Alkaline hydrogen peroxide solutions: expectorant, pyolytic, mucolytic, haemolytic, oxygen-releasing, and decolorizing effects

Abstract

The local action of hydrogen peroxide solutions on such dense biological masses, such as pus, mucus, sputum, and blood clots, is influenced not only by the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide but also by the alkalinity of the solution and the temperature of the interaction medium. Increasing the solutions temperature from 24C26C to 45C55C and its alkalinity from pH 7.0 to 8.48.5 enhances the pyolytic, mucolytic, hemolytic, bleaching, and oxygen-releasing activity of hydrogen peroxide solutions. Simple heating achieves the desired level of hyperthermia, while the addition of sodium bicarbonate provides the indicated alkalinity. Hyperthermia, according to the laws of physics, reduces the viscosity of biological masses, increasing their fluidity, permeability to the antiseptic solution, miscibility, and solubility in it. Furthermore, hyperthermia accelerates the rate of chemical, physicochemical, and biochemical processes, according to the Arrhenius law. The elevated temperature of interacting media speeds up the alkaline saponification process of proteins and protein-lipid complexes, which constitute the colloidal basis of biological masses. Additionally, hyperthermia intensifies the enzymatic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas, facilitated by the enzyme catalase present in most biological masses. The released molecular oxygen generates gas bubbles that mimic cold boiling, leading to the explosion of biological masses, transforming them into a fluffy white foam. Oxygen in an alkaline environment oxidizes biological pigments, including hemoglobin and its metabolites of different colors, resulting in their discoloration.