In vitro investigation of the procoagulant of silver ion

Silver ion, a potent antimicrobial and procoagulant, is hypothesized to achieve its haemostatic effect by binding anticoagulant proteins. We performed in vitro studies to gain more insight into its mechanism of action. 10 μL of 5% AgNO₃ was added to 1 mL human plasma (n = 4), forming a precipitate. The precipitate was recovered through centrifugation and iteratively washed with saline. The supernatant(s) and precipitate were mixed with Coomassie blue stain and protein content was measured via spectrophotometric absorbance. An analysis of variance indicated significant (p<0.0001) differences between all groups. Multiple comparison tests showed a significant (p<0.001) increase in absorbance from the final wash and dye blank to the precipitate, indicating the presence of proteins in the precipitate. Silver ion may be precipitating anticoagulant proteins as its mechanism of action.