Evidence of OH• radicals disinfecting indoor air and surfaces in a harmless for humans method.
Abstract
The development of human societies around the world has generated a very serious environmental damage that threatens human health and the survival of animals and plants due to a higher incidence of infectious diseases.
This awareness led to the designing of an advanced harmless environmental sanitation method for the elimination of pathogenic microorganisms and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) in large air spaces and surfaces. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) based on hydroxyl radicals (OH● ) in sufficient concentrations perform biocidal functions on pathogenic microorganisms and degrade airborne organic compounds to mineral forms of harmless organic compounds.
It is a technology recognized as clean and safe and is generally carried out through solar radiation as a process initiator with photocatalyst material. The problem presented in the photocatalysis methods is its low speed, the generation of toxic degradation intermediates, deactivation of the material and the need for UV irradiation.
The increased airborne spread of pathogenic microorganisms has raised serious concerns about its threat to environmental security. However, there is no effective method to quickly eliminate these harmful microorganisms in a large air space. Compared to conventional disinfectants, OH● radical-based oxidation processes have excellent advantages.
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Introduction
The development of human societies around the world has generated a very serious environmental damage that threatens human health and the survival of animals and plants due to a higher incidence of infectious diseases.
The atmosphere does not have a native microbiota but is a rapid and global means of dispersal for many types of microorganisms. The history of aerobiology has demonstrated until the last century the fundamental role that respiratory air pollution plays in the development of epidemics such as cholera, influenza or Legionella [1]. This respiratory air pollution together with the ease of mobility of human beings around the world has generated in this new century extremely serious respiratory syndromes for survival.
Between November 2002 and July 2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread rapidly from China to 37 other countries around the world, causing 775 human deaths with an economic loss of $ 40 billion [2].
In early 2009, a new strain of H1N1 of porcine origin spread worldwide from Mexico. H1N1 was declared a flu pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), causing around 17,000 human deaths in early 2010[3].
In 2012 a new episode of coronavirus emerged, the MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus). The emergence of SARS-CoV in 2002 and MERS-CoV in 2012 has changed the perspective of the Coronoviridae family since the pneumonias they have caused (SARS and MERS) have mortality rates of 10% and 30% respectively, which are elevated compared to the rest of the viruses in the family [4].
Conclusion
The results show that the use of OH● radicals in the advanced oxidation process produced by the Wadu02® purifier is a new, safe and effective method to quickly eliminate pathogenic microorganisms in large air spaces and surfaces.
The application of OH● radicals in different studies has shown that their use in advanced oxidation processes, standardized as a safety measure carried out by Wadu02®, is safe, innocuous and effective in the control of pathogenic microorganisms and the elimination of suspended particles, formaldehyde and VOCs.
The evidence on the efficacy of OH● radicals as a biocide shows that their use is endorsed for being a strong oxidant, capable of eliminating microorganisms in low concentrations (0.8 mg/L) equivalent to 10 thousandths of the dose of conventional chemical disinfectants. Its spray density - dispersion is 22ml/cm2 representing one thousandth of other disinfectants, its constant high reaction rate 109L/mol • sec in the processing of OH● radicals is shorter than 4 seconds, which is one thousandth of chemical disinfectants. Finally, the damage that has been observed to pathogens under a microscope is irreversible.
Basing our homeostatic state on the correct functioning of our internal antioxidant system and the experimental demonstration of the use of OH● radicals effectively in the disinfection of air and surfaces, we can issue a safety statement on the use of Wadu02® technology to achieve safe, effective and harmless advanced oxidation processes in humans in the purification and decontamination processes of air and surfaces.