Effects of electrically generated silver ions on human cells and wound healing

A method of producing local antibiotic effects by means of an iontophoretic technique using free silver ions has been evaluated in vitro and in vivo f or more than two decades. The antibiotic properties of the technique have p roved useful in both animal and human studies. In the course of determining the optimal clinical methodology for infected open wounds, a significant g rowth stimulation property resembling local tissue regeneration was noted. This has been traced to either the apparent production of dedifferentiation of normal mature cells or the stimulation of preexisting stem cells in the wound, resulting in the production of large numbers of progenitor cells. T his process has now been studied in detail, and the results are presented h erewith.