Patents

While there are a few patents issued on some "colloidal" silver and surface disinfection products, reading the claims quickly reveals that not all patent protection is meaningful.

Opti-Silver embodies one of the only genuinely advanced leaps in the field in perhaps over a hundred years. The patent protection on Opti-Silver is very broad and powerful. It is arguably the only genuinely valuable protection in the industry.

U.S. – Patent # 6,838,095

In the U.S., the patent covers a very broad range of complexing agents and counter-ions.

To see the entire patent, click here.

The patent coverage expires in November 2019.

The secret to the performance of Opti-Silver is the marriage of silver ions to the proper complexing agent, citrate. Then, adding in the proper counter-ion, typically potassium, in order to render the silver citrate soluble in water and in the blood and to maintain the proper bond strength or "equilibrium constant" for optimal performance.

The complexing agent can be any hydroxy carboxyilc acid, of which citrate is just one, or any amino acid.

The counter-ion can be any alkali metal or alkaline earth metal. That compromises the first two columns of the periodic table except hydrogen, which is a gas.

Claim 1 of the patent reads as follows:

1. A composition comprising (1) water, (2) a silver complex, wherein the silver complex comprises silver complexed with a complexing agent, and (3) a counter-ion; wherein the composition is a substantially non-colloidal solution, wherein the complexing agent is substantially non-toxic, substantially thiol-free, and substantially water-soluble and comprises one or more amino acids and/or hydroxy carboxylic acids; wherein the molar ratio of complexing agent to silver is greater than one; wherein the counter-ion comprises one or more alkali metals and/or alkaline earth metals; and wherein the silver concentration does not exceed about 10,000 ppm.

Foreign Patents

Mexico – Patent # 253637

In May of 2008, the Opti-Silver technology was patented in Mexico. The language in Claim 1 is identical to the language in Claim 1 of the U.S. Patent.

This patent expires in November of 2019.

(Spanish-speaking visitors can view the patent on the website of the Mexican patent office here and here.)

Europe and Japan – pending

Patent protection on the Opti-Silver technology is pending in Europe and in Japan.