as illustrative of the application and utilization of this invention in their preferred embodiments are the following : tetrasilver tetroxide ( ag 4 o 4 ) crystals were prepared by modifying the procedure described by hammer and kleinberg in inorganic syntheses ( iv , 12 ). a stock solution was prepared by dissolving 24 . 0 grams of potassium peroxydisulfate in distilled water and subsequently adding to this 24 . 0 grams of sodium hydroxide and then diluting the entire solution with said water to a final volume of 500 ml . into 20 ml . vials were weighed aliquots of silver nitrate containing 1 . 0 g . of silver . now 50 ml . of the aforementioned stock solution were heated in a 100 ml . beaker , and the contents of one of the vials was added to the solution upon attaining a temperature of 85 ° c . the beaker was then maintained at 90 ° c . for 15 minutes . the resulting deep black oxide obtained was washed and decanted four times with distilled water in order to remove impurities . the purified material was collected for further evaluation and comparison with commercial material . commercial material was purchased from johnson matthey &# 39 ; s catalog , chemicals division , the aesar group , of ward hill , massachusetts , under product code 11607 and generically listed in its materials safety data sheet as both silver peroxide and silver suboxide , having a purity of 99 . 9 %. both the prepared and commercial materials were submitted for bactericidal evaluation following “ good laboratory practice ” regulations as set forth in federal regulations ( fifra and ffdca / 40 cfr 150 , may 2 , 1984 ). the silver materials were tested as to whether they could kill pathogenic microorganisms with the intent of utilizing them in pharmaceutical applications . once it could be determined that the devices inhibited a particular microorganism , the minimal concentration required of ag 4 o 4 was determined to inhibit the microorganism in nutrient broth . strains of gram positive bacteria were chosen for the evaluation . one family of pathogens that are known for their deleterious effects on humans are popularly called “ staph ” infections . these infections are commonly contracted in hospitals having lax infectious screening procedures . accordingly , three staph strains were selected as follows for evaluation : staphylococcus aureus 9027 and 27543 , and staphylococcus epidermidis 12228 . the inoculum nutrient broth was prepared according to aoac specifications so as to contain 0 . 6 - 1 million organisms per drop of inoculum , each drop being equal to 0 . 05 ml . the broth itself was trypticase soy broth bbl 11766 prepared according to label instructions . accordingly , the broth was prestandardized for the microorganisms in question in order to assure that the number of organisms remained constant within the margins of statistical allowance during the test period . having carried out the procedures and having incubated the organisms for 24 hours at 34 - 35 ° c ., it was found that staph organism 9027 was inhibited at 2 . 5 ppm , number 27543 at 5 . 0 ppm , and the 12228 organism at 0 . 625 ppm , all in the presence of 10 ppm sodium persulfate . this data was utilized to formulate a dermatological cream which would contain 100 ppm sodium persulfate and 10 ppm of oxide crystals to inhibit staph infections . the data was also utilized to formulate a surgical instrument sterilization formulation and a surgical scrub soap . other gram positive bacteria pathogens were similarly evaluated . the minimal inhibiting concentration required for 100 % kills are tabulated below for the organism in question as follows : bacillus subtilis 6633 5 . 00 ppm micrococcus luteus 9341 1 . 25 ppm streptococcus ogalactiae 27956 1 . 25 ppm streptococcus pyogenes 7958 2 . 50 ppm the procedures described in example i were analogously followed for the yeast pathogen candida albicans using strain 16464 excepting that the nutrient broth was changed to sabouraud dextrose broth ( difco 038217 - 9 ) to accommodate this yeast pathogen . it was found that 2 . 5 ppm of tetrasilver tetroxide completely inhibited the growth of this vaginal yeast infection . a gynecological cream was formulated against yeasts based on the results , as well as a cosmetic preservative . as this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof , the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive , since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description preceding them , and all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents , are therefore intended to be embraced by these claims .