical agency) «Hazard classification & labeling».
- Libor Kvitek, Ales Panacek, Robert Prucek, Jana Soukupova, «Antibacterial activity and toxicity of silver—Nanosilver versus ionic silver», published by «Journal of Physics Conference Series», July 2011.
- Dr. Calin V. Pop MD. «The TRUTH About Colloidal Silver & Gold: Separating Fact From Fiction; The Real Science Behind The Hype».
- Jose Ruben Morones-Ramirez, Jonathan A. Winkler, Catherine S. Spina, and James J. Collins,”Silver enhances antibiotic activity аgainst gram-negative bacteria” published 19 Jun.2013.
- Dan V. Goia, Swati Aerry, Ajeet Kumar, «Preparation of concentrated stable dispersions of uniform Ag nanoparticles using resorcinol as reductant», published May 2016.
- Dan V. Goia, John Njagi, Christopher M. Netzband «Deposition of hermetic silver shells onto copper flakes», October 2016.
- Dan V Goia, Lu Lu, «Precipitation of spherical and ‘fiber-like’ silver particles», June 2013.
- Dan V Goia, Lu Lu, «Gwendolyn Burkey, Ionel Halaciuga, Core-shell gold/silver nanoparticles: synthesis and optical properties», epub 2012 Oct. 16.
- Dan V. Goia, Igor Sevonkaev, Ionel Halaciuga, «Distribution of density in spherical colloidal particles by transmission electron microscopy», February 2010.
- Dan V Goia, Andrei Jitianu, Myung-Sub Kim, Daniel Andreescu «A simple preparative route to highly stable dispersions of uniform silver nanoparticles», Marc 2009.
- Dan V. Goia, Ionel Halaciuga, Daniel T. Robb, Vladimir Privman, “Synthesis of Silver Colloids: Experiment and Computational Model”, Sep. 2008.
- Dan V. Goia, Ionel Halaciuga, «Preparation of silver spheres by aggregation of nanosize subunits», June 2008.
