Silver: Tiny Particles with Huge Healing Potential

What's the Buzz Behind Nanotech?

“NANOTECHNOLOGY” BECAME somewhat of a buzzword in 1990 with the publicationof K. Eric Drexler’s book, Engines ofCreation: The Coming Age of Nanotechnology. The“age of nanotechnology” that Drexler refers toinvolves engineering at the atomic or molecularlevel, giving rise to replicating assemblers, hencesparking exponential growth of productivity andpersonal wealth. Nanotechnology, in Drexler’s terms,is still only a hypothetical field yet to be developedand explored.However, nanotechnology as a catchall phrasefor materials and devices that operate at thenanoscale is currently a thriving technology. Thewebsite for the National NanotechnologyInitiative points out: “At thenanoscale, the physical, chemical,and biological properties of materialsdiffer in fundamental and valuableways from the properties of individualatoms and molecules or bulk matter.”Therefore, research and development in the field ofnanotechnology is directed toward understandingand creating improved materials, devices and systemsthat utilize these unique properties. One areaof nanotechnology research and development thatis especially exciting is medicine.

Nanotech and HIV

The Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas, Austin, has been involved in an expanding field of research looking at nanoparticle interaction with biomolecules and microorganisms, and more specifically, how metal nanoparticles interact with viruses. What they found is very encouraging. In June of 2005, the journal Nanobiotechnology published a small report on a study performed at UT, Austin, which showed promise in using silver nanoparticles against the HIV-1 virus. The study found that there is a size-dependent reaction where nanoparticles exclusively below 10 nanometers attached to the virus. The research suggests that the silver nanoparticles interact with the HIV-1 virus via preferential binding to the gp120 glycoprotein knobs, inhibiting the ability of the virus to bind to a host cell, hence inhibiting its ability to wreak havoc on your immune system.

Of course, this is very exciting news; HIV is one of the most pressing health concerns the world faces today, and the findings will certainly spur more research into silver’s role in combating HIV. However, for anyone familiar with the properties of oligodynamic silver hydrosol, these findings are probably not too surprising.

It has been known for quite some time that silver serves as an effective first line of defense against microbes of all kinds, including fungi, bacteria and, of course, viruses. In fact, medical studies dating as far back as the early 1900s found silver to be helpful in defending against viral infections, and as recently as 2001, intravenous use of silver was found helpful in reducing the viral load in AIDS patients. Silver stops infectious microbes in their tracks by attacking the oxygen-metabolizing enzymes (proteins on the outer membrane of the microbes), and essentially suffocating them. In the research at UT, Austin, silver seems to have interacted with HIV-1 in a similar manner, as it bound itself to the glycoprotein knobs on the outer surface of the virus.

The study reaffirms what we already knew: that silver is an effective tool against viruses. It also highlights the fact that when it comes to silver, size matters. While silver has been used for centuries, it has only been in the last decade or so that we have begun to see its true potential. We always had a suspicion that silver could do great things, but it took the work of one company to produce a silver hydrosol so pure, with a particle size smaller than we had ever seen, to produce the kind of results we are seeing with silver today.

Oligodynamic — an Outdated Term for Nanoparticles?

So why does size matter? As pointed out previously by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the properties of materials differ in fundamental and valuable ways at the nanoscale. When it comes to metals, the term that has been used to describe the unique antimicrobial properties of this state is “oligodynamic.” In fact, the properties are so unique and valuable that when the Swiss Botanist von Nägeli coined the term “oligodynamic” in 1869, it spurred somewhat of a renaissance in research and development for silver. Dr. Eric Rentz, one of today’s leading silver experts, expands upon this understanding of oligodynamic silver hydrosols, defining them as “a preparation that has particles measured in nanometers or picometers...thus, they are very small...and exist at a clinically relevant concentration. Particles over 25 nanometers in size have little clinical use.” So, when choosing a silver hydrosol, the particle size is extremely important. The smaller the particles, the more the beneficial elements of silver are able to shine through.

A Shining Example of the Potential of Small Particles

Sovereign Silver™, from Natural-Immunogenics, boasts the smallest average particle size ever seen: .8 nanometers. They are so small, they actually dissolve into the water, making Sovereign Silver the first true silver hydrosol, not to mention the most effective silver solution on the market. The smaller particles allow for more surface area to interact with the surface proteins of microbes. At smaller sizes, particles carry a more consistent charge; the particles in Sovereign Silver, for example, are 96 percent positively charged. The positive charge, combined with small size, allows for even dispersion as well; the particles actually repel one another with their positive charge, so the dispersion is uniform. This widely dispersed concentration also allows for maximum results with minimal silver. Sovereign Silver contains only 10 ppm (parts per million), yet it outperforms competing solutions with up to 1,000 ppm—all thanks to its amazingly miniscule particle size.

So, whether you are looking to boost your immune system to defend against this season’s flu virus, or looking to solve a global a health crisis, silver offers hope. Just remember that when it comes to silver, small particles are what offer the big results.

The Doctors' Prescription for Healthy Living, Volume 10, Number 3, Page 55 -