You're probably seeing a lot of different colloidal silver products out there, each with its own claims. It's understandable why you might be confused! Just like with other elements, silver comes in many forms with different properties. These variations affect how effective and safe they are, just like different forms of chlorine have different uses and safety concerns.

Ready to learn more about silver? In this section, we'll explore the following

  1. Different types of silver products available
  2. Give you key facts to help you compare them
  3. Show you what makes Silverlab's ionic colloidal silver stand out from the rest.

Comparison of Types of Silver

ionic⁺ Colloidal Silver

Definition: Pure mixture of positively charged silver ions and silver nanoclusters

Example: Silverlab Colloidal Silver

Typical concentration: 18 ppm

Toxicity: Extremely low

Particle Size: Particle size no smaller than 300 nm

Remarks: The ultimate refinement of the colloidal silver category

Colloidal Silver (Dietary Supplement)

Definition: A suspension containing silver particles plus silver ions. When homemade, a typical do-it-yourself product without control of materials, Concentration or composition.

Example: Homemade

Typical concentration: 1-20,000ppm

Toxicity: Depends upon the dosage of silver and impurities. Colloidal silvers often require larger dosages to achieve similar efficacy to other products, thereby increasing potential toxicity risks.

Particle Size: Variable Particle size (10-1000nm), average 8-12% charge

Remarks: A common form. Most silver is metallic and therefore inactive, getting excreted as waste without any health benefits.

True Colloidal Silver (Dietary Supplement)

Definition: A marketing term; implies completely suspended particles of inactive metallic silver and no bio-active ionic silver.

Example: Mesosilver

Typical concentration: 3-200ppm

Toxicity: Depends upon the dosage of silver and impurities. Colloidal silvers often require larger dosages to achieve similar efficacy to other products, thereby increasing potential toxicity risks.

Particle Size: Variable Particle size (range 1-1000nm)

Remarks: Claim is based upon poor understanding of Surface Plasmon Resonance in silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles have a range of optical properties (colors) from clear to yellow to orange to brown to blue to green to purple, depending upon their size, shape and concentration.

Silver Protein (Drug)

Definition: Ionic or colloidal silver with a protein added for stability. Added proteins are typically egg albumin, casein from milk, or soy based.

Example: Mild Silver Protein (MSP)

Typical concentration: 50-10,000ppm

Toxicity: Concentration-dependent; Toxicity rises with concentration. Toxicity also dependent upon the type of salt (e.g., silver nitrate is more toxic than silver chloride)

Particle Size: Variable Particle size (50-2000nm)

Remarks: Addition of protein may reduce bioactivity of silver significantly.

Homeopathic Silver (Drug)

Definition: A specially made formulation containing immeasurably low amounts of silver, achieved by dilution and succussion.

Example: Argentum Nitricum, Argentum Metallicum

Typical concentration: practically immeasurable

Toxicity: None

Particle Size: N/A

Remarks: The Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS) is a reference that sets standards for homeopathic medicines in the U.S. The HPUS is recognized by the FDA, which
allows homeopathic products that comply with its standards to be legally marketed without pre-approval, provided they meet specific criteria.

Silver Compounds (Drugs)

Definition: A compound is a substance formed when two or more chemical elements are chemically bonded together. In a silver compound, one of the elements must be silver.

Example: Silver sulfadiazine

Toxicity: None

Particle Size: Variable Particle size (10-1000nm)

Remarks: Some are widely used in medicine still, including for the treatment of severe burns.

 *Above numbers and representations are general in nature.