THE INVENTION BEHIND OUR PRODUCTS
The invention was born from the cooperation and joint ideas of dr. Zoltán Noszticzius (chemistry professor, BME) and Sándor Balogh (founding director of Szentkirályi Ásványvíz Kft), at the Budapest University of Technology, where they were classmates earlier.
The Hungarian researchers participating in the project have succeeded in developing a special method for producing chlorine dioxide (ClO2) in a cleaner solution than ever before: hence the word "hyperpure". The production method uses a so-called membrane permeation method for which dr. Zoltán Noszticzius (BME) and his colleagues filed a patent application.
The Hungarian invention is protected by patents in many countries around the world, e. g. in the United States and China. [1] [2] [3]
The scientific background of the unique properties of the hyperpure chlorine dioxide solution was first summarized by the Hungarian inventors, Dr. Zoltán Noszticzius et al. in the journal Plos One in 2013. [4]
CHLORINE DIOXIDE: SOME OF IT'S WELL-KNOWN PROPERTIES
The aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is known to be one of the most effective disinfectants in the world. [5][6]
It is extremely effective in killing all types of microbes (bacteria, viruses, protozoa). [6] [7] [8] [9] In most practical disinfecting applications, chlorine dioxide is even more effective than ozone. [10]
A special property of chlorine dioxide is that it is soluble both in water and in lipids (i. e. fats) [1]. This allows it to easily penetrate the outer lipid membrane of bacteria. In the same way, it is able to penetrate the so-called biofilms. This is a great advantage over those antimicrobial agents that are soluble in water only.
In addition to disinfection, the aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide can also deodorize the mouth: it not only reduces the number of bacteria responsible for odor, but also reacts directly with the sulfur-containing compounds causing the odor (mainly hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide), [11] and thus effectively eliminates halitosis. Another important advantage is that chlorine dioxide does not stain the teeth or the tongue, and even its long-term use does not cause any undesirable side effects [12].
Another advantageous property is the chemical selectivity: it reacts primarily with only three amino acids (cysteine, tyrosine, tryptophan) [13] [14] [15], which means that, for example, it does not damage tooth enamel. Also due to its chemical selectivity, less is enough to achieve the same effect. This makes it more effective than a substance that reacts with many other substances (such as ozone).
Chlorine dioxide is not carcinogenic. This is stated in a 2004 publication by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [16]. The same publication also states that chlorine dioxide does not cause an allergic reaction [16].
Moreover, according to a U.S. patent, an aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide may even be useful in alleviating allergic symptoms [17].
Chlorine dioxide is effective against microbes while being harmless to humans. [4] [18] Against microbes it is typically effective at concentrations as low as a few tenths of a ppm, while not considered hazardous to humans at concentrations up to 3,000 ppm [19]. Therefore, sufficiently dilute chlorine dioxide solutions selectively affect only microbes, and not humans. The explanation for this selectivity was first given by the Hungarian researchers who created Solumium. They pointed out that it is a so-called "size selective" effect. They described it in detail in a paper published in the journal Plos One. [4]
When applied to humans (or other multicellular organisms), chlorine dioxide only acts at the site of application and cannot be absorbed by or spread in the body, as it reacts at the site of application extremely rapidly with glutathione, which is a substance present abundantly in the whole body. [18] Microbes cannot be protected by such a mechanism because, due to their small size [4], they contain only a limited amount of "protective agent", which is rapidly absorbed by the penetrating chlorine dioxide.
At concentrations used in human applications, chlorine dioxide does not sting, so its use is not unpleasant.
As to its physical appearance and properties, chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is a greenish-yellow gas that is highly soluble in water and aqueous solutions. [18] [20]
It is a highly volatile substance and should be stored in a tightly closed bottle. It's volatility is an advantage, too, because it evaporates without a trace shortly after use: it does not need to be removed or washed separately.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF CHLORINE DIOXIDE
Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has long been known. It was first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1811, but it gained importance only in the 20th century.
Chlorine dioxide is currently used in the largest quantities by the paper industry to bleach cellulose. It replaced chlorine because the technology that used chlorine was associated with the formation of dangerous amounts of carcinogenic dioxins.
Its second most important field of application is the disinfection of drinking water. It was first used for this purpose in the town of Niagara Falls in 1944 to replace chlorine [21]. Brussels was the first major city to introduce chlorine dioxide for drinking water disinfection in 1956. [22] The substitution of chlorine for chlorine dioxide is justified if the water contains high amount of organic material. Chlorine can form carcinogenic compounds with these organic substances. This danger can be avoided by using chlorine dioxide to disinfect the water.
In the last two decades chlorine dioxide solutions have been used for more and more purposes. In the United States, for example, it is used in many areas of the food industry, including washing fruit and meat [23].
Researchers involved in the Solumium project have published an educational article on chlorine dioxide in the Hungarian journal Természet Világa. [24] According to the article, hyperpure chlorine dioxide may have many further uses as a medical, hospital or industrial disinfectant.
CHLORINE DIOXIDE MOUTHWASHES IN THE WORLD
Currently, there are several mouthwashes available in the world that contain chlorine dioxide as their active ingredient. There is a quickly spreading view in scientific circles that chlorine dioxide is the most effective substance for this purpose. [25]
The use of chlorine dioxide in mouthwashes has been accelerating in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world since the early 2000s [26]. According to a 2001 study, such mouthwashes are more effective against malodor than traditional mouthwashes [25].
The mouthwashes in the above study, however, usually contain no chlorine dioxide (or trace amounts only): instead they contain sodium chlorite (NaClO2) [27]. Sodium chlorite, however, can only affect bad breath indirectly, by reducing the number of bacteria that produce it.
Mouthwashes that actually contain chlorine dioxide, such as Solumium, act in two ways: they reduce the number of bacteria responsible for bad breath, and also directly react with the sulfur-containing compounds that cause odor (primarily hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide) and thus halitosis is eliminated extremely effectively. [11]
WHY SOLUMIUM IS SAFE
An aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide with a concentration of less than 0.3% is not a hazardous substance according to the CLP Regulation of the European Union [19].
Solumium products are such solutions.
A dilute aqueous solution of chlorine dioxide is harmless to mammals (such as humans). This was first demonstrated in animal (primarily rat) experiments. For example, in one experiment, rats were given chlorine dioxide-containing water to drink for 90 days, and this did not cause a detectable change in the animals, even if the chlorine dioxide content of their drinking water was 200 ppm [33].
As more and more places in the United States switched to chlorine dioxide for water disinfection in the early ’80s, human experiments were also conducted on sixty volunteers between the ages of 21 and 35, at Ohio State University. The participants consumed one liter of chlorine dioxide-containing water in two half-liter doses 3 hours apart and then underwent a comprehensive clinical examination for 4 days. After no pathological changes were observed in any of them, they were again given one liter of water with a higher chlorine dioxide content. Thus, gradually increasing the amount of chlorine dioxide ingested, it was found that consuming 24 mg of chlorine dioxide in 3 hours does not yet cause any measurable change in a healthy adult. [12]
WHAT IS HYPERPURE CHLORINE DIOXIDE?
Utilization of the advantageous properties of chlorine dioxide has previously been hampered by the lack of an aqueous solution in a sufficiently pure and stable form. Solumium, on the other hand, is a hyperpure chlorine dioxide solution: in production, the conductivity of its stock solution is less than 10 μS / cm. Low conductivity shows that it contains very little contaminating ion.
This high purity is made possible by Solumium's patented (so-called membrane permeation) method for purifying chlorine dioxide, and by the state-of-the-art water purification equipment used.
The resulting hyperpure solution is stable (meaning it has a long shelf-life), non-allergenic, and non-irritating.
ADVANTAGES OF HYPERPURE CHLORINE DIOXIDE
Compared to conventional methods of producing chlorine dioxide, the patented method of producing hyperpure chlorine dioxide has several advantages:
- no contaminants can enter the product during manufacture;
- the starting compounds can not contaminate the product either;
- the solution produced is free of any residual acid [28] (which would otherwise endanger tooth enamel [29]);
- in contrast to a traditionally prepared chlorine dioxide solution, the hyperpure chlorine dioxide solution is stable (decomposes only extremely slowly), so using suitable packaging it can be stored for years.
WHAT MAKES SOLUMUM UNIQUE?
Solumium is the only mouthwash in the world that contains chlorine dioxide in a hyper-pure form. (You can read the advantages of hyperpure chlorine dioxide above.)
The manufacturing process is based on a Hungarian invention, which now enjoys patent protection in many countries around the world, e.g. in the United States and China. [1] [2] [3] Solumium Ltd. is currently the only company in the world authorized to use the patented manufacturing process.
Chlorine dioxide has no known harmful side effects at the concentrations found in our products. [19]
Chlorine dioxide does not stain teeth. [30]
Another great benefit for our users is that Solumium can be applied diluted, so it allows much more rinsing than traditional mouthwashes.
REFERENCES:
- [1] WO/2008/035130 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT ): Permeation method and apparatus for preparing fluids containing high purity chlorine dioxide, International Preliminary Report on Patentability: 12. 02. 2009.
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/WO2008035130
Based on Hungarian patent P 06 00735: Permeációs eljárás és berendezés nagytisztaságú klór-dioxidot tartalmazó fluidumok előállításához, published: 2009. 04. 28. Szabadalmi Közlöny 114, 4/II P122. - [2] USA patent US 8,512,671 B1: Permeation method and apparatus for preparing fluids containing high purity chlorine dioxide, 2013.08. 20.
https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?docid=08512671 - [3] Chinese patent CN 101605720 B: Permeation method and apparatus for preparing fluids containing high purity chlorine dioxide, 2013. 09. 04.
https://patents.google.com/patent/CN101605720B - [4] Noszticzius Z., Wittmann M., Kály-Kullai K., Beregvári Z., Kiss I., Rosivall L., Szegedi J.: Chlorine dioxide is a size-selective antimicrobial agent, PLOS ONE 8(11), e79157 2013.
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http://www.clo2.gr/en/pdf/secure/chlorinedioxideidealbiocide.pdf - [11] Kim J. S., Park J. W., Kim D. J., Kim Y. K., Lee J. Y.: Direct effect of chlorine dioxide, zinc chloride and chlorhexidine solution on the gaseous volatile sulfur compounds, Acta odontologica Scandinavica, 72(8), p. 645–650, 2014.
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https://dx.doi.org/10.1556/2060.2020.00015 - [19] REGULATION (EC) No 1272/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, amending and repealing Directives 67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32008R1272&from=en - [20] Ishi G.: Solubility of chlorine dioxide, Chemical Engineering Japan, Volume 22, Issue 3, p. 153–4, 1958 (in Japanese).
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https://doi.org/10.4172/2472-0542.1000e107 - [24] Noszticzius, Z., Rosivall, L., Wittmann, M.: Universal weapon against microbes? - hyperpure chlorine dioxide, Természet Világa Magazine, Volume 141, Number 4, 2010 (in Hungarian).
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https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612826666200515134450 - [27] It should be noted that sodium chlorite is also commonly referred to as "stabilized chlorine dioxide". This is a very misleading name that could make one think that sodium chlorite is actually chlorine dioxide, but it is somehow "stabilized". This is of course a complete mistake. An even bigger problem is that even the adjective "stabilized" is very often omitted. Sodium chlorite is obviously not chlorine dioxide. Trying to counterbalance this naming problem, manufacturers who use real chlorine dioxide in their products have started using the term "active chlorine dioxide" to emphasize the presence of actual chlorine-dioxide.
- [28] Noszticzius Z. et al.: How to check the purity of an unknown chlorine dioxide product?, Magyar Fogorvos Magazine, Volume 26, 2017/3, p. 132-137, 2017 (in Hungarian).
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