Nanosilver: Naughty or nice? | Science News for Students

Silver is as useful as it is beautiful. A natural antibiotic, it kills bacteria, mold, fungi, viruses, algae and other microorganisms.

People have recognized this benefit since ancient times. Ancient Phoenicians used silver vessels to keep water pure. In the absence of modern refrigeration, sailors then, threw silver coins into their milk to keep it from spoiling on long journeys and wealthy Romans ate with silver plates, knives, forks and spoons to keep spoiled food from making them sick. In fact, historians think that is how eating utensils came to be called “silverware.”

To this day,silver continues to play a role in medicine. Silver-coated bandages kill germs that might infect burns and other wounds.Breathing tubes are sometimes coated with silver to reduce the risk of patients on ventilators developing pneumonia from exposure to germs. Around 2005,companies started adding a new form of silver fashioned into minute particles, to everyday items like socks, toothbrushes, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and so on, as a "defense against bacteria that might make people sick" or cause stinky feet or bad breath. This form of silver came to be known as NANOSILVER.