Iodine: An Antimicrobial Powerhouse

Iodine vs. Silver: No Contest

When it comes to providing the very best in antimicrobial protection, iodine is in a league of its own. A naturally occurring substance that can be found in soil, seawater and marine life, iodine’s competitive advantages are both vast and undeniable. Despite being the most commonly used, active antimicrobial in competing product offerings, silver simply fails to measure up to iodine’s impressive, multi-year track record. Consider:

• Iodine is effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. Silver is effective against only a limited spectrum.
• Iodine is biocidal, meaning it kills microorganisms. Silver is biostatic, meaning it temporarily stops the growth of a microorganism when in direct contact with it. However, once contact is lost, the microorganism begins to grow again.
• Iodine acts with rapid speed. Silver, in most cases, with just moderate speed.
• Bacteria have never developed resistance to iodine. Many silver-resistant strains already exist.
• An abundance of iodine exists naturally, compared with a scarcity of silver.
• According to recent data, silver is nearly 28 times* more expensive than iodine, and the mining of it is detrimental to many natural environments.

*Source: January 2009 US Geological Survey, Mineral Summaries