This product is the only version of “CS” that is available for sale on most websites. There are two manufacturers of CS in the UK who make heat-reduced CS for sale, but I know of none in the USA. It is an effective bactericide, viricide and fungicide. It also accelerates healing of wounds and burns. It is somewhat less-used than the other forms of CS if you know how to make the other versions, but the manufacturing technique is being posted next, as it is the basis of sugar-reduced and heat-reduced CS, as well as being a product in its’ own right.
It has a strong metallic taste. When correctly prepared it does not sting, even in the eyes, and is a powerful accelerator for healing of cuts and abrasions. Although I have found sugar- or heat-reduced CS to give good results in healing scrapes and abrasions, some contributors to the old forum indicated that IS was superior as a healing accelerant when applied topically. It is not ideal for internal use, being possibly implicated in Argyria if consumed in very heavy doses.
IS is nothing more than electrolytically-produced Silver Oxide dissolved in distilled water. Kephra likened the solubility of Silver Oxide to dissolving limestone, which is an effective analogy. It is easiest to prepare by electrolytic means because it is passed directly into the DW during electrolysis, so the process is much faster than trying to dissolve it from a powder. The maximum solubility of IS is close to 20 ppm, so there is no point in attempting to make it more concentrated than that.
Older websites and most commercial websites selling CS-making machines insist that it should be made from nothing but distilled water, (sometimes with the addition of an amount of previously-made IS, as an attempt to speed up the process). The current is then run until the machine (if using a commercial machine) reaches the shut-off point (normally set at approximately 10 – 15 ppm or thereabouts). It can be made this way, but the run takes many hours, and the ppm of the final IS product is almost impossible to calculate unless you are the owner of a SilverTron I.
However, there is a way around this problem, and that is to use the same electrolyte used in the previous article, Sodium Carbonate. In this manner, the run-time can be calculated reasonably accurately, with far less wastage of Silver Oxide plated out onto the cathode. You will see electrodes with a black furry coating of oxide in most photographs of IS production, if an electrolyte is not used.
Production of Ionic Silver (IS)
Production of IS is done cold, or with low levels of heating approximately to the same extent as used in heating an aquarium. To achieve consistency of production, I use an aquarium heater to maintain the DW at approximately 30 degrees C, but this is not necessary.
Assemble the electrodes in the usual way, over the chosen reaction vessel. If this is your first attempt, use a small quantity of DW the first time (say 250 mls), in order to avoid wastage of DW. As you cannot stir the water using heat convection currents, stirring the water with a miniature aquarium pump is a very good idea. If you have a laboratory magnetic stirrer, this is ideal for small reaction vessels if the beaker is too small to hold the submerged pump. However, these stirrers are very expensive; it might be cheaper to use the pump and make a larger quantity in a bigger beaker.
Some people use an air-bubbler to stir the water, but I feel this introduces too much oxygen and atmospheric contaminants and evaporates too much DW.
With the voltmeter and ammeter on-line, start the current. Add Sodium Carbonate drop-by-drop, stirring the water, until the voltage reduces to about 90 per cent of the initial value. At this time, note the current and start your timer.
Using the calculators in the previous post, estimate the time required to produce 20 ppm IS. There is no point in attempting to produce IS at a higher concentration due to the limited solubility of IS. Anything over 10 ppm will work effectively, but a final strength between 15 – 20 ppm is desirable.
Run the process until the required ppm is made. The result should be totally colourless clear IS containing no visible particles, and should look like water. Tasting the product should give a strong metallic taste. Any large particles of Oxide floating in the water or left at the bottom of the reaction vessel (it looks like black or grey dust) can be removed by filtering through an aquarium air-stone. (Note: if you filter your IS, you should keep the tubing and air-stone strictly for use with IS. Any contamination of IS with any amount of a reducing agent, no matter how small, will almost certainly result in the product being reduced to metallic CS. The same applies to storage containers).
Other Notes Concerning Ionic Silver (Silver Oxide)
Sometimes, particularly if the container is kept in a very cold place, some of the Oxide will drop out of solution. If a small amount of grey dust collects at the bottom of the bottle, but the remainder of the body of IS is clear like water, then ignore it and use it anyway. When the air temperature becomes warmer, the IS will (very) slowly dissolve again.
For reasons that are at present unknown, sometimes the entire Silver Oxide content will fall out of solution and form a milky-grey liquid suspension. This can still be used externally, but should under no circumstances be drunk. It is still highly effective in healing burns. There is anecdotal evidence that it works even better than the clear IS, but this is by no means fully proven.
I once stored IS in a plastic drinks bottle, the threads of the cap of which had traces of fructose around it. This reduced the IS to metallic CS. Ensure any recycled containers are scrupulously clean. Old Coke bottles, whether glass or plastic, are particularly prone to this.
It is a good idea, if you can afford it, to keep a set of equipment for the production of IS only, as the smallest trace of reducing agent in the water will result in the product turning into metallic CS. Otherwise ensure you clean out the glassware thoroughly and rinse it with DW before use.
If you visit any website that offers clear, metallic-tasting silver solutions for sale, and which states that their product is more than 20 ppm, it is almost certain that they are offering a Silver salt dissolved in water. Anyone can dissolve Silver Citrate or Silver Nitrate in water and say that it has a high concentration of Silver in the product, but it is not AgNP or CS.
I would not recommend Silver Citrate for any purpose other than as an under-arm deodorant, or as a final rinse in your washing-machine to reduce bacterial growth on clothing. It is sold in the UK as a treatment for paramedics’ clothing. I would not use Silver Nitrate AT ALL, as it can be highly corrosive in high concentrations, and is heavily implicated in some of the few known cases of Argyria.
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