 Info
Whether it is used as a topical ingredient or a dressing ingredient, the use of silver in treating wounds has been around for quite some time. Silver has an array of beneficial effects in promoting healing.
Throughout the centuries, even today, Silver in various forms has been used to benefit mankind. Some cultures added powdered silver to a newborn's first bath as protection against a harsh world. Milk farmers used to use a silver pail to collect milk. The raw milk could remain unrefridgerated for hours without spoiling. Similarly, early settlers in the USA would often throw silver dollars into their wells or water barrels in order to kill bacteria and keep the water potable.
During plagues in Europe, wealthy families gave their children silver spoons to suck on, hence the phrase; "Born with a Silver spoon in his mouth."
What is nanotechnology and nano-silver?
Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing science of producing and utilizing nano-sized particles that measure in nanometers (1 nm = 1 billionth of a meter). One nanomaterial that is having an early impact in healthcare products is nano-silver.
Silver has been used for the treatment of medical ailments for over 100 years due to its natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. The nano-silver particles typically measure 25nm. They have extremely large relative surface area, increasing their contact with bacteria or fungi, and vastly improving its bactericidal and fungicidal effectiveness.
The nano-silver, when in contact with bacteria and fungus, will adversely affect cellular metabolism and inhibit cell growth. The nano-silver suppresses respiration, basal metabolism of electron transfer system, and transport of substrate in the microbial cell membrane. The nano-silver inhibits multiplication and growth of those bacteria and fungi, which cause infection, odor, itchiness and sores.
Nano-silver can be applied to a range of other healthcare products such as dressings for burns, scald, skin donor and recipient sites; plasters for surgical and trauma wounds; aqueous gel for spots, acne and cavity wounds; and female hygiene products - panty liners, sanitary towels and pants.
Nano-silver is:
· Highly efficacious · Fast acting · Non Poisonous · Non stimulating
· Non allergic · Hydrophilic · Tolerance Free
Combating Infection
Antimicrobial silver is now used extensively to combat organisms in wounds and burns. It works because pathogens cannot mutate to avoid its antimicrobial effect. In the process of developing burn and wound silver technologies, researchers have studied the ability of silver’s antimicrobial properties to remain effective in the face of virulent pathogens.
Silver Kills Microorganisms. When mobilized from its reservoir in aqueous fluids, silver provides an antimicrobial action. The positively charged ionic form is highly toxic for microorganisms but has relatively low toxicity for human tissue cells.
Silver works in a number of ways to disrupt critical functions in a microorganism. For example, it has a high affinity for negatively charged side groups on biological molecules. These include groups such as sulfhydryl, carboxyl, phosphate, and other charged groups distributed throughout microbial cells. This binding reaction alters the molecular structure of the macromolecule, rendering it worthless to the cell.
Silver simultaneously attacks multiple sites within the cell to inactivate critical physiological functions such as cell-wall synthesis, membrane transport, nucleic acid (such as RNA and DNA) synthesis and translation, protein folding and function, and electron transport, which is important in generating energy for the cell. Without these functions, the bacterium is either inhibited from growth or, more commonly, the microorganism is killed.
The development of resistance to antimicrobial silver would be extremely rare because an organism would have to undergo simultaneous mutations in every critical function within a single generation to escape the silver’s influence. Spontaneous mutation is rare, occurring in only one per 100,000 divisions, so the probability of multiple dependent mutations occurring in the same generation of microbes is extremely unlikely.
Because silver affects so many different functions of the microbial cell, it is nonselective, resulting in antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of medically relevant microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. Silver is also more efficient than traditional antibiotics because it is extremely active in small quantities. For certain bacteria, as little as one part per billion of
silver may be effective in preventing cell growth.
Ref. B Gibbins, “The Antimicrobial Benefits of Silver and the Relevance of Microlattice Technology,” Ostomy Wound Management 49, no. 6 (2003): 5–6.
Links
Select Fabricators 
http://selectfabricators.com/default.htm
Noble Biomaterials
http://www.noblebiomaterials.com/
Inova Brands
http://www.inova.ca/ProductsXStatic.asp
Cornell Center for Material Research
http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/industry/
New York State Biotechnology Association
http://www.nyba.org/
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