This section provides information on properly classifying and testing the various qualities of isolated colloidal silver products, and has been developed as a guide for advanced study.
Colloidal Silver Mastery - How Good is my Silver?
A Note about Production Methods
Before undertaking an advanced study on any particular colloidal silver, it is wise to first perfect the production method to the best of one's ability.
Quality control is of extreme importance, and is achieved by limiting as many variables in the production process as possible. If the production process is not properly standardized, then any analytical study will not be accurate, as the silver produced from various batches will be quite different.
LVDC - The low voltage direct current method of production is the easiest method to use to create a stable, quality product.
HVAC - The high voltage alternating current method of production presents many pitfalls. High voltage creates complex crystals in the end product. The crystals tend to be significantly larger than necessary, although they may have unexplored properties. Such crystals have, however, been tested as less effective in direct time kill studies against products containing smaller particles. Using high voltage also pulls contaminants from the air into the water, if a sealed chamber is not used ( and flushed with something like Argon gas prior to use ). This significantly effects the PH level of the end product. The likely cause of this is excess nitrogen, perhaps even silver nitrate. Beware of products with lower PH levels without knowing exactly how the PH has been effective ( a quality, isolated silver should be very close to nuetral 7.0 ).
Classifying Colloidal Silver via Analytical Study - TEM, AAS, PCS & Antibacterial Time-Kill Studies
All testing conducted on colloidal silver should be done not only by professional personnel, but professionals extremely familiar with testing colloidal silver. Standard laboratories may not be capable of classifying colloidal silver accurately. We've seen reports by manufactures who have sent samples of the same batch of colloidal silver to two different "qualified" laboratories, and in return received two completely different result reports.
The goal of the first objective study is to accurately determine the PPM and "make-up" of colloidal silver, and if possible, verify that the same production method produces consistant results from batch to batch.
While determining the total concentration of silver as measured in parts per million is important, it is also important to determine the amount of ionic silver vs. particulate silver. Furthermore, determining the average particle sizing and particle dispersion is of paramount importance when gauging isolated silver quality.
Transmission Electron Microscopy ( TEM )
Transmission electron microscopy is an affordable and extremely revealing test procedure. While there are those who state that TEM is not an ideal scientific instrument for classifying colloidal silver, we beg to differ. There is a direct correlation between particle dispersion characteristics and the antimicrobial properties of colloidal silver. With two products of equal concentration, the characteristics may be completely different, and these differences will not be revealed by other testing methods, even those done with extremely advanced equipment ( such as with an HHPS or PCS ).
Laboratory Quality Colloidal Silver
Natural-Immunogenics
Electron microscope photo ( TEM ) of Sovereign Colloidal Silver
.0006 - .003 microns with complete dispersion
( photo provided by Natural-Immunogenics )
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High Quality Colloidal Silver
Silvergen
Electron microscope photo ( TEM ) of SilverGen's Colloidal Silver
.0006 - .005 microns with excellent dispersion
( Photo provided by Silvergen )
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Inferior Colloidal Silver
[ Image cropped for Space Considerations ]
( photo provided by Natural-Immunogenics )
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Inferior Colloidal Silver II
[ Image cropped for space considerations ]
( photo provided by Natural-Immunogenics )
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Antibacterial Time-Kill Studies
Having established the primary characteristics of a colloidal silver, the next step is to test the product against pathogenic organisms using standardized in-vitro methods. It is extremely advantageous to hire a lab staff that has extensive experience with testing a wide variety of products, and therefore a comparative analysis is possible.
( photo provided by Eytons' Earth & Natural Immunogenics )
For both TEM and time-kill studies, we recommend analytical testing by:
Natural-Immunogenics
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ( AES ), DLS & Photon Correlation Spectronomy ( PCS )
AES may be utilized to determine accurate concentrations of silver content. DLS ( Dynamic Light Scattering ) may be employed to determine accurate particle sizing. Photo Correlation Spectronomy may be utilized to measure the particle size distribution of silver particles, and also to determine the zeta potential.
These services may be acquired by contacting:
The Colloidal Science Lab
View our recommended colloidal silver products page, for silver products that are ethically marketed and recommended for those pursuing private research on silver.
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