Ceramic based ozonizer for high speed sterilization

A high-speed ozone sterilizing device has been developed, using a ceramic-based ozonizer of the high-frequency surface discharge type. This ozonizer can produce a very-high-concentration ozone with very compact size so as to allow its use in a limited space. Oxygen is used to produce a standard ozone concentration of 20000 ppm. Even at this high concentration, complete sterilization for the reference bacteria, Bacillus subtris, in a limited time ( approximately=3-5 min) is only possible when adequate temperature and humidity are maintained in the ozonized oxygen gas: 50 degrees C and approximately=80%. The object to be sterilized is cleaned by a wet paper to provide the humidity. This device for the reference bacteria, kills one million organisms in 3-5 min, with 12-14 min for one run including pre- and postprocessing. The conventional autoclave method requires approximately=30 min, and the method using ethylene oxide gas requires approximately=45 min and more complicated processing. The high-speed ozone sterilizer has been applied to the sterilization of a handpiece used for drilling teeth.<>