[Antimicrobial activity of ozonized water in determined experimental conditions]

Ozone is a potent disinfecting agent which has been used successfully in water treatment, as well as to cure wounds. It can also be used in dental clinics, in laboratories, and in hospitals to clean and disinfect work surfaces and instruments. In this paper we have carried out a study of the antimicrobial activity of ozonized water. Antimicrobial activity in ozonized water on bacterial suspensions and contaminated materials was meaningful and depended fundamentally on concentration and time of exposure. On buccal flora, one rinse alone had no effect, but various successive rinses led to substantial reductions in the number of colonies of bacteria. Ozone had a similar effect, although more pronounced, on the flora of the hands. Ozonized water placed in an open dish kept up antimicrobial activity for the first 20 minutes, but after 30 minutes this activity decreased substantially.