Argyrol is the trade name for an antiseptic containing compounded solutions of mild silverprotein, each varying in strength. Argyrol is synonymous with the chemical Mild Silver Protein. It was manufactured in the chemical industry at a pharmaceutical grade, using denatured pharmaceutical-grade protein—for ophthalmic application—and elemental silver. This combination produces the silver protein molecule. Widely publicized for its value to resolve gonorrhea infections, it prevents gonorrheal blindness and other pathogenic infections in the eyes of newborn infants. Albert C. Barnes developed and commercialised Argyrol as a prevention technology for use on mucous membranes to resolve localized infections.
History
Argyrol was first made commercially available in 1901 by the Barnes and Hille Chemists Company. It has remained a registered trademark since Barnes's USPTO registration was first issued in 1902. In 1903, Medical News reported that Barnes had read a paper at the Tri-State Medical Society, in which he said Argyrol could be used to treat conjunctivitis, ophthalmia neonatorum, gonorrheal ophthalmia, otitis media, genitourinary infections and inflammations, and urethritis. In April 1907, Barnes bought out Hille and organized the A.C. Barnes Company to continue the manufacture and global sales of Argyrol from three headquarters located in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. Argyrol was never patented because Barnes planned to promote it exclusively through his trademark of Argyrol, as the colloidal silver protein for antiseptic use to mucous membranes. By World War II, Argyrol post-exposure male hygiene was mandatory in the U.S. and Allied Military VD Prevention Technology for sexual hygiene. With the advent of antibiotics, prevention was out distanced by the promise of cure by simple injection. After that, Argyrol Anti-Infective was prescribed less often because Argyrol’s 10% Stabilized Solution was available without a prescription, while compounded solutions of mild silver protein, at any requested strength, were available by prescription. Argyrol was an important treatment for ophthalmic infections, and, at least until 1943, was preferred over silver nitrate for treating infections at other sites as well. Used for a range of conditions in human and veterinary medicine, the drug brought in enormous profits. With the money, Barnes accumulated a large collection of art, mainly FrenchImpressionist works, which today form the holdings of the Barnes Foundation, an educational art institution established by his will. The paintings were valued in March 2010 at $25 billion. Argyrol was manufactured by A.C. Barnes Company until the Zonite Products Corporation acquired the firm in 1929. Argyrol products were compounded by pharmacists at various concentrations and dispensed to the public in pharmacy-labelled bottles. It was also sold in A.C. Barnes Company packaging in solutions of various strengths. A succession of pharmaceutical entities acquired Argyrol over the decades, avidly protecting their right to use the trademark Argyrol as reflected in the public record at the USPTO. The trademark was guarded by Barnes to ensure the quality and protect the reputation of the drug that resulted in a particular protection under law in jurisprudence, as well as to enable the Zonite Products Corporation rightfully to caution their Argyrol buyers to beware of purchasing imitations of Argyrol which contained substances illegally substituted by druggists for competitive compounds that resembled Argyrol. The silver protein molecule in Argyrol has been in use for over 100 years to date, with ample clinical data supporting the benefits and versatility of the silver protein molecule in medicine without the detriment of drug resistance. Although Argyrol is used as a synonym for the chemical descriptions silver vitelline and mild silver protein, Barnes insisted Argyrol was different. A silver-gelatin colloid, made by the reaction of silver nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and gelatin, in which a complex colloidal aggregate is formed, Barnes could rightfully assert Argyrol differed in its chemical assay, for instance, as it was claimed to contain over 30% silver. When compounded in varying strengths, nevertheless, Argyrol is silver protein identified as to its molecular construct. Argyrol is an over-the-counter internationally recognized anti-infection drug, regulatory-compliant immediate to manufacture and distribution in every jurisdiction for antiseptic use in medicine specifically due to global drug regulatory administrative adjudication initiated by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States to mandate New Drug Applications for silver drugs. Argyrol has been used continuously in commercial medicine since the date of Argyrol inception by Barnes and Hille.
