Method for generating oxygen in an excited electronic state and inactivation of microorganisms
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorMitchell R. Swartz
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Abstract
A system for inactivation of microorganisms and their products (viruses, bacteria, toxins and cells) such as, for example, Herpes simplex viruses by superposition of a component such as, for example, methylene blue (MB) plus light, oxygen and electricity. The system serves to generate the superoxide radical anion (O.sub.2) and consequently hydrogen peroxide (H.sub.2 O.sub.2) and the hydroxyl radical (OH.), both of which enter into the inactivation process, but each has use beyond said system. The disclosed activating components include methylene blue covalently bonded to conconavalin A to enhance its binding to mammalian lymphoblasts and compounds of d.sup.- and f.sup.- transition metals such as cis-platinum diamino dichloride.
Claims4
A method of generating oxygen in an excited electronic state comprising:
- (a) providing covalently bonded methylene blue and conconavalin A;
- (b) adding said covalently bonded methylene blue and conconavalin A to a solution containing oxygen;
- (c) directing light into the solution;
- and,
- (d) simultaneously applying an electric field to the solution, said light and said electric field serving, in combination, to convert said methylene blue to at least one excited electronic state, the thusly activated methylene blue reacting with the oxygen in the solution to produce oxygen in an excited electronic state.
A method of generating oxygen in an excited electronic state comprising:
- adding a compound of a d.sup.- or f.sup.- transition metal to a solution containing oxygen, said compound being capable of assuming at least one excited electronic state when the solution is subjected to light and an electric field;
- directing light into the solution;
- and,
- simultaneously applying an electric field to the solution, said light and said electric field serving in combination to activate said compound to at least one excited electronic state, the thusly activated compound reacting with the oxygen in the solution to produce oxygen in an excited electronic state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.