Precious Metals in Medicine




Precious metals have been used for medicinal purposes for a very, very long time.   They have been used to cure and alleviate the symptoms of illness, to prevent disease and to fight infection.

 

Gold – the past

Gold based medicines are believed to have been used in China and Arabia from about 2500 BC while graves excavated in Italy, dating from 1000 BC to 400 BC, contained skulls with gold bridgework.

Constantinus Africanus, who taught at the medical school in Salerno in the 11th century, said: “Gold is more temperate than the other metals.  It has the property of relieving a defective stomach and comforts the fearful and those who suffer from a heart complaint… it is effective against melancholy and baldness.”

Cleopatra is thought to have slept in a gold mask to enhance her beauty and Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France, drank so much gold that her hair, when analysed by modern scientists, contained more than 500 times the normal amount of the metal.

 

Gold – the present

While the applications have evolved, we continue to use gold in medicine.    It is found in the modern drug Myocrisin used to treat arthritis.  Gold nanoparticles are used in millions of Rapid Diagnostic Tests every year and it is key in HIV/AIDS diagnosis technologies.  Research is ongoing into the role that gold nanoparticles can play in cancer treatment and it is already used to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly to tumours.  Gold is also used to attach facial prosthetics.

 

Silver – the past

Silver has also been used for millennia, with striking success, mainly to prevent infection and reduce inflammation. 

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine (about 400 BC), wrote about using silver to improve wound care and it continued to be the most important antimicrobial agent available before the discovery of antibiotics.  Silver coins were often dropped into barrels of water and milk on long journeys to slow spoilage and keep them fresher for longer.

Modern medical use of silver continued when surgeons, early in the 19th century, used silver sutures to minimise post-operative inflammation.    In the later 1800s silver nitrate eyedrops we used to treat neonatal conjunctivitis.  During WW2 soldiers took silver leaf into battle to fight infection if they were injured in the trenches.  It was also used to treat common conditions such as tonsillitis.

 


Silver – the present

Silver burn-dressings and dressings containing silver are widely available for wound care -, to minimise infection and lead to faster healing.  Hospitals use silver coated breathing tubes to reduce the risk of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia.  Catheters are also frequently silver or platinum coated, again to help limit infections. 

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has intensified research into non-antibiotic alternatives, including silver.  In relation to hip and knee joint replacements, the advances in precious metal technology have had a significant impact on improving patient outcomes.  Another interesting area of research is investigating incorporating silver nanoparticles into cornea replacements and contact lenses.

 

Platinum

Platinum is a newcomer and has only been used in medicine for a few decades.  However, due to its properties of biocompatibility, inertness, durability and electrical conductivity it is an essential component in many biomedical devices including pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, catheters and stents.  The anticancer drugs carboplatin and cisplatin contain platinum which can curtail the division of some cancer cells.  The current 85% cure rate for testicular cancer can be credited to cisplatin – previously it was just 10%.

So, precious metals and really important in modern medicine and, as new applications are found, the field of medicine increasingly impacts on their demand.

 

 

 Jeanie 16/02/21

Comments

  1. BridgetFebruary 17, 2021 at 4:59 AM

    Wonder if the people who have taken/used things for medical purposes have higher than the 2mg average? So interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanieFebruary 19, 2021 at 7:57 AM

    Oh I wonder if they do?

    ReplyDelete

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