In this video, we're going to briefly discuss yet another type of chemical gas used for controlling microbial growth, and that is ozone. Ozone actually has a chemical formula of O3, and if we take a look at our image down below, notice that on the left-hand side over here we're showing you the chemical structure of ozone. Ozone is a very unstable form of oxygen and can serve as a strong oxidizing agent, which means it can cause other molecules around it to become oxidized or to lose electrons.

Because ozone is so unstable, it is also going to be very highly reactive, and so ozone can react to form free radicals, which are also very reactive molecules and are also very dangerous to cells because free radicals can lead to cell lysis or cell rupturing, causing the cell to die. This is how ozone can be used as a method of controlling microbial growth because it can lead to cell lysis. Again, because ozone is so unstable and so highly reactive, it is going to decompose very quickly. Because it decomposes so quickly, it means that ozone must be generated on-site with a generator in order for scientists to use the ozone as a method of controlling microbial growth.

Notice that down below in our image on the right-hand side, we're showing you an ozone generator. Ozone is often used as an alternative to chlorine for disinfecting water, including drinking water. Thus, ozone is going to be a very important method of controlling microbial growth in certain circumstances. If we take a look at our image down below again, in the middle, we are actually showing you an image of our atmosphere because ozone plays a role in the atmosphere to help protect us from UV light that comes from the sun or ultraviolet light that comes from the sun.

But this here concludes our brief lesson on ozone and its use as a method of controlling microbial growth, and we'll be able to get some practice applying these concepts as we move forward. So I'll see you all in our next video.