Our Technologies

Silver TTO™ (tetrasilver tetraoxide) Broad-Spectrum Water Treatment

History

Silver, in various combinations, has been used to control hospital acquired infections and well as to control the deposition of micro-organisms in the biofilm of water distribution systems. Studies by investigators suggest that ionized silver and copper may be an effective means to control etiological bacteria like Legionella in water supplies (Stout & Yu, 2003). However, little technology has been developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of alternative agents in the removal of more refractory organisms like the protozoa Cryptosporidium-a water borne human pathogen.


Immunofluorescence image of Cryptosporidium parvum
oocysts Courtesy of H. D. A. Lindquist, U.S. EPA

Transmission Electron Micrograph of E. coli O157:H7 Bacterium
Courtesy of E. H. White Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Mechanism of Action

The semiconduction silver tetraoxide crystal Ag4O4 is a device, which operates on a molecular scale. It transfers electrons from its two monovalent silver ions to the two other trivalent ions in the crystal throughout the aqueous media in which it is immersed. Within the media, electrons are conducted along a path which when coming in contact with a pathogen, contributes to it's death because the electrons traverse the cell membrane surface (CMS) and "electrocutes" the pathogen, not only by these electrons, but others following the paths emanating from the other molecular devices within the vicinity. The device (TTO) is attracted to the CMS of the pathogen by powerful covalent bonding forces caused by the affinity of silver for elements such as sulfur and nitrogen in the CMS.

Existing Water Treatment Limitations

Water treatment facilities, although operated correctly and remove the vast majority of microbial contaminants, can be breached by some recently emerging pathogens, as evidenced by the number of waterborne disease outbreaks, some of which affected thousands of people. This has created considerable concern for response to several driving factors:

■ A dramatic increase in the number of cases of waterborne diseases caused by pathogens that emerged and became dominant during the 1990s.

■ The need for added protection against potential bio-terrorism.

■ Public awareness of waterborne outbreaks, e.g., Estimated 403,000 affected individuals with cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, 1993 (New England J. of Medicine, 1994), cryptosporidiosis in Las Vegas, 1992-1994 (Annals of Internal Medicine, 1996) and E. coli in Atlanta in 1998, (CDC-DBMD, 1998). There were 7,212 cases of cryptosporidiosis; 17,256 cases of giardiasis; 2,368 cases of E. coli O175:H7; 9,877 cases of hepatitis; and 1,952 cases of legionellosis during 2005, proving that the threat of outbreaks still exists.

■ Growing population and industrial concentration in urban areas which increase the demand on existing water treatment facilities.

■ Population demographics - cancer and other immune-compromised population cohorts.

■ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that there are on the order of 940,000 cases of waterborne enteric (intestinal) disease in the USA annually (GFL & Associates, 1993).


Existing hyper-chlorine disinfection and carbon filter-based water treatment systems appear to have limits that suggest a need for improved potable water supplies in military installations or remote locations, residences, hospitals, nursing homes, day-care centers, commercial facilities, recreational facilities, cruise ships and hotels. Pure H2O Bio-Technologies (PRHB) plans to capitalize on the need for improved point-of-entry and point-of-use water treatment systems and on the need for a disinfection system that has the overall capacity for treating the emerging threat agents that are not killed by halogen-based/filtration systems. Although halogens such as iodine can be very effective in killing pathogenic bacteria, our intended use of a tetrasilver-tetraoxide disinfectant is far superior for overall removal and/or killing of the newly emerging pathogenic strains.

PRHB Silver TTO™ Systems

The current point-of-use and point-of-entry systems are primarily based on carbon or fiber filters that merely entrap, but do not disinfect drinking water. The Pure H2O Bio-Technology system combines use of absolute micron carbon pre- and post-filters with controlled release of oxygenated tetrasilver-tetraoxide (TTO™) to treat waterborne pathogens and remove heavy metals and objectionable biomass. The use of TTO™ in the system is a great improvement over use of halogenated compounds such as chlorine, bromine and iodine because it is capable of killing the oocysts of Cryptosporidium and cysts of Giardia with an already proven ability to destroy pathogenic bacterial and viral species, including Escherichia coli and waterborne viral species specified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). The US EPA, for treatment of swimming pools, has already approved TTO™ for its efficacy on microbes. Its efficacy for treatment of Cryptosporidium oocysts was recently tested successfully for PRHB by a laboratory nationally recognized for its well-established expertise on Cryptosporidium as well as other pathogenic microbes. A non-provisional patent for use of TTO™ to disinfect Cryptosporidium oocysts has recently been submitted to the US Patent Office. The Company plans to certify the system through NSF using updated NSF/ANSI standards.

The US EPA has set a non-enforceable limit or standard in water for silver at 0.10 mg/L. However, individual states may set their own limits. As a result, Pure H20 Bio-Technologies, Inc. is designing post-treatment units for residential, institutional, and commercial applications that will include a silver absorbent such as silicon dioxide to reduce residual silver for additional safety in its water disinfection system design.



Molecular Formula task started on Tue Jan 16, 2007 at 2:44 PM



References

R. Pedahzur, et al. The efficacy of long-lasting residual drinking water disinfectants based on hydrogen peroxide and silver, Water Science & Technology 42(1-2): 293-298, 2000.
R. Pedahzur, et al. Silver and hydrogen peroxide as potential drinking water disinfectants: their bactericidal effects and possible modes of action. Water Science & Technology 35 (11-12: 87-93, 1997.
J. B. Rose. Environmental ecology of Crytosporidium and public health implications. Annual Review of Public Health 18: 135-161, 1997.
Clancy Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC). Disinfection of Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts with Tetrasilver Tetraoxide for Pure H20 BioTechnologies, Inc., 2006.
M.S. Antelman. Silver (II, III) Disinfectants, Soap/Cosmetics/Chemical Specialties, March 1994, pp 52-59 .
M.S. Antelman. Anti-pathogenic Multivalent Silver Molecular Semiconductors, Precious Metals Institute, 1992 pp141-149.
P. Rochelle and J. Clancey. The Evolution of Microbiol;ogy in the Drinking Water Industry, J. AWWA 98.3, March 2006, pp 163-191.