Ozonised oils as disinfectants.
In the ozone fervour of the mid-nineteenth century, the ability of ether, turpentine, and other unsaturated oils to take up oxygen was construed in terms of ozone, and the products were styled "ozonised ether" and "ozonised oils." Their undoubted oxidising power led to their use as disinfectants, notably by Dr. John Day in Australia, and Charles Kingzett in England and later America. Kingzett's "Sanitas" products enjoyed great popularity, and their properties were ascribed to fixed ozone, although the researches of Kingzett and others showed that the key components were hydroperoxides that may have given rise to hydrogen peroxide in solution.
Rae
Ian D
ID
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne, Australia. idrae@unimelb.edu.au
D004202:Disinfectants / Q000266:history* / Q000494:pharmacology; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000266:history / Q000494:pharmacology; D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical / Q000266:history* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010126:Ozone / Q000266:history* / Q000494:pharmacology
D004202:Disinfectants; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D010083:Oxidants, Photochemical; D010126:Ozone