Seen on CNN.com today....
Ron
Slivers of silver for what ails you?
• Silver long known to possess antibacterial and other beneficial properties
• Scientists harness metal's potential by shrinking it down to miniscule
sizes
• Recent boom of consumer products that utilize small amounts of silver
• Some environmentalists worried that pervasive silver could disrupt
ecosystems
By Greg Botelho, CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Want to get rid of germs? Mold and grime? Smelly feet?
A growing number of scientists and businessmen say such a miracle
substance exists, and in fact has for millions of years: Silver.
Innovative technologies and approaches have fueled an explosion of
products taking advantage of silver's antibacterial properties.
Consumers today can buy clothes, disinfectants, laundry machines and
other items that utilize silver as an active agent.
"People have found out you can use [silver] far more effectively when
you shrink it down," says Andrew Maynard, science adviser to the Project
on Emerging Nanotechnologies, a joint effort of the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars and Pew Charitable Trusts. "The range
is quite incredible. It's as if a lightbulb has suddenly gone off."
Though silver is generally harmless to humans, environmentalists worry
that excessive use of silver may allow it to seep into the environment,
kill small organisms and disrupt the ecosystem.
"The projected uses are just too broad," says Jennifer Sass, a senior
scientist at the National Resources Defense Council. "It is being used
around the world in anything that you would want to kill bacteria ...
It's reckless [and] many of the uses are frivolous." While hardly the
only antibacterial substance, Maynard says silver's ability to use
multiple mechanisms to target germs otherwise resistant to antibiotics
makes it especially effective -- and also may make it persist longer in
the environment.
"There isn't a huge amount that is unknown [about silver]," says
Maynard. "Is there any risk to the environment? That's a little bit
fuzzier. There are issues out there [for which] there aren't easy answers."
Miniscule slivers of silver
In recent years, scientists have discovered cost- and time-effective
ways to divide silver into miniscule particles, some just a few
nanometers across. This not only lowers the price to buy and reproduce
silver, but enhances its surface area, thus compounding its effectiveness.
"We're getting incredibly small, [which] gives us unprecedented
control," Maynard says. "You can make it go a lot further."
The number of nanotechnology consumer products is surging, according to
the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, which expects its inventory to
surpass 500 such products this spring. And silver leads the way,
surpassing all other elements, including carbon.
"It's not going to rival photography, jewelry and coinage in terms of
overall demand, but the demand [for nanosilver] is growing," says
Michael DiRienzo, executive director of The Silver Institute, an
industry trade group. "We've known for centuries that silver has these
special properties, [but] only recently have they found how it works."
One of the most well known applications is X-Static, which Noble
Biomaterials president Bill McNally says is used in 1,000 products --
from sportswear and socks to hospital linens and military uniforms.
"Silver [is] antibacterial, it's used in every burn care center, and
it's naturally anti-odor because it binds with anti-odor causative
agents," said McNally, who co-founded Noble 11 years ago and calls the
company "the pioneers of silver." "My mission was to create a product
line that allowed you to take advantage of all those attributes."
Some try to utilize silver's properties in supplements and liquid forms,
known as colloidal silver. Keith Moeller is the managing director of
American Biotech Labs, which sells a supplement that uses a relatively
sparse 10 parts of silver per million. He cites studies that claim the
company's products can boost immune systems and fight malaria,
salmonella, E. coli, bird flu and other ailments. Company president Bill
Moeller testified to Congress in 2005 about the products' medical
potential.
But the Food and Drug Administration has not found evidence that
products containing colloidal silver are safe and effective. The agency
targets companies that tout the medical efficacy of silver products.
With concerns, recognition of potential
"Over-the-top" advertising of silver irks Sass. If silver claims to kill
microbes, she contends, it should be regulated like a pesticide -- with
steps made to prevent its infusion into the environment.
But DiRienzo says, "To single out silver is unfair," given that it is
viewed as less dangerous than most other metals and is being used in
microscopic quantities.
"We're encouraging the federal government not to rush headfirst into
regulations," he says, adding the silver industry has worked with the
Environmental Protection Agency for decades and he doesn't oppose
self-touting "germ killers" registering their products.
That said, most scientists concur that silver products hold significant
potential. Even Sass, while opposing "broad releases that lead to
obvious exposure," has no qualms about "targeted, controlled, restricted
and important" uses, particularly medical applications. For instance,
silver ions are an active agent in QuikClot, a wound dressing for severe
bleeding now being used by U.S. military forces and first responders.
And McNally notes X-Static has been incorporated into many medical
products, including hospital garments, sheets and bandages.
"Silver [provides] bacterial protection from the worst of the worst, as
well as the ability to stimulate tissue growth," he said. "We have the
ability to save people's lives."
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/19/silver
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wait until you try disease" Merlyn Anderberg
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