Defense against pathogens - learned from the human body.

HOCL as a natural process

One important role for our immune system is hyperchlorous acid (HOCL). This mild acid is an oxchlorin molecule and is produced in the white blood cells of any mammal as soon as the body responds to an incipient infection.

HOCL manages to kill pathogens by oxidation and chlorination. In the process, the acid breaks down individual microorganisms by denaturing the proteins of the cell wall foreign to the body. Since hyperchloric acid is naturally produced by the human body, endogenous cells have developed a resistance to this acid and are therefore not decomposed or damaged.

How does the decomposition process work?

The hyperchlorous acid attacks the pathogenic cell from the outside. A hypoosmotic environment is created by the pressure difference between the germ-laden surface of the pathogen and the hyperchlorous acid. This results in an increased influx of water into the cells of the germs and causes a pressure inside the cell. The cell cannot withstand the pressure and eventually bursts. The pathogen is thus caused to burst from the inside by trapped water.