Water and air ozone treatment as an alternative sanitizing technology [abstract]

Abstract

PURPOSE: Investigate the effectiveness of ozone treatment as an alternative sanitizing technology to conventional disinfectants in reducing the microbial contamination of both water and air.
 
 METHODS: Ozone was added for 20 minutes to a well-defined volume of water and air by the system named “Ozonomatic®”. The effectiveness of ozonation was determined by counting CFU/m3 or mL of bacteria present in samples of air or water collected before (T0) and after (T1) the addition of ozone and comparing the microbial load of different bacteria present in ozonized and non-ozonized samples.
 
 RESULTS: When the ozonation equipment was located at 30 cm from the surface of the water in the bath tub in which the bacteria were inoculated, the treatment was able to reduce the microbial load present in the aerosol by 70.4% at a temperature of 36°C for 48 hours. Conversely, at 22°C for 5 days, only a modest decrease (9.1%) was observed. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were completely eliminated. A 93.9% reduction was observed for Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Streptococcus faecalis (25.9%). The addition of ozone to water was able to almost eliminate Staphylococcus aureus (98.9% reduction) and also to exert a strong impact on Legionella pneumophila (87.5% reduction). Streptococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed a decrease of 64.2% and 57.4%, respectively. Conversely, only a 26.4% reduction was observed for the bacterium Escherichia coli. This study showed that the addition of ozone in the air exerted a modest reduction on microbial load at 36°C, whereas no effect was observed at 22°C.
 
 CONCLUSIONS: Aqueous and gaseous ozone treatments were effective against microbial contaminants, reducing the CFU of the microorganisms and confirming its efficacy in water and air disinfection.

Eficacia de métodos de desinfección y los efectos sobre las propiedades nutracéuticas en cilantro y fresa

“…Recientemente, los desinfectantes se aplican también por aspersión (Chang y Schneider, 2012). Los productos más utilizados para reducir la carga microbiana de frutas y verduras están formulados a partir de compuestos clorados y ácidos orgánicos, aunque también se utiliza ozono generado in situ (Martinelli et al, 2017;Chen y Hung, 2018;Gómez-Aldapa et al, 2018).…”

Ozone disinfection of home nebulizers effectively kills common cystic fibrosis bacterial pathogens

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12] Ozone is generally effective as a disinfectant but the results vary likely due to differences in the concentration of ozone, mode of delivery, and exposure time along with different bacteria and growth conditions. [7][8][9][10][11] SoClean® is currently used primarily for home CPAP machine disinfection and this might be expanded to include home nebulizer equipment such as disposable inhalers/inhalation chambers as long as device function is intact and disinfection is achieved. These data with >99.99% bacterial killing of high inoculums >10 6 support the potential use of SoClean® for disinfection of common CF pathogens on Pari LC Plus® nebulizers given sufficient ozone exposure.…”

“…6 Ozone (O 3 ) is a bioactive oxidizing disinfectant that breaks down to O 2 and O 1 , a reactive molecule that disrupts bacterial cell walls and the function of proteins and carbohydrates. 7,8 Both water based and gaseous ozone are used for disinfection in the food industry and sanitation of water systems, and are currently being studied to disrupt biofilms in periodontics. [7][8][9][10] Studies show that ozone-based disinfection effectively kills CF-related pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Burkholderia cepacia including bacteria growing in biofilms.…”

“…7,8 Both water based and gaseous ozone are used for disinfection in the food industry and sanitation of water systems, and are currently being studied to disrupt biofilms in periodontics. [7][8][9][10] Studies show that ozone-based disinfection effectively kills CF-related pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Burkholderia cepacia including bacteria growing in biofilms. 9,11,12 SoClean® is a commercially available ozone gas based machine listed as a class I device for disinfection with the FDA and has EU certification as a Class IIa medical device.…”

Bioaerosols and Transmission, a Diverse and Growing Community of Practice

“…It has been used extensively in the food industry (specifically water treatment, washing of produce, and food preparation), as well as in domestic restoration to remediate odors and smoke damage. Its historical use and proven efficacy demonstrate its potential to remediate contaminated indoor air (50,51). This would present a novel application of a known treatment modality.…”