Colloidal Gold Information

Mesogold® is a clear reddish colored liquid that looks like light colored cranberry juice. It is the very high concentration ogold particles that gives Mesogold its distinctive coloration. Mesogold consists of 99.99% pure gold mesoparticles suspended in pure deionized water. The actual size of the gold mesoparticles has been measured to have a mean diameter of .65 nm and is estimated to contain about 9 gold atoms. This is uncommonly small compared with the size of particles found in other commercially available colloidal gold products.The small size of the gold particles is confirmed by the use of a state-of-the-art scientific instrument designed specifically for measuring such small particles called a Photon Correlation Spectrometer (PCS). The PCS used during the development of Mesosilver® was manufactured by Malvern Instruments, Ltd. of the United Kingdom, one of the foremost producers of such equipment in the world. The particle size report from the Malvern PCS confirms the claimed size of 65 nm for Mesogold. The gold content of Mesogold is 100% contained in the particles. There are no gold ions in Mesogold.

Colloidal gold is made by using electrolysis to suspend microscopic particles of gold in water, creating a stable and highly bioavailable form of the metal.

Beware Fool's (Ionic) Gold Not all gold supplements are the same---but it's not just a matter of which is the best, it's knowing that some are actually harmful. What you need to be aware of is ionic gold, a product often made with toxic ingredients.

So what do you need to know about ionic gold vs. colloidal gold?

Colloidal Gold is pure---non charged, or neutral---gold particles suspended in water.

Ionic Gold is made up of a salt dissolved in water. This means:

It is a product that contains more than just gold.

It's made using a gold salt -The most common (read: cheap) gold salt used is gold chloride, or Chlorauric Acid, which is toxic.

Gold Chloride makes an gold solution of gold cations and chlorine anions, and this is the most common form of ionic gold sold.

How Do Ions Work?

Charged particles, or ions, can be either anions (negative charge) or cations (positive charge). Anions have "extra" electrons, while cations have room for more electrons.

When anions and cations come together, they can "share" electrons---this means they are "bonded" together (attracted to each other), and they form a type of compound called a salt.

Using A Salt To Form Ionic Gold Solutions

Lies On The Label

Not all salts are water soluble. This is really important---many manufacturers of ionic gold products will make the claim that they are using gold hydroxide. Gold hydroxide is NOT water soluble, so any manufacturing claiming they have an ionic gold solution using gold hydroxide is blatantly lying! (See other lies Ionic Silver manufacturers are making).

Testing has shown that these products are actually using gold chloride, or chlorauric acid. This is a known toxin (check google for its Material Safety Data Sheet, which informs you to seek medical attention if you ingest gold chloride, it's a "severe irritant" and can cause burns!).

Ionic gold manufacturers omit gold chloride from the label (no, that isn't legal) because they know it's toxic. So buyer beware.

Making Ionic Gold

Making ionic gold is as simple as dissolving a gold salt in water. This is the same level of difficulty as dissolving table salt in water. (There's also a more complex way to make it, but the result is the same).

To get a gold solution, you have to have a salt. Regular gold, or metallic gold (with no charge) can't dissolve in water---that's why colloidal gold is a "suspension" of gold in water. And colloidal gold can NOT be made as simply as ionic gold!

Gold cations are missing three electrons, (electrons have a negative charge), leaving it with a positive charge. You might see this written as either Au+3 or Gold (III). This charge makes gold water soluble.

A gold cation requires the presence of anions to dissolve, so that the solution has a net charge of zero (or neutral). A salt provides both a gold cation, and a corresponding anion.

A Lazier Ingredient

Why is gold chloride so often used? It's easy to get/make (which means that it's also cheaper). That's unfortunate, but it's true---there are dishonest manufacturers out there. If ionic gold manufacturers don't directly lie on the label, they'll likely lie by omission, not labeling which gold salt they used. Since gold chloride is the most common/easy gold salt, it's the most common used (and if it's not on the label, gold chloride is a safe assumption).

All ionic gold products tested by the Colloidal Science Laboratory, Inc., have been made with gold chloride. (It's possible to make ionic gold using a different, safer salt, but not as convenient. In theory there could be an ionic gold product out there that does, but we haven't seen it!).

Gold Chloride Ionic Gold Solution

The gold chloride dissolves into a gold cation, and a chlorine anion.

That gold ion "wants" those missing electrons back. That means that when it finds something with extra electrons, like the chloride ion, it will form a compound. Metallic (neutral) gold won't do this, it already has a full set of electrons.

If you evaporate the water from an ionic gold solution, you'll be left with the original salt. If, instead, you introduce it to a more complex environment, the gold and chlorine might find other ions to form compounds with...

How Can You Tell If It's Gold Chloride? This Do It Yourself Test...

Most people don't have access to a lab with expensive machines that can tell you what atoms are present.

But there is a way you can test to see if an ionic gold solution is made with gold chloride at home, you just need to have some silver nitrate solution (1%) (silver nitrate is a chemical used to develop photos).

(This test assumes that we already know gold is present)

Put your ionic gold solution in a clear glass.

Add a drop of 1% silver nitrate solution.

Does a white cloud form? Chloride is present. (So Gold Chloride was used)

What happened? Silver nitrate is a silver salt solution. When mixed with a solution containing chlorine ions, silver ions and chlorine ions will get together to form silver chloride. Silver chloride is not water soluble, so it "falls out" of solution (you see this as the white cloud).

False Claims About Colloidal Gold

You might see ionic gold companies saying it's ionic gold that's safe and colloidal gold that's dangerous. They don't have anything to back up their claims, but you do!

Google's your friend! You can google the Material Safety Data Sheet for Gold Chloride (Chlorauric Acid), or for metallic, "neutral" gold, you can google for studies on nano gold (the type of gold we use in our colloidal gold supplements---just beware people slyly using "nano gold" and "ionic gold" interchangeably---read carefully!).

Why Choose Colloidal Gold?

Ionic Gold will form compounds as soon as it meets other ions.

Gold Chloride used to make Ionic Gold is potentially dangerous to consume.

Most Ionic Gold products aren't clearly labeled, often because they use toxic gold chloride.

MesoGold colloidal gold uses metallic gold, which is safe to consume according to its Material Safety Data Sheet.

MesoGold is a true colloidal gold, and is a high quality supplement that uses nano sized gold particles.

MesoGold contains NO gold ions.

Bogus Scientific Claims Made By Producers of Ionic Gold Solutions

The statements in bold are from an internet ad for Ionic Gold, an ionic gold solution produced by WaterOz and sold on the kormax.com website.

"Ionic gold at wholesale prices. 99.9999% pure liquid ionic gold in the form of gold hydroxide. A nearly 100% absorbable and 100% bioavailable form of gold. Hypoallergenic."

". . .pure liquid ionic gold in the form of gold hydroxide..." While the product is called Ionic Gold and it really is an ionic gold solution, the ad states that the anion is hydroxide. For this statement to be true gold hydroxide would have to be a water soluble salt of gold, which it is not. Gold hydroxide is not water soluble, meaning it does not dissolve in water. All hydroxides are insoluble EXCEPT those of ammonium, barium and alkali metal (Group I) cations. This misleading information is attempting to obscure the true nature of the anion content of this product. Laboratory testing by the Colloidal Science Laboratory, Inc. has determined that the anion is really chloride, which means this product is really gold chloride, not gold hydroxide.

"99.9999% pure" is stating the purity at six nines or .999999 purity. The technology to refine gold to six nines purity does not exist. If it did, the cost would be 100 to 500 greater than four nines purity (.9999) which is the industry accepted level of purity for such products.

The manufacturer (WaterOz) has confirmed that the metal purity used to produce their product is really three nines (0.999), but this does not deter the sales company from advertising six nines purity, obviously a complete fabrication.

"Metallic gold is toxic to humans, so true colloidal gold should never be consumed. Only ionic gold in liquid solution (or chelated colloidal gold) is safe for human consumption."

Metallic (colloidal) gold has a history of safe use in human medicine for well over one hundred years. There has never been a single report of toxicity from colloidal gold. A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for colloidal gold indicates it is totally non-toxic, unlike gold chloride (ionic gold) whose MSDS indicates the substance is potentially dangerous to humans.

Given the total fabrication of claims in these ads, one could easily call into question any product claim made by this advertiser.

These products have not been tested or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any disease.

Colloids For Life makes no claims or promises as to health benefits of its dietary/health supplements. All research information is provided as a courtesy to our customers. Consequences of dietary, topical or other use of any product is the sole responsibility of the customer. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us at our help desk.

True Colloidal Gold Products That Can Help You Live A Healthier Life

When browsing through the many different colloidal gold, silver products available today, you may be asking yourself “What is colloidal silver?” To get a better understanding of what really is colloidal silver and what it can do for you, it is helpful to know what a mineral colloid is.

A mineral colloid is a supplement that is capable of providing the body with certain minerals that help you maintain an optimum level of health. Minerals are able to help the body build soft tissue and other essential life-sustaining elements in your body

Silver has been used since the 19th century to help benefit the body. In the years prior to 1938, colloidal silver products were commonly used by doctors as an antibiotic treatment. Since production of these products was typically expensive, however, the pharmaceutical companies stopped producing these products and moved on to others that were more lucrative to produce.

Some people believe that colloidal gold can have benefits such as improving brain function, reducing inflammation and supporting the immune system.

While some people may experience minor side effects like skin irritation, colloidal gold is generally considered safe to take.

It's best to check with your doctor before taking colloidal gold if you are currently taking any medications.

The recommended dosage can vary depending on the source, but typically ranges from 5 to 10 mL per day.

Colloidal gold can be applied topically, some people use it for skin conditions or to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Particle surface area is what determines a colloid's ability to react with its environment. Reactivity increases with increasing surface area. Particle surface area can be determined by measuring the physical properties of a colloid. Because it is comprised of two important physical properties, namely, particle size and particle concentration, it serves as good metric for comparing colloids. Since it can be expressed as a single number, particle surface area can be considered a figure of merit for the effectiveness of a colloid. In this context, effectiveness is defined as the ability of the colloid to react with its environment. The higher the surface area, the more reactive the colloid, hence the more effective it is in reacting with its environment.

Colloidal gold and gold nanoparticles are similar but not the same, colloidal gold is made up of particles that are larger than nanoparticles.

Some people use colloidal gold for their pets, but it's important to consult with a veterinarian before giving it to them.

The benefits of colloidal silver in the human body are produced by the nanometer sized metallic silver particles not the ions. In most colloidal silver products a large quantity of ionic silver is produced as a by-product of generating the silver particles. The prominent methods of production are electrochemical processes using either low voltage DC current or high voltage AC. Both the AC and DC process may employ a constant voltage or a constant current source. Both the DC and the high voltage AC produce a significant percentage of the total silver as ionic. Typically, 75 - 99% of total silver is ionic depending on process variables. In some products claiming very high concentration levels, almost the entire silver content is ionic. To state the silver concentration in ppm without specifying what percentage is ionic is misleading to say the least. Therefore, it is important to know what percentage of the silver concentration is ionic to properly evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the product.

Colloidal gold has been used as a natural preservative in some cosmetics and food products.

Colloidal Science Laboratory, Inc.

About CSL

CSL was formed to conduct research and development in the field of metal colloids. The lab is primarily involved in two fields of scientific investigation pertaining to colloids: process development and analytical measurements to determine their physical properties.

Staff Scientists

The laboratory was founded by Francis Key, who serves as the Principal Scientist. Educated at Columbia University and Newark College of Engineering, he has an extensive background in the fields of electrical engineering, computer science, and various branches of physics and engineering. Mr. Key's experience in scientific research and engineering spans a period over 35 years, beginning with his contributions to the design of space flight hardware used on the Apollo and Viking space missions. Mr. Key is known for meticulous attention to details, and relentless investigative procedures, which have led to innovative solutions in defense, aerospace and private industry. Mr. Key has carefully researched the production of colloidal silver, and has built a state-of-the-art laboratory facility for colloidal research. He has also instituted analytical methods and developed manufacturing processes that ensure the highest purity and consistency possible for a colloidal product.

Dr. George Maass serves a senior scientific advisor to CSI. He holds degrees in chemistry from Fordham University and Iowa State University. For the last 6 years, Dr. Maass has been a professor of chemistry at Camden County College, while operating his own consulting business. He has authored papers and presented seminars on his work in the US, England and Mexico.

Process Development

Research has focused on developing processes to produce colloids with superior physical properties using techniques heretofore unknown in the industry. Process development has involved the use of advanced scientific principles in physics, chemistry and quantum mechanics.

CSL processes have been developed with the emphasis on the continuous production model rather than the more typical batch process model. Many electrochemical techniques used to produce metal colloids are batch processes which means that the product is produced in batches of a fixed amount, for example, 10 gallons.

CSL has succeeded in developing proprietary processes that produce metal colloids whose particle size is dramatically smaller than any known to exist previously. The mesoprocess developed at CSL simultaneously produces very small particles and a high percentage of particles vs ions. Particle size is especially important because the resulting increase in particle surface area promotes a higher reaction potential with the metal particles which directly relates to effectiveness.

CSL pioneered in the development of low ionic/high particulate silver colloids by producing colloids that are nearly devoid of ionic content. The high quantity of particles combined with their small size provides the most desired combination of properties. This set of properties produces the highest particle surface area for a given concentration.

Analytical capabilities

In order to perfect the new production processes, the laboratory must be able to quantify the physical properties that have been determined to be important to the quality and effectiveness of the colloids.

One of the most important properties of a colloid and one of most difficult to properly measure is the size distribution of the particles. We researched particle size measurement technology as it applies to nanometer sized particles and chose a state-of-the-art Photon Correlation Spectrometer (PCS) produced by one of the worlds leaders in the field of particle characterization. The PCS provides accurate and repeatable measurements of the particles size distribution of the colloidal particles over a range from less than a nanometer up to 3000 nanometers. The PCS also measures Zeta Potential, a property important to understanding colloid stability and surfactant chemistry. The PCS is an essential analytical tool that produces data essential to understanding the process factors that affect particle size.

CSL pioneered in the development of techniques to accurately measure the ionic content of colloids by separating the particles from the ions using Ultra centrifugation that produces up to 360,000 G forces for separating the smallest particles from the ions. Once separated, the ions can be measured using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Accurate measurement of ionic content is essential to properly evaluate the process variables that affect the ion/particle ratio. Such process variables are optimized to maximize the particles and minimize the ionic content of the colloids.

Other relevant properties of colloids include conductivity, turbidity, pH, and concentration.

The lab is equipped to perform measurements of all the physical properties of metal colloidal solutions that pertain to the quality and effectiveness of the product. All measurements use standards traceable to N.I.S.T. and are performed by professional personnel with extensive experience in the laboratory procedures and equipment used to make the measurements.

Laboratory Capabilities

The laboratory analytical capabilities are focused on measuring the physical properties of colloids. The physical properties that we measure are those that relate to the quality and effectiveness of colloidal solutions.

The properties of interest are:

Concentration (ppm) of ions

Concentration (ppm) of particles

Conductivity

Particle size distribution

pH

Turbidity

Zeta potential

From these measurements we calculate particle surface area which directly relates to effectiveness and serves as a metric for comparison with other colloids. The equipment listed below comprises the scientific equipment used by the laboratory personnel to determine the physical properties described above.

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) - A Perkin-Elmer Model 4100 Flame AAS with deuterium background correction is used to determine concentration of trace metals in sample solutions. The AAS is currently equipped to measure silver, gold, copper, iron, and titanium. The AAS is used to determine total silver in silver colloids. Ionic silver content in silver colloids is determined by first removing the particles by centrifugation and then measuring the silver content remaining in the solution.

Analytical Balance - An A&D Model HM-202 balance reads grams to five decimal places (10 microgram resolution) and is used for general lab work and preparing dilutions by weight (mass).

Centrifugation - The lab has several centrifuges with the capacity to provide a wide range of separation functions from continuous flow processing to ultra G-force separation.

Continuous flow - A Carr Separation Powerfuge Pilot with an axial bowl produces variable G-forces from 50 - 20,000 G's while processing flow rates up to 4 liters per minute.

Ultra G-force - Beckman L8-80M Ultra Centrifuge is a microprocessor-controlled ultracentrifuge used to generate centrifugal forces up to 365,000 Gs for particle separation. Maximum of 80,000 rpm is produced by this unit with total rotor volume of 150 mL in a refrigerated vacuum chamber.

High capacity - A Hermle ZK-364 Centrifuge with swing bucket rotor provides a total rotor capacity of 720 mL and 4500 G-forces in a refrigerated chamber.

Conductivity - Conductivity Meters: Hanna Instruments HI 8733 Conductivity Meter, HI 9033 Multi-range Conductivity Meter and Ultra Pure Water tester (UPW).

Evaporation/Concentration - A Buchi Rotavapor Model 124 with Buchi digital vacuum controller and Lauda IC-30 immersion cooler comprise the evaporator system that is used in general laboratory tasks involving evaporation and concentration of solutions.

Particle Size Characterization - Malvern Zetasizer 3000HSA In the Zetasizer, the particle size of colloidal particles is measured using laser light scattering and the technique of photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). With this technique the fluctuations in the intensity of light scattered by colloidal particles are analyzed using a digital correlator to determine the diffusion coefficient and size distribution of the particles.

pH/ISE - Orion 710A with an ion specific electrode for silver is used to make ISE silver measurements. A pH probe is used for both high and low ionic pH measurements.

Turbidity - Turbidity Meter: Orbeco-Hellige Digital Direct Reading Turbidity Meter, Model 965 measures turbidity in three ranges (20, 200, and 1000 NTU).

Zeta Potential - Malvern Zetasizer 3000HSA measures zeta potential. Zeta potential is a measure of the magnitude of the repulsion or attraction between particles in a colloid. Its measurement brings detailed insight into the dispersion mechanism and is the key to electrostatic dispersion control