Technology Behind SmartSilver

Bacteria, fungus, and mold are ubiquitous. In the presence of moisture and a food source, they will grow rapidly, potentially producing clinical health concerns, personal wellness issues, and material damage. Silver has a long history of use as an antimicrobial. It is a well understood antimicrobial with an excellent safety record and proven efficacy.

Nanotechnology combines engineering and science to make materials that are smaller than 100 nanometers and, in doing so, impart to these materials unique properties not present in their bulk form. To put things in perspective, the width of a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers (Figure 1) while the average size of bacteria and viruses is generally 2,000 and 100 nanometers, respectively.

Reducing silver to these extremely small sizes provides several important benefits not found in silver’s bulk form. The first is related to antimicrobial performance. The key to optimizing the use of silver as an antimicrobial is to maximize the production of silver ions that target and eliminate microbes. Although other silver-based antimicrobial solutions depend on adding increasingly more silver to be effective, our scientists understand that the best way to control silver ion release is to balance the slow release of silver ions, a characteristic of metallic silver, with a high relative surface area. This is exactly what the NanoHorizons’ nanotechnology behind SmartSilver does. As shown in Figure 2, the smaller the silver particle is, the larger the surface area. It is only at nanoscale size that functional, yet stable ion release can be produced relative to the amount of silver used. That enables SmartSilver to provide long-lasting product protection using remarkably little silver. This ‘less is more’ approach is the cornerstone of sustainable green chemistry and is a clear example of how nanotechnology can benefit the environment as well as consumers.

Figure 2

Nanotechnology brings other advantages to silver. NanoHorizons’ silver nanoparticles not only make silver antimicrobial properties more effective in eliminating microbes, they are also covalently bounded to molecules in the products in which they are integrated, be it fiber, foam, plastic or coatings. In this way, the silver particles are less susceptible to being washed out or worn off over time. Under the proper application techniques, their antimicrobial capabilities are effective for the expected life of the host material. In addition, our silver nanoparticles are so small that they don’t impact mechanical properties of products. These capabilities, along with the fact that our nanoscale silver is integration-ready, is compatible with virtually any manufacturing process across a wide variety of host materials, and is safe and environmentally sensitive, make SmartSilver a unique antimicrobial that is unmatched in the market place.

SmartSilver additives come in four types of formulas as shown in the table below. For additional information about each formula, contact your SmartSilver sales representative.

Not all products may be available in all regions. Consult your SmartSilver sales representative for details on pricing and availability. NanoHorizons represents that these intermediates are exempt from FIFRA under the treated article exemption, PR Notice 2000-1. No public health claims may be made without the appropriate regulatory approvals.