JPH0454965A - Sterilization - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve a sterilizing processing accurately and inexpensively with the simplification of a processor by immersing an object to be treated into an electrolytic liquid, through which it is energized to sterilize the object to be treated utilizing an electrolytic action. CONSTITUTION:When a hydrolysis of water is performed with energization from a power source 5 through an electrolytic liquid, a large amount of oxygen 6 (O*,O2*) from a highly active generator is generated on the surface of an object 3 to be treated as anode side to surround the entire surface of the object 3 to be treated. The oxygen 6 from the generator is active having a high energy but becomes stable releasing the energy with the passage of time. With the continuation of an electrolytic action, the oxygen 6 having the high energy is generated continuously and the surface of the object 3 to be treated is exposed to an atmosphere of oxygen always having such a high energy to be sterilized by the energy 6 of the oxygen has.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention mainly relates to a method for sterilizing instruments used in the human body, artificial tooth roots, and the like.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, it is known to purify and sterilize medical instruments using glow discharge in a vacuum or low-pressure gas, ethylene oxide gas, an aqueous solution of ozone, or other sterilizing disinfectant.

These include ultraviolet rays, heat, ozone, etc. generated by discharge,
Various devices have been proposed that utilize ionization.

[Problems] However, since all of the above-mentioned conventional sterilizers generate and control glow discharge or electric arc discharge in a vacuum or low-pressure air, vacuum control of the discharge atmosphere, medium gas suppression surface, etc. This requires expensive control equipment and complicated operations.

However, there is a problem in that although the sterilization process requires a relatively long time, a sufficient treatment effect cannot be obtained. When water is used, there are problems not only in the treatment of waste gas and waste liquid, but also in that the disinfection effect is insufficient.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention was proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the object is to immerse the object to be sterilized in an electrolytic solution, energize the object through the electrolytic solution, and sterilize the object. This is achieved by a sterilization method characterized by performing sterilization using electrolytic action, and further by generating an electric discharge in gas on the surface of the object to be treated when the current is applied.

[For production]

In the present invention, the object to be sterilized is immersed in an aqueous electrolyte, electricity is applied to the object through the electrolyte, and the sterilization process is carried out by the electrolytic action and further by the electric discharge in the electrolytic gas. Since the processing equipment only requires an energized power supply and a processing container to store the electrolyte, and water such as tap water can be used as the electrolyte, the sterilization process is extremely simple, reliable, and inexpensive. I can do something.

By electrolyzing water, highly active generators such as oxygen (0°) and oxygen gas (0□') are generated at the anode, so the area near the anode becomes strongly acidic, and the cathode becomes extremely acidic. Highly active generator hydrogen (Ho), hydrogen gas (H2”)
As a result, the area near the cathode becomes strongly alkaline, so that the surface of the object to be treated is extremely strongly sterilized, whether it is the cathode or the anode.

Also, when a discharge occurs in the gas generated by these electrolysis, oxygen ions (0-) and hydrogen ions (H+)
Other activated hydrogen and oxygen are generated, and this discharge also generates discharge heat, high temperature, shock waves, light, water vapor, etc., which makes sterilization more expensive or more efficient than these, and is extremely effective and uniform. It can be sterilized.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a different embodiment, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing yet another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment. is a graph showing the processing time and the surface condition of the object to be processed when processing according to the method of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a processing container in which an electrolytic solution 2 is stored. As this electrolytic solution, an aqueous solution such as dilute sulfuric acid or ammonium sulfate is usually used, but ordinary water, tap water, etc. may also be used.

3 is an object to be processed immersed in water, 4 is a current-carrying electrode provided at the bottom of the container 1 for energizing the electrolytic solution 2, and 5 is an object to be processed 3
This is a power supply device for supplying current between the electrode 4 and the electrode 4.

As the power source 5, power sources such as direct current, alternating current, pulse, and high frequency power sources are used singly or in combination.

Water is electrolyzed by electricity supplied from a power source 5 through an electrolytic solution, and oxygen 6 from a highly active generator is applied to the surface of the object 3, which is the anode side in this embodiment. (0”
.

Oxygen 6 in these generators is in an active state with high energy, and either releases energy over time and gradually settles into a stable state, or as electrolysis continues, oxygen 6 with high energy continues to flow. As a result, the surface of the object to be processed 3 is constantly exposed to an oxygen atmosphere having high energy, and is subjected to a sterilizing effect due to the energy of the oxygen 6.

Further, a strongly acidic region rich in oxygen containing highly active oxygen 6 is formed around the object to be treated 3, and a sterilizing effect can be expected from this.

Further, when the object 3 to be treated is connected to the anode, its surface is also subjected to some degree of anodic dissolution, thereby performing surface cleaning treatment such as removal of surface deposits.

Such electrolytic treatment is usually completed within a very short time of several seconds to several tens of seconds, depending on the size of the object to be treated and the current density.

In addition, if the conduction polarity is reversed and electrolysis is performed using the object 3 as a cathode, deactivated hydrogen (H", H,
”) occurs, and the surface is exposed to a strong alkaline region, so it is sterilized by the same sterilizing action as above.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment in which not only a simple electrolytic action is performed but also an electrolytic gas layer is formed and an aerial discharge is generated within the layer.

In this embodiment, the electrolytic current is increased to a limit current or higher to generate an aerial discharge in the electrolytically generated gas layer 7.

That is, due to electrolysis of the electrolytic solution 2 by energization, the electrolytically generated gas layer 7 (H) is formed on the surface of the object 3 on the cathode side.

182 + water vapor, etc.).

This electrolytically generated gas layer 7 acts as a heat insulating layer and also has high electrical resistance, so it is equivalent to a series resistance inserted in the discharge circuit, and the thickness and resistance value of this layer are Since it increases in proportion to the amount of gas generated, when this layer is generated, the amount of Joule heat generated increases dramatically.

As a result, the temperature of the electrolytic solution around the object to be processed 3 rises, and atmospheric discharge occurs even more actively in the generated gas portion.

As discharge begins to occur between the electrolytic solution 2 and the object 3 to be processed, the temperature will rise further, and the amount of water vapor and gas generated will increase accordingly, and the surface of the object 3 to be processed will be thickly covered with gas. The resistance value further increases, causing rapid heating.

At this time, since ions H''' are also mixed in the generated gas, the surface of the object to be processed 3 is exposed to the generated gas with high energy, and furthermore, the surface of the object to be processed 3 is exposed to the high temperature generated by the discharge. , high pressure, and electromagnetic waves, the combined effect of which results in a rapid sterilization process.

In addition, when sterilization is performed only by electrolytic action without generating an air discharge, if there are slits or minute irregularities in the object 3, the electrolytic current will not flow uniformly inside those slits or in the recesses. gone,
The heat, pressure, electromagnetic waves, etc. described above can be easily applied to the inside of slits, etc., if the sterilization treatment of the area is sufficiently difficult or if an air discharge is to be caused.

In addition, in the case of the aerial discharge method, the current value that can be passed is large, and in particular, when pulse discharge, intermittent pulse discharge, and superimposed discharge of high and low frequency are performed, the current density increases and the dispersion of the discharge increases. This makes it possible to perform complete sterilization evenly and at high speed, even in the crevices.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the electrolytic solution 2 is circulated between the storage tank 9 and the processing container 1 by a circulation pump 8.
0 is a heat exchanger for the liquid temperature control device installed in the supply pipe.

A control device is not shown, but by circulating and supplying the electrolytic solution 2 in this manner, temperature control, ion concentration control, etc. of the electrolytic solution can be performed.

Further, the object to be processed 3 is attached to the tip of a spindle 11 that is automatically controlled by a motor, etc., and is automatically put into the liquid by NC#Ii, etc. for sterilization treatment, and is automatically pulled up and moved to the next cleaning process. Automatic sterilization can be performed.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the surface condition of the object to be treated and the treatment time when titanium materials used for artificial tooth roots, artificial bones, artificial joints, etc. are treated by the method of the present invention.

Curve A uses a 10-fold dilution of 75% H2SO as the electrolyte, uses a Ti material with a treatment area of 2 to 30 m2 as an anode, and uses a rectified power source to generate a voltage of 15 to 18 V at 0.2 to 0.2 m.
The characteristics of the sample treated with an electrolytic current of 3A are shown.

Curve B shows an example in which a 10% (NH4)2SO4 solution was used and a Ti material was used as an anode for treatment by discharging in an electrolytic gas at 6O-100V and 5-15A.

In these graphs, surface tension is expressed as Q/2 (where Q is the wetting angle).

It is found that the Q/2 of the Tl material, which was about 25 to 30 degrees in the initial state, decreases to 10 or less within 4 to 10 seconds.

Q/2 or 1° means surface tension or 20-30dy
Indicates that it corresponds to ne/cm2. This value indicates that the surface is extremely clean and that the surface is completely sterile.

In addition, compared to the case where treatment is performed using only electrolytic action as described above, when the current value flowing through the electrode of the object to be treated is increased and discharge is performed in the electrolytic gas, it is possible to promote the sterilization and purification action. It has also been proven that.

Furthermore, the polarity is reversed and discharge treatment is performed, and the electrolyte is NaN0 z 10% solution, NaJPo, 10% solution, B2
Even when treated with SO47.5% solution, tap water, etc., results comparable to these could be obtained.

Regarding the material of the object to be treated, in addition to Ti, we also tested titanium nickel, stainless steel, pitalium, aluminum, etc., which are used as implant materials in the living body, but as above, they could be sterilized in a short time. It has been proven that it can be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, the object to be sterilized is placed in an electrolytic solution, and electricity is applied through the electrolytic solution to utilize the electrolytic action, or furthermore, the object to be sterilized is generated by generating an electric discharge in the electrolytic gas. Since the sterilization process utilizes various phenomena that occur with electric discharge, the processing equipment should be simple (and certainly,
Sterilization can be done cheaply and easily.

Sterilization treatment involves electrolyzing water, which generates highly active free oxygen and forms a strongly acidic region on the anode side, and generates highly active hydrogen and forms a strongly alkaline region on the cathode side. The object to be treated may be an anode or a cathode, and in either case, the surface can be sterilized easily and within a few seconds (complete within a short period of time).

Further, when the object to be treated is an anode, part of the metal on the surface of the anode is dissolved and removed by electrolytic action, so that the surface is also cleaned.

Further, by generating electric discharge in the electrolytic gas, oxygen ions, hydrogen ions, etc. are also generated, and a large amount of activated oxygen and hydrogen can be generated and processed.

The discharge simultaneously generates high-temperature heat, shock pressure, electromagnetic waves, etc., so a comprehensively extremely effective sterilizing effect can be expected.

In addition, by generating a discharge, the electrolytic current can be increased beyond the normal allowable capacity, and the processing time can be shortened inversely. However, since the electric discharge allows current to flow evenly over the small details, the surface of the object to be treated can be treated uniformly, and highly reliable sterilization treatment can be achieved.

Furthermore, since an electrolytic solution such as water is used as the processing liquid, safe processing can be performed without problems such as waste gas or waste water.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a different embodiment, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing yet another embodiment, and FIG. is a graph showing the processing time and the surface condition of the object to be processed when processing according to the method of the present invention. 1... Processing container 2... Electrolyte 3... Processing object 4... Current-carrying electrode 5... Power source 6... Oxygen, electrolytic gas, circulation pump, storage tank ·Heat exchanger

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) Immerse the object to be sterilized in an electrolytic solution,
A sterilization method characterized by passing electricity through an electrolytic solution to an object to be processed, and sterilizing the object by the electrolytic action. (2) The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the current is a pulsed current. (3) The sterilization method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electrolyte is a dilute aqueous solution. (4) Immerse the object to be sterilized in an electrolytic solution,
A sterilization method characterized in that the object to be processed is sterilized by applying electricity to the object to be processed through an electrolytic solution to generate electric discharge in an electrolytic gas. (5) The sterilization method according to claim 4, wherein the current is a pulsed current. (6) The sterilization method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the electrolyte is a dilute aqueous solution.