Precious Waters’ Nano-Scale Oligodynamic Silver vs Colloidal Silver Article

“Colloidal Silver” as a class of supplements and topical treatments has been around for
many decades and the subject of questionable science if not dangerous under certain
circumstances to health. Precious Waters’ true engineered oligodynamic nano-particle
silver suspended in water and offered as a dietary supplement is new, unique and
tested for safety and effectiveness. To understand the difference and advantages of
Precious Waters’ nano-silver solution, a discussion of the science behind silver as an
anti-bacterial/viral agent is necessary as well as some of the history of “colloidal silver”.
Herein is an overview of relevant information and points.
The Bottom-Line
The value of silver as a anti-bacterial/viral/fungal agent has been know for several
millennia but the science behind it has been understood only relatively recently. For
decades “colloidal silver” has been available from many sources of varying repute and
quality ranging from home generation units to modern chemical manufacturers. Some
purveyors of silver have tried to distinguish themselves from the crowd by adding name
modifiers such as “ionic”, “covalent”, etc. but these silver solutions remain part of a
“class” of products referred to as “colloidal” and are made either by electrolysis or
chemical means to varying degrees of quality and effectiveness. Using an analogy,
most if not all “colloidal silvers” might be likened to cars on a lot full of 20th century autos
of all shapes, sizes, colors and idiosyncrasies. Some may even get one from point to
point and a few with style, but are they most effective, efficient and safe vehicles for the
customer? Consider the newest car lot of the 21st century where effectiveness, safety
and manufacturing confidence is paramount and brought together in one product….this
is the analogy for the totally unique and different oligodynamic nano-suspension of
silver as compared to the general historical class of “colloidal” silvers that continues to
be hampered by quality and safety issues. For those who wish to just understand the
key differences of why Precious Waters’ Nano-Silver Solution is superior to other silver
based dietary supplements without an extended discussion, consider these points:
 Precious Waters’ NanoSil® was engineered by its inventor and manufacturer to
maximize the effectiveness of silver and be 100% safe to humans and animals
by creating a true pure nano-scale oligodynamic silver particle suspension in
pure water. Created through a patented process in a proprietary reactor,
NanoSil® is a true hydrosol; not a colloid and no chemicals or salts are ever
involved. So unique it is the first silver solution process to isolate silver in water
for antibacterial purpose to receive a patent since the 1920s.
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 Scientific studies have shown that maximum lethality to pathogens by silver is
achieved with silver particles that are 10nm in size or less. PW NanoSil-10TM is
the only silver solution that has been tested and found to have an average
particle size of 8nm ….. Over 80% of its particles are 12nm or less ensuring a
more effective lethality to bacteria, viruses and yeasts.
 In addition to having silver particles optimized in size for pathogen lethality,
NanoSil® is engineered to be a oligodynamic silver. Discovered by a Swiss
scientist in 1893, the oligodynamic effect is the antimicrobial effect metal ions
have on molds, spores, fungus, virus and some other microorganisms. Until
NanoSil® it has rarely if ever been perfected for application to consumer
products.
 PW NanoSil-10TM works to kill pathogens by catalytic action and thus is not
metabolized by the body as opposed to ionic and traditional “colloidal silver”;
products which work by chemical action that can be problematic to the human
system.
 The true nano-scale size of the silver particles and the catalytic action of PW
NanoSil® ensure that over 90% of the silver is excreted by the body in two days
and the remainder within a week. Traditional “colloidal silver” solutions typically
have much larger particle sizes or are in fact silver compounds which the body
has a harder time eliminating leading to, in extreme circumstances, accumulation
of silver in the skin causing the condition known as Argyria (graying or blue skin).
 The manufacturer of Precious Waters’ nano-silver solution is the only producer of
an antibacterial product based on silver that has received patents for the process
and product. No other silver solution maker can offer this and customers of
Precious Waters can be confident in the product knowing it is backed by unique
and sound science and a manufacturer committed to safe and quality product.
 PW NanoSil-10TM is backed by international and independent laboratory who
performed LD-50 tests toxicology studies (FHSA Regulations, 16 CFR 1500) for
the manufacturer. Test animals were given dosage amounts equivalent to a
grown man drinking 4 full 8 ounce bottles of 10ppm solution at one time with “no
mortality or significant evidence of toxicity”. Very few of the traditional colloidal
silvers on the market can even offer safety data and none with such results.
 PW nano-silver solution has been tested and found effective against some
pathogens at concentrations as low as 2.5ppm. Tests at a leading material
science lab, in conjunction with two major universities, found the silver
technology in NanoSil® to be unique among all silver products tested. NanoSil®
contained measurable energies that none of the other tested silver products
contained ensuring more efficient and effective anti-pathogen action with
Precious Waters’ silver solution.
…….Which car lot would you rather select from?
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Background on Silver Solutions
Not all silver solutions are alike nor created equal and particularly within the broad
category of “colloidal silver” the variance can be enormous based on manufacturing
source, process, concentration, particle size, etc. If a person tells you they take
“colloidal silver” that is like saying ‘I drive an automobile’…. One would want to know
what is the make, model, year, features, etc? The basic difference between silver
solutions is the manufacturing process used to arrive at the product as well as the
conditions of manufacture and these are huge factors in determining what the
effectiveness, safety and quality of the silver you will ingest will be. First, let’s
understand what a colloid is, how silver acts as a anti-pathogen agent and get the
definitions regarding methods of manufacturing straight so there is a baseline for
understanding the differences between silver solutions.
Wikipedia defines a colloid as “a substance microscopically dispersed evenly
throughout another one … a hydrocolloid is a colloid system (colloidal) wherein the
colloid particles are dispersed in water”. It is important to understand that for silver to
be effective against pathogens, it should be uniformly dispersed or suspended in its
carrier medium (water) so it is readily available to work on the bacteria. Therefore it is
correctly called a colloid or colloidal system. Because colloidal systems, and
specifically well made colloidal silver, often look like just a solution of water they are
often referred to as a silver solution or colloidal solution. A true solution is a
homogeneous mixture of two (or more) substances where one substance is dissolved in
another (a solute is dissolved in a solvent). Water being the nearly perfect solvent, a
true silver solution would technically be one where the pure silver particles are
“dissolved” in the water which is not the case. A technicality to some but it is important
to understand that a true colloid of silver is silver dispersed in water but retaining its
identity even if it is referred to as a solution.
How does a silver solution cause bacteria, viruses, and yeasts to die? 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",
discussed three mechanisms of deactivation that silver utilizes to incapacitate disease
causing organisms. They are:
1) 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
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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, (aqueous) silver will react with any negative charge
presented by the organism's transport or membrane proteins and deactivate
them.
2) 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.
3) 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.
In all three of the mechanisms described above purity of the silver and size of the silver
particle suspended in the water are critical to the effectiveness of the solution. The
silver particles must gain access to the bacteria to either react with the cell membrane
or bind with the DNA. This point was driven home by Morones, et al in the Institute of
Physics Publishing, Nanotechnology, August 2005 paper, “The bactericidal effect of
silver nanoparticles” wherein they stated: “Our results indicate that the bactericidal
properties of the nanoparticles are size dependent, since the only nanoparticles that
present a direct interaction with the bacteria preferentially have a diameter of ∼1–10
nm.” When comparing Precious Waters’ NanoSil® to other silver solutions this will
become a major factor in why NanoSil® is more effective than other solutions and can
kill bacteria at as low a concentrations as 2.5ppm.
Manufacturing is key to purity and effectiveness: “Colloidal silvers” are touted by their
manufacturers as being made by two methods; electrolysis and chemical. Of these,
electrolysis is the safest and frankly the only route to a silver colloidal solution that can
approach the purity and quality that one would want to put in their body. Chemical
manufacturing of silver solutions is the process of adding materials or acid to the mix of
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silver and water to get the silver to dissolve to small enough particle sizes so that they
are useful and dispersed throughout the water. Basic chemistry warns that mixing
anything with silver and water will yield a silver compound. These compounds can be a
source of potentially dangerous effects as they react with the body and by definition
create something that is no longer a colloidal silver solution. The Environmental
Protection Agency has noted that the most common cause of Argyria (graying or blue
skin) in documented cases was from silver salts. Silver salts are often compounds
formed as a byproduct in the manufacturing process or used to make the original silver
solution. Precious Waters recommends that consumers not even consider colloidal
silver made by chemical processes because the task of removing the chemicals used to
dissolve the silver completely is nearly impossible. If a silver solution purveyor will not
reveal the manufacturing process or will not guarantee that only pure silver and water
were used in the generation process, the consumer should be wary of the product.
Manufacture of colloidal silver by electrolysis can be safer as long as only pure silver
and water are used and the process is engineered and controlled to yield the smallest
particle sizes dispersed uniformly throughout the water solution. Here again the
manufacturing process is open to wide variations which can yield results contrary to the
interests of the consumer. Voltage, temperature, purity of the silver, duration of process
all can have an effect on the resulting product and its safety and effectiveness.
Manufacturing by electrolysis involves passing a current between anode and cathode
causing an electron flow. Electrons are lost from the outer most shell of the silver
particles rendering them as ions and they are released into solution. Some
manufacturers have been known to add chemicals such as bicarbonate or peroxide to
accelerate or facilitate the electrolysis process and the resulting solution then becomes
an electrolysis/chemical process with the same inherent problems as above. Assuming
nothing is added chemically, the variation in manufacturing conditions during
electrolysis is what then determines or affects the size of silver particles dispersed in the
water. If the process is rushed using high voltages so that greater “thru-put” is achieved
the result can be larger silver particles that either are not effective in the anti-pathogen
campaign and/or pose a danger to the consumer in that they are harder for the body to
eliminate. The problem with colloidal silver solutions made in such a manner is that
uniform and consistent silver particle sizes are not achieved and often then the purveyor
provides the solution in higher concentrations or recommends dosages that are
ultimately unsafe for the user…. more is not better in these situations. The more silver
particles created in manufacturing in the sub-10nm range the more effective the solution
will be in killing bacteria and viruses resulting in the same lethality to pathogens at lower
concentrations. Such a solution is also safer because the silver particles can easily be
eliminated by the body through the normal excretion process. A colloidal silver solution
made by electrolysis can be effective and safe but the process must be engineered and
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controlled to create consistent product in a clean/sterile environment. If a silver solution
purveyor cannot provide the consumer with tested results showing mean, average and
size range of pure silver particles dispersed in the water solution and guarantee the
consistency from batch to batch, and again guarantee that no chemicals or compounds
were used in the manufacturing process, the consumer should be wary of the product.
There are other solutions which are touted by their makers or purveyors to be different
but in reality they remain variations on the basic processes of either chemical or
electrolysis. Some have argued “ionic” silver as being different but this is just another
way of describing the dissolution process of the silver into the water and most
commonly unfortunately “ionic” silver may refer to chemical production using silver salts.
As described above in the electrolysis process when the electrons are lost from the
outer shell of silver particles they become ions and are dispersed throughout the water
solution. For this reason all properly prepared colloidal silvers by electrolysis are ionic
or contain ions be virtue of their manufacturing process. On the scale of concern,
probably of most danger to the would-be consumer of silver solutions are the promoters
of home colloidal silver generators. Precious Waters urges its customers to avoid these
or well meaning friends who would offer silver dietary supplements made from these
machines. The variables from silver purity and source to ability to control particle size,
concentration, etc. can be overwhelming or poorly understood to most and argues that
colloidal silver should only be made in the most exacting and controlled factory systems
by reputable manufacturers committed to the highest quality control processes and
testing regimens such as is Precious Waters’ NanoSil®.
Consumers of silver solutions as a dietary supplement should also be aware that visual
cues can be an indication of quality. As the size of the silver particles distributed in the
water get larger the solution will take on a “color”. Extremely pure solutions with the
smallest of nano-silver particles in suspension such as Precious Waters’ NanoSil® will
be absolutely colorless and transparent. Suspensions with increasingly larger particle
sizes show a visible color that transition from yellow to brown, to red to grey and finally
charcoal as the silver particles or compounds get larger. Precious Waters believes that
any silver solution exhibiting a color is inferior and should be avoided.
Superiority of Precious Waters’ NanoSil-10TM
Simply stated, the difference between Precious Waters’ NanoSil® and other silver
solutions is better production technology creating more useful (bacteria lethal) product.
This ensures safer dosage requirements and ease of natural elimination from the body
thus removing the potential for any side effects.
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Some silver products advertise a concentration of 50,000ppm and even as high as
300,000ppm has been seen. NanoSil® has been proven to kill bacteria at levels of
between 2.5-5ppm and thus is effective at concentrations of 20,000 to 60,000 times less
silver in the solution. The manufacturer for Precious Waters’ NanoSil® products is the
only producer of a antibacterial product of this type that has been approved for patents
by the US Patent Agency. Patents on the manufacturing process were issued in 2001
and 2004 with additional patents in the works.
The foundation for the patents on the process and silver solution produced is not just a
different way of preparing colloidal silver, which NanoSil® is not, but in fact the
production of unique and different method and resulting nano-suspension of silver in
water. NanoSil® was engineered from the “ground up” to be a oligodynamic silver. The
oligodynamic effect was discovered in 1893 by the Swiss scientist Karl Wilhelm von
Nagel describing how extremely low metal ions (e.g., silver) concentrations exert potent
biocidal actions. Only positively charged (i.e., bioactive) and liberated (i.e., bioavailable)
forms of elemental silver in low concentrations (i.e., parts per million – ppm) are
properly “oligodynamic” silver. Oligodynamic silver acts as an oxidizing catalyst and is
the only type of silver that can easily destroy lower life forms (i.e., pathogens) due to
their lack of sophisticated antioxidant systems, while remaining harmless to higher life
forms housing functional/sophisticated antioxidant systems.
What is sometimes counterintuitive to the lay person is that as one moves down the
nano-scale with every increasingly smaller particle sizes, the total surface area of those
particles becomes huge compared to the surrounding structures offering greater surface
charge exposure to destroy microbes. With such enormous gain to the surface area of
the oligodynamic silver, only very low parts per million (ppm) concentrations are
required to achieve optimal therapeutic benefits. In all practicality, such low ppm
concentrations in turn virtually eliminate all risks of toxicity. So the creation and use of
oligodynamic silver in NanoSil® has a double bonus: not only is it more effective as a
pathogen killer but its ability to eliminate bacteria and virus at low concentrations
ensures safe use by the consumer.
The patented and unique proprietary electrolytic reaction creates a product that is
comprised of true engineered nano-particles of pure oligodynamic silver suspended in
pure water. NanoSil® is not a colloidal or ionic solution manufactured from silver salts.
The silver in NanoSil-10TM is essentially in nonionic form. Dilution in the body, the low
concentration and treatment in the G.I. tract of the body converts the silver to a true
ionic form, which acts as the effective microbiocide. Because the ionic silver is not
present when the product is added to the body but becomes available after introduction
to the stomach, silver chloride and other unwanted salts do not form.
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The patented manufacturing process creates silver particles that are true nano-sized in
the range of sub-10nm which were found to be most effective in interacting with
pathogens. Tests by an independent laboratory show that the mean particle size of
NanoSil® is 8nm and over 80% of the particles are <12nm in size. Below is a chart
reflecting the size range and distribution of silver particles in NanoSil-10TM .
NanoSil® Solution
Size Distribution
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
Size Range (nm)
Safety and efficacy of product are paramount at both Precious Waters and the
NanoSil® manufacturer/patent holder. The manufacturer for Precious Waters hired an
international and independent laboratory to do a toxicology study on NanoSil®. The test,
called an LD-50 test, was performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) Regulations, 16 CFR 1500. In the test work, the
NanoSil® was given to a number of both male and female test animals. The amount of
NanoSil® given to the animals was 5g/kg of 22 ppm solution, or the equivalent of a 200
pound man taking 192 teaspoons or about 4 full 8 ounce bottles of the 10 ppm solution
at one time (the normal adult dosage is one or two teaspoons/day). As a result of the
test work, the independent laboratory made the following conclusion, "Under the
conditions of this study, there was no mortality or significant evidence of toxicity
observed in the rats. The test article (NanoSil®) would not be considered toxic at a dose
of 5g/kg by oral route in the rat."
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Numerous independent hospitals, universities and private laboratories have been, and
currently are, doing test work on the NanoSil® as an antibiotic alternative and as a safe,
external bacteria killing agent. Human tests for both external and internal usage are
currently underway. Test work completed to date includes: antibiotic test comparisons;
thousands of tests against different kinds of bacteria; yeast elimination work; safety and
toxicity data; independent tests against other, similar silver products; water treatment
tests, surface disinfectant tests, etc.
Precious Waters’ manufacturer currently has several new studies and a double-blind
clinical trial underway, with several more studies already in the planning stages. The
new studies include a major 2.5 year (peer-reviewed) alternative to antibiotics study,
direct human clinical tests at a number of hospitals in West Africa, along with a series of
both bacteria and sporicidal tests on Anthrax and SARS.
According to the EPA IRIS Report on silver (Integrated Risk Information Systems) (5th
page, 1st paragraph) it states that a number of tests were completed to test the
absorption and retention of ingested silver in a number of animals (including primates).
In conclusion, the test work indicated that between 90-99% of ingested silver was
excreted on the second day after ingestion and greater than 99% was excreted in less
than a week. In other words, almost all the ingested silver was out of the body in only
two days, which indicates that silver does not build up in the system when consumed in
small amounts.
Conclusion
In its recent issue, September 2010, the popular and seeming champion for the
common product user, Consumer Reports, issued a cover story on its “12 Most
Dangerous Supplements” which included “Colloidal Silver”. While Precious Waters
agrees that most if not all of the colloidal silvers marketed are worthy of caution and
outright avoidance of many, we would challenge Consumer Reports to have done a
more thorough investigation of the matter and reported on the details of the differences
among dietary silver supplements than just repeat hearsay and generalizations. Their
profiling of a person with Argyria without offering specifics as to product, dosage, and
administration details was borderline sensationalist journalism.
The Immunogenic Research Foundation, Inc. in its 2007 paper “Resolving the
Confusion and Controversy Surrounding Silver in Medicine over the Past 88 Years”
opened with this statement: “For the past 88 years, many scientists and physicians have
been confused or misled regarding the risks and benefits of various silver-based drugs
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in medicine. Up to the present day, this confusion has led to unwarranted and never
ending cycles of controversy.” The paper goes on to discuss the terminology issues
and differences between traditional silver compounds/solutions and oligodynamic silver,
the benefits of which have been understood for decades but could not be achieved until
nanotechnology breakthroughs occurred such as in the manufacturing process of
NanoSil®. One of its summary statements succinctly stated the superior benefits of
oligodynamic silver by saying: “In summary, oligodynamic silver is exclusively liberated
or easily liberated free ions of silver, few in number, within any given biological milieu.
….. Suspensions of pure oligodynamic silver particles imbued with vast surface area
(i.e., that optimally occur at low nanometer size ranges) is the superior and uncommon
species of the metal that is medically necessary for therapeutic purposes. Oligodynamic
silver is effective in low ppm concentrations and, therefore, provides wide margins of
safety while simultaneously retaining optimal efficacy.”
Precious Waters NanoSil® is a true nano-scale suspension of oligodynamic silver in
water. The Immunogenic Research Foundation cited above summarized the arguments
for a product such as Precious Waters’ NanoSil® versus colloidal silvers when it stated:
“It is technically very difficult and expensive to make only oligodynamic silver, but very
easy and cheap to make colloidal silver products and silver salts very low in
oligodynamic content. It is even more difficult to make quantities of oligodynamic silver
in “uniform” low nanometer and even picometer size ranges (i.e., uniform nanoscalar
oligodynamic silver hydrosol). Nevertheless, such a nanotechnological achievement
heralds a new era for both true quantum health care and regenerative medicine.”
Precious Waters NanoSil® is true oligodynamic silver and it is available now.
CONTACT US:
http://www.preciouswatersinc.com/
1 Cashew Tel: 949-786-4721
Irvine, CA 92612 Fax: 949-266-8900
These statements are for information only and have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health
Canada or any other regulatory agency. Precious Waters’ products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease and individual results may vary. Before initiating any