Research Article| September 01 2003 The efficacy of silver as a bactericidal agent: advantages, limitations and considerations for future use Michael A. Butkus; Michael A. Butkus 1Environmental Engineering Program, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York 10996, USA Tel: +1 (845) 938-2820 Fax: +1 (845) 938-3339; E-mail: bm8375@exmail.usma.edu Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Lance Edling; Lance Edling 2GeoTrans Inc., 3035 Prospect Park Dr., Rancho Cordova, CA 95670, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Michael P. Labare Michael P. Labare 3Department of Chemistry and Life Science, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York 10996, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2003) 52 (6): 407–416. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2003.0037 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation Michael A. Butkus, Lance Edling, Michael P. Labare; The efficacy of silver as a bactericidal agent: advantages, limitations and considerations for future use. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 September 2003; 52 (6): 407–416. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2003.0037 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex This work examined the efficacy of silver as a bactericidal agent against Escherichia coli. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Ag(I) was observed to be between 0.1 mg Ag/l and 0.05 mg Ag/l following a 24-h incubation period at 25°C. Additional forms of silver that were effective included Ag2O, a protein-based silver and AgCl(s). All of these forms of silver resulted in MICs that were comparable to Ag(I). Predictions from a chemical equilibrium modelling system indicated that a silver-histidine complex may have contributed to the observed bactericidal activity. A MIC for colloidal metallic silver (Ag0) was not observed up to a total silver concentration of 82 mg Ag/l—the highest concentration evaluated. Moreover, aqueous silver was not detected at this total silver concentration. It was concluded from these findings that cationic Ag(I) or Ag(I)-complexes were responsible for the bactericidal activity of silver. In the batch systems evaluated, the MICs increased with time, over a 72-h incubation period, to values above the US Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Standard for silver, for all forms of silver tested. A desorption kinetics study indicated that less than 10% of silver was readily leachable from a granular activated carbon surface that was first saturated with silver. disinfection, E. coli, minimum inhibitory concentration, point-of-use filters, silver This content is only available as a PDF. © IWA Publishing 2003 You do not currently have access to this content.