Because of the water-like structure

Because of the water-like structure, the low molecular weight, and the electrical
neutrality, HOCl molecules can easily diffuse through the bacterial cell wall into the
cytoplasm (White, 1999; Len et al., 2000; Kiura et al., 2002). The bactericidal
mechanism is probably the irreversible oxidation of cytoplasmic enzymes in particular in
the inner membrane and peripheral cytoplasm (Matsunaga et al., 1984). Whether
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ozone (O3) and chlorine dioxide (ClO2) contribute to the
microbicidal activity of EOW remains controversial, as these substances were not
detected in freshly prepared EOW (Gordon et al., 1999; Vorobjeva et al., 2004).
As was confirmed in our study, anode EOW renders a strong bactericidal activity against
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as against mycobacteria.