Biocidal Effects of the Electrochemically Activated Water

Abstract

This article outlines the results on the antimicrobial action of electrochemically activated water solutions (anolyte/catholyte), produced in the anode and cathode chamber of the electrolitic cell. Under laboratory conditions the cell culture and suspensions of classical swine fever (CSF) virus were treated with the anolyte. After inoculating them with cell cultures, the viral presence (the presence of viral antigen) was measured using the immunoperoxidase technique. It was found that anolyte did not affect the growth of the cell culture PK-15; viral growth during the infection of a cell monolayer with a cell culture virus was affected in the greatest degree by the anolyte in 1:1 dilution and less in other dilutions; whereas the viral growth at the infection of a cell suspension with cell culture virus was affected by the anolyte in dilution 1:1 in the greatest degree, and less by other dilutions; viral growth at the infection with a virus in suspension of the cell monolayer was affected by the anolyte in all dilutions. Unexpectedly, the stronger biocidal effect of the catholyte was observed when a strain of E. coli DH5 was treated by the anolyte and catholyte, respectively. In order to provide additional data about the antiviral activity of the electrochemically activated water and the distribution of H₂O molecules according to the energies of hydrogen bonds, the non-equilibrium energy spectrum (NES) and differential non-equilibrium energy spectrum (DNES) of the anolyte and catholyte were measured.

Keywords: anolyte, catholyte, E. coli DH5, CSF virus, NES, DNES