How Colloidal Silver Works

In order to understand how Colloidal Silver works, one must first understand that the human body is and aerobic organism and that the infectious organisms to the human body are almost exclusively anaerobic. The body encounters pathogens and other foreign entities many times a day. When the body is healthy, it maintains a proper pH and oxygen-rich environment. The pH (parts Hydrogen) inside the cells of the body are usually near an alkaline pH 7.2-7.4. Outside the cell, the fluid surrounding the cells will usually realize an acidic pH near 4.0. However, when an individual does not maintain a healthy environment in the body, the pH begins to rise in the outer fluid and fall inside the cell. This reduces the electrical potential of the cell. The oxygen levels in the body respond by decreasing. Anaerobic Pathogens that grow in the oxygen deficient tissues will usually attack these weakened cells and "set up shop". Organisms that cause illness and attack these weak cells cannot survive in healthy cells that have outer fluid pH below ~4.0 and inner cellular fluid above pH ~6.9. Silver maintains a positive charge which when introduced to areas of infection, disrupt the organisms causing the illness. Interestingly, colloidal silver kills the pathogens by inhibiting the enzyme(s) that these pathogens utilize to survive in their anaerobic environment. This enzyme(s) is the pathogen's "chemical lung". Without the necessary enzyme(s) for metabolism, growth, regeneration and survival, the pathogens "suffocate" and die. It is believed that viruses are destroyed because the electric valence charge of silver particles cause their protective protein coat, also referred to as the "head", to collapse and are rendered unable to replicate. The cells infected by virus will also be susceptible to enzymatic inhibition. They are then removed from the body by the immune, lymphatic, and intestinal elimination systems. This process is so effective that no pathogen has been recorded to mutate against colloidal silver or live in its presence for more than 6 minutes . While antibiotics are losing their effectiveness, as several strains of germs are becoming resistant to conventional antibiotics, they are not able to develop any resistant strains or immunity to SILVER. Richard Davies and Samuel Etris of The Silver Institute, in a 1996 monograph entitled The Development and Functions of Silver in Water Purification and Disease Control, discuss three mechanisms of deactivation that silver utilizes to incapacitate disease causing organisms. They are Catalytic Oxidation, Reaction with Cell Membranes, and Binding with the DNA of disease organisms to prevent unwinding. Catalytic Oxidation: Silver, in its atomic state, has the capacity to absorb oxygen and act as a catalyst to bring about oxidation. Atomic (nascent) oxygen absorbed onto the surface of silver ions in solution will readily react with the sulfhydryl (-S-H) groups surrounding the surface of bacteria or viruses to remove the hydrogen atoms (as water), causing the sulfur atoms to form an R-S-S-R bond; blocking respiration and causing the bacteria to expire. Employing a simple catalytic reduction/oxidation reaction, colloidal silver will react with any negative charge presented by the organism's transport or membrane proteins and deactivate them. Reaction with Bacterial Cell Membranes: There is evidence that silver ions attach to membrane surface radicals of bacteria, impairing cell respiration and blocking its energy transfer system. One explanation is based on the nature of enzyme construction: Specific enzymes are required for a given biochemical activity to take place. Enzyme molecules usually require a specific metallic atom as part of the molecular matrix in order to function . A metal of higher valance can replace a metal of lower valance in the enzyme complex, preventing the enzyme from functioning normally. Silver, with a valance of plus 2, can replace many metals with a lower, or equal valance that exhibit weaker atomic bonding properties. Binding with DNA: Studies by C.L. Fox and S.M. Modak with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a tenacious bacteria that is difficult to treat, demonstrated that as much as 12% of silver is taken up by the organism's DNA. While it remains unclear exactly how the silver binds to the DNA without destroying the hydrogen bonds holding the lattice together, it nevertheless prevents the DNA from unwinding, an essential step for cellular replication to occur.