Silver’s natural antimicrobial properties are being used in tons of consumer products, from washing machines that sanitize clothes to fungicides for your shoes. Many are concerned about the health and environmental effects regarding nano materials, nano silver in particular (there’s concern about it’s antimicrobial effects on the small end of the food chain).
Besides the numerous health and safety tests being done with an eye to proving harm (no harm has been found), Universities are buying electron microscopes to help students study the effects of nano particles including nano silver, and research centers are developing new tools that is allowing them to better study nano particles.
The first finding, from the University of Oregon, is one that seems obvious to those who are aware of colloidal silver‘s history and origins (silver has been used for a long time to keep milk, wine, and other things kept in jugs fresh by the inclusion of a silver coin at the bottom, or by lining the jugs with silver plating).
High-powered transmission electron microscopes have allowed scientist to see that silver dining utensils and copper jewelry both emit nano particles. That means the only thing new about nano particles is our ability to harness them for more sophisticated use; we’ve been in contact with nano silver and nano copper for thousands of years!
Of course, that only somewhat rules out health concerns, but as scientific exploration continues, more will be known about the safety of colloidal silver and nano silver products, and more importantly their mechanism in the body.
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