120 Years of Nanosilver History Demonstrate Its Safety and Repudiate Attempts to Paint It As a “New Substance” With “Unknown Risks”

Nanosilver is assumed to be a new material because of the relatively recent emergence of the term “nano”. However, on close inspection, nanosilver materials have a long, 120-year history of relatively safe and regulated use, chiefly in the form of colloidal silver. Historical perspective demonstrates that nanosilver has been intentionally manufactured and adopted commercially across a wide spectrum of everyday applications for many decades. To declare nanosilver materials as “new chemicals” with “unknown properties” that are “potentially harmful” simply on the basis of a change in nomenclature to the term “nano,” and ignoring the accumulated knowledge of its scientific and regulatory heritage demonstrating both safety and efficacy in a wide range of applications, would be a mistake that does not serve the public interest.