I know that the consensus on colloidal silver is that it is pseudoscience quackery, but I’m just wondering why that is. If silver is used as an antimicrobial in medical settings, what is it about colloidal silver that makes it so ineffective as a topical antimicrobial?
Thank you!
In: Chemistry
I don’t know the details, but the silver is different. Colloidal silver is a colloid, so it’s silver molecules or particles suspended in water. Silver sulfadiazine is a coordinating complex with silver (I) or Ag^+ ion. The charged ion form kills bacteria and the uncharged molecular form doesn’t, so my guess is that’s why colloidal silver doesn’t work.
I don’t know enough about these compounds to give a good answer, but from some research I can say two things:
1) This is similar to asking why sodium chloride (table salt) is edible but chlorine is poisonous. The behaviors of pure elements, like the silver in colloidal silver, and ionic compounds, like silver sulfadiazine, are usually completely unrelated. Not to mention how differently even similar compounds can behave.
2) The effectiveness of silver sulfadiazine is also questioned and generally not recommended anymore.
Latest Answers