Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Silver coating gets gold star
Highlights in Chemical Science ^ | 06 November 2009 | Erica Wise

Posted on 11/06/2009 10:50:25 PM PST by neverdem

Scientists from the UK are waging war on hospital 'superbugs' with a highly effective antimicrobial organo-silver coating

Toby Jenkins and colleagues at the University of Bath have used a plasma to create a simple means to deposit a silver maleimide complex onto three-dimensional objects. An added benefit is that it can be done at room temperature so can be used on plastic and fabric, such as catheters and dressings too. 

'Our system is, to the best of our knowledge, the only one to use plasma to deposit an organo-silver film,' says Jenkins. And as only a small amount of the silver monomer is required to deposit the 30nm thick films so 'it should be easy to scale up for industry users and, most importantly, will be cheap,' he adds.

Fluorescing bacteria

Fluorescently stained dead bacteria show the effectiveness of the antimicrobial coating

 Tests indicate that the coating has a much greater efficacy on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a pathogen know to be implicated in urinary tract infections, dermatitis, and other health problems) than previous silver coatings, as measured by the minimum inhibitor concentration (MIC). However, Madeleine Ramstedt, who works on antibacterial surfaces at Umea University, Sweden, warns against comparing directly with literature values 'because these MICs can differ enormously depending on the experimental conditions.' 

Nevertheless, Jenkins also used a stain that makes live bacteria fluoresce green and dead bacteria fluoresces red, which confirmed the high level of inhibition by the film. Also, the films do not appear to influence mammalian cell growth claims Jenkins. 

The team now plan to carry out further testing with other strains of pathogenic bacteria, including MRSA.

 

 

Link to journal article

An organo-silver compound that shows antimicrobial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a monomer and plasma deposited film
Neil Poulter, Xavier Munoz-Berbel, Andrew L. Johnson, Andrea J. Dowling, Nicholas Waterfield and A. Tobias A. Jenkins, Chem. Commun., 2009
DOI: 10.1039/b915467a

Also of interest

Instant insight: Agents of destruction

Ivan Parkin and Michael Wilson from University College London, UK, look at how to make hospital-acquired infections a thing of the past

Knockout nanoparticles fight infection

Septicaemia causing bacteria take a blow from two different types of antibacterial nanoparticles

Antibacterial wallpaper

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been coated onto paper, giving it an antibacterial surface suitable for use as wallpaper in hospitals.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Testing
KEYWORDS: antimicrobialcoating; microbiology; organosilvercoating

1 posted on 11/06/2009 10:50:28 PM PST by neverdem
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: neverdem

Quite interesting.
Ever wonder why every one who has taken communion in Catholic and Anglican churces worldwide has not come down with every ailment imaginable? Because the cups are made of silver, which is supposed to be a natural antibiotic. That’s also supposed to be why we all used to use real ‘silver’ ware to eat with.


2 posted on 11/06/2009 11:14:36 PM PST by tinamina
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tinamina

Explains the legend of silver as killer of supernatural evils.


3 posted on 11/06/2009 11:47:04 PM PST by John Will
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Mother Abigail; EBH; vetvetdoug; Smokin' Joe; Global2010; Battle Axe; null and void; ...
micro ping

Regulation of tissue homeostasis by NF-kappa beta signalling: implications for inflammatory diseases

It'a a FReebie, but registration at Nature is required. It's more of an up to date review of inflammation and immunology with respect to nuclear factor-kappa beta.

4 posted on 11/07/2009 12:11:16 AM PST by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: neverdem

Have we not been told over and over by the FDA that colloidal silver is snake oil?

Which, when you consider the treatment of choice for burn victims, in terms of tissue regeneration and antisepsis is something called “Silver Sulfadiazene”, then you kinda hafta conclude SOMEBODY is lieing through their teeth!!

Seems the rarest quality on this GD dustspeck ain’t money. Or health. Or talking heads or people with books to sell you. Or cardiac surgeons. Or bureaucrats on the take.

It’s flat out plain simple honesty.


5 posted on 11/07/2009 2:30:43 AM PST by djf (Maybe life ain't about the doing - maybe it's just the trying... Hey, I don't make the rules!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: djf
(Silver sulfadiazine)
6 posted on 11/07/2009 2:41:52 AM PST by wafflehouse (RE-ELECT NO ONE !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: wafflehouse

Thanks.
I know what it is. A gal I used to... well... she had been burned with 3rd degree burns over a large part of her hands and arms before I knew her.
Healed remarkably, almost miraculously well. Minimal scarring. No detectable nerve damage.

My comment is about the hypocrisy. It either works as an antimicrobial or it doesn’t. Big pharma would not be happy about an antibiotic/antiviral that was 99% effective that cost like three cents per dose and they could not patent.

So why do I get the feeling that if big pharma ain’t happy, the FDA ain’t happy?
I mean besides the fact that half the folks at the FDA came from Merck...


7 posted on 11/07/2009 2:53:01 AM PST by djf (Maybe life ain't about the doing - maybe it's just the trying... Hey, I don't make the rules!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: wafflehouse

Much the same way that half the folks at Dept. of the Treasury came from Goldman Sachs...

Is there a pattern here?


8 posted on 11/07/2009 2:58:10 AM PST by djf (Maybe life ain't about the doing - maybe it's just the trying... Hey, I don't make the rules!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: djf
Before you latch onto the liberal's tact of demonizing those industries that produce things you might want to know what you are talking about.

Wait, nevermind, go right ahead and blather on. Its good entertainment.

9 posted on 11/07/2009 3:20:18 AM PST by corkoman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: corkoman

I never posted to you directly.
If you want to attack my logic or disagree with my opinions, please provide some detail.

Otherwise, all you are doing is attacking me personally because of some sort of agenda.

In that case, bite me.
Fool.


10 posted on 11/07/2009 3:29:40 AM PST by djf (Maybe life ain't about the doing - maybe it's just the trying... Hey, I don't make the rules!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: neverdem
a highly effective antimicrobial organo-silver coating

 

 

 

not so much for the oregano - tomato coatings

11 posted on 11/07/2009 3:47:06 AM PST by grjr21
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: tinamina
"Ever wonder why every one who has taken communion in Catholic and Anglican churces worldwide has not come down with every ailment imaginable? Because the cups are made of silver, which is supposed to be a natural antibiotic."

The Catholic church requires gold, not silver, to be in contact with the elements of communion.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"It should be either of gold, or of silver with the cup gilt on the inside or it may have a cup only of silver, gilt on the inside; in which case the base and stem may be of any metal, provided it be solid, clean, and becoming."

12 posted on 11/07/2009 4:24:44 AM PST by Wonder Warthog ( The Hog of Steel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: neverdem

Man who turned blue because of silver therapy

By: Agencies    


Fourteen years ago, Paul Karason (58) applied colloidal silver on his face for treating dermatitis, but ended up contracting argyria, a condition in which his skin turned a permanent shade of blue

Paul Karason experienced a bad case of facial dermatitis caused by stress over the death of his father. In the absence of antibiotics, he applied a preparation of colloidal silver, rather than using penicillin.

While the preparation did work, it left his skin permanently tinged blue, in a reaction called argyria.

Silver, with its antibacterial properties, was once a common ingredient in medicines, but its use was eliminated by the FDA in 1999.

Feeling blue: Paul Karason, before he contracted argyria and Karakos as he is now

Out of his shell


Karason first entered the limelight when he appeared on the Today show with Matt Lauer last year.

With his skin roughly the colour of a blueberry, Karason had become a recluse, but his television appearance forced him out of his shell, he said in a follow-up appearance on the same show yesterday.

Health problems

When Karason first appeared on the show, he was perfectly healthy otherwise. A year later, he has a different story to tell.

The 58-year-old has just finished battling prostate cancer. He has also had to have stints placed in his arteries.

"I had a blocked artery that required stints put in place, and prostate cancer ... Oh that was a thrill. My PSA (prostate specific antigen) numbers are way down now.

So presumably that's a good thing," he joked with Lauer. He also confirmed that he is no longer engaged.

When Lauer noted that Karason has come out of his shell since his last visit, he chuckled and remarked, "Well, I didn't have much choice. I couldn't find the cave I was looking for."

Escape stares

Karason has moved several times to escape negative attention due to his skin colour. He has now settled in Washington, where he praises the local healthcare.
 
"Washington particularly Bellingham has a medical community that's just absolutely outstanding," he said.

What is Argyria?

Argyria is caused by improper exposure to chemical forms of the element silver, silver dust, or silver compounds. The most dramatic symptom of argyria is that the skin becomes blue.
 
It is believed to be permanent, but laser therapy has been successful in certain cases
 
 
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/sep/110909-Paul-Karason-argyria-permanent-blue-FDA.htm

Papa Smurf, calling Papa Smurf.....

13 posted on 11/07/2009 4:40:02 AM PST by Sarajevo (You're jealous because the voices only talk to me.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Sarajevo

Silver Nitrate causes blue argyria, Silver Chloride causes grey argyria. Both do so rarely.

The guy you trotted out made his own, likely didn’t filter out the salt compounds, and used massive doses or he used a topical used to treat burns as a nasal spray. In short, he was stupid.

Silver use as an antibiotic faded in the 1930’s when Coal-tar/Petroleum based antibiotics were introduced, they weren’t better, but were inexpensive during the hard economic times.

Historical use of Silver to prevent/kill infections from bacterium dates back to Pharonic Egypt, and has also been used to prevent spoilage of food, for water treatment, etc. throughout history and currently.


14 posted on 11/07/2009 12:26:04 PM PST by PeaceBeWithYou (De Oppresso Liber! (50 million and counting in Afganistan and Iraq))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: djf
right on. sometimes misspelling chemicals can have unfortunate consequences :-)
Just keeping the info straight if someone else was curious about it
15 posted on 11/07/2009 2:19:35 PM PST by wafflehouse (RE-ELECT NO ONE !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: djf

i get the hypocrisy too. the similarities to the financial situation (regulatory capture) are appalling


16 posted on 11/07/2009 2:21:21 PM PST by wafflehouse (RE-ELECT NO ONE !)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Wonder Warthog

I have no Catholic Digest reference. I just know what I was told by my former Episcopal priest who is also a Roman Catholic monk and became a Bishop and took all his Episcopal Diocese to the Anglican Communion worldwide. He told me God would not kill me for taking communion. I guess I listened.


17 posted on 11/07/2009 9:10:41 PM PST by tinamina
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson