ABSTRACT
One remarkable and potentially useful effect of exogenous, low-level, electrical currents in biology is the production of a sustained antibacterial environment near metallic silver electrodes. Attempts to use other materials as electrodes have not met with much success except with high current, toxic corrosive reactions, or resistive heating (1–4). The special antibacterial properties of silver seem to be metal-specific and far more efficient (5). The purpose of this chapter is to review the present understanding of this effect, especially the electrochemical features, the results of animal experiments, and clinical applications.
