Quick sterilization of Spirulina powder through dry ozonization for pharmaceutical preparations

Abstract

Quick sterilization using dry ozonation technology had been developed to destroy total pathogenic microorganism contamination in Spirulina powder effectively. This technology is safe and environmentally friendly, with carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) as output. Quick sterilization applications are easy and inexpensive but provide results that meet the quality standards of pharmaceutical preparations according to government regulations. This work aimed to perform rapid sterilization and determine the microbial level contamination produced by the ozonation sterilization system. The variables of sterilization time, flow rate, and ozone dose differ in the application of the ozonized sterilization system. The sterilization process through an ozonation reaction is carried out by providing ozone at the flow rate of 1, 2, 3, and 4 liters per minute (LPM) and ozone concentrations of 1, 2, 3, and 4 ppm. Ozone was produced at a rate of 5 gr/hour from an ozone generator with a voltage of 30 kV. 40 gr Spirulina powder in a closed reactor with a volume of <50% (Spirulina/reactor volume) was ozonated at room temperature (27 °C) for 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes. The optimum operating conditions of Spirulina platensis sterilization were an ozone flow rate of 2 LPM, sterilization time of 2 minutes, and ozone dose of 2 ppm. This system reduces the sterilization time from 60 minutes (UV light) to 2 minutes. This technology is a very attractive and potential choice in the large-scale production of Spirulina powder for pharmaceutical industry applications.