The aim of this study is to investigate the inactivation mechanism of ozone on Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis, which signifies a Gram-negative and a Gram-positive bacterium, respectively. For bacterial inactivation, 1 mg/L ozonated water was used with the contact times of 30 s, 1, 5, 10 and 20 min. The TTC dehydrogenase relative activity of E. faecalis was inactivated after 30 s of ozone treatment; however, 20 min were needed for almost total inactivation of E. coli according to flow cytometry analysis. 30 s of treatment resulted in the release of intracellular components (i.e. DNA and protein) for both types of cells. The rapid increase of K⁺ leakage after 30 s of treatment for E. faecalis and 5 min for E. coli indicated the deterioration of cell membrane integrity. Due to lipopolysaccharide content in the cell membrane, lipid peroxidation of E. coli peaked within 30 s of ozone treatment. Although the death rate was significantly higher for E. faecalis, more severe cell wall injury in E. coli was detected by TEM. These results indicate that disruption of the cell wall integrity is not the only reason for E. faecalis cell mortality; damage of intracellular components is also required.

这项研究的目的是调查臭氧在大肠杆菌和粪肠球菌（分别代表革兰氏阴性菌和革兰氏阳性菌）上的失活机理。对于细菌灭活，使用1 mg / L的臭氧水，接触时间为30 s，1、5、10和20分钟。臭氧处理30 s后，粪肠球菌的TTC脱氢酶相对活性被灭活。然而，根据流式细胞仪分析，几乎完全灭活大肠杆菌需要20分钟。30 s的处理导致两种细胞类型的细胞内成分（即DNA和蛋白质）释放。治疗30 s后K ⁺渗漏迅速增加。粪肠球菌和大肠杆菌5分钟表明细胞膜完整性下降。由于细胞膜中的脂多糖含量，大肠杆菌的脂质过氧化作用在臭氧处理后30 s内达到峰值。尽管粪肠球菌的死亡率显着较高，但通过TEM检测到大肠杆菌中的细胞壁损伤更为严重。这些结果表明，细胞壁完整性的破坏不是粪肠球菌细胞死亡的唯一原因。还需要破坏细胞内成分。