Editing Silver (section)

===Medicine===

{{Main|Medical uses of silver}}
In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Wound dressings containing [[silver sulfadiazine]] or [[Silver nanoparticles|silver nanomaterials]] are used to treat external infections. Silver is also used in some medical applications, such as [[urinary catheter]]s (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related [[urinary tract infections]]) and in [[endotracheal tube|endotracheal breathing tubes]] (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated [[pneumonia]]).<ref>{{Cite journal
| last1 = Beattie | first1 = M.
| last2 = Taylor | first2 = J.
| doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03561.x
| title = Silver alloy vs. Uncoated urinary catheters: A systematic review of the literature
| journal = Journal of Clinical Nursing
| volume = 20
| issue = 15–16
| pages = 2098–108
| year = 2011
| pmid = 21418360
}}</ref><ref name="Bouadma-2012">{{cite journal|last1=Bouadma|first1=L.|last2=Wolff|first2=M.|last3=Lucet|first3=J.C.|title=Ventilator-associated pneumonia and its prevention|journal=Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases|date=August 2012|volume=25|issue=4|pages=395–404|pmid=22744316|doi=10.1097/QCO.0b013e328355a835|s2cid=41051853}}</ref> The silver [[ion]] is [[Biological activity|bioactive]] and in sufficient [[concentration]] readily kills [[bacteria]] ''[[in vitro]]''. Silver ions interfere with enzymes in the bacteria that transport nutrients, form structures, and synthesise cell walls; these ions also bond with the bacteria's genetic material. Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic application: for example, infusing clothing with nanosilver particles thus allows them to stay odourless for longer.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3109/1040841X.2012.713323|title=Silver as an antimicrobial: Facts and gaps in knowledge|date=2012|last1=Maillard|first1=Jean-Yves|last2=Hartemann|first2=Philippe|journal=Critical Reviews in Microbiology|volume=39|issue=4|pages=373–83|pmid=22928774|s2cid=27527124}}</ref><ref name="Brumby et al-12" /> Bacteria can develop resistance to the antimicrobial action of silver.<ref name="Panáček-2018"/> Silver compounds are taken up by the body like [[mercury (element)|mercury]] compounds, but lack the toxicity of the latter. Silver and its alloys are used in cranial surgery to replace bone, and silver–tin–mercury amalgams are used in dentistry.<ref name="Brumby et al-7">Brumby et al. pp. 67–71</ref> [[Silver diammine fluoride]], the fluoride salt of a [[coordination complex]] with the formula [Ag(NH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>]F, is a topical [[medicament]] (drug) used to treat and prevent [[dental caries]] (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Silver diamine fluoride: a caries "silver-fluoride bullet"|author1=Rosenblatt, A. |author2=Stamford, T.C.M. |author3=Niederman, R. |journal=Journal of Dental Research|year=2009|volume=88|issue=2|pages=116–25|doi=10.1177/0022034508329406|pmid=19278981|s2cid=30730306 }}</ref>