Copper is a “game-changer.”
Copper ions have been used for centuries to disinfect liquids, solids, and human tissues. A new technology has been developed that introduces copper into cotton fibers and other materials. This technology has allowed the production of antimicrobial self-sterilizing fabrics such as face masks, bed linens, that kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria (MRSA), antifungal socks and anti-mite pillows and mattress covers. Textiles infused with metallic copper may be useful for preventing contamination of the environment, provide solutions to medical problems including hospital and community infection, and stop the spread of multi-resistant bacteria and viral transmission.
Copper disrupts the bacterial cell wall, proteins in the cell and DNA/RNA and can induce potent antimicrobial and antiviral effects by releasing free ions that generate reactive oxygen species, which are capable of damaging DNA, RNA, and proteins.
Copper can eliminate pathogenic organisms such as multi-resistant bacteria, coronavirus, influenza virus, HIV, and fungi after a short period of exposure. Greater than a 99.9% reduction in live bacteria was realized in laboratory tests. In the clinical trials, an 83% reduction in bacteria was seen on the copper components, when compared to the surfaces made from standard materials in the control rooms. Upon coming in contact with copper resistant bacteria were killed within hours:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 99.9% kill within 2 hr
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) killed within hours
E. coli killed the organism in times ranging from 45 min to 6 hr.
Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) a complete kill between 24 and 48 hr.
Copper ions have also been shown to directly inhibit and to inflict damage to the viral genome of different viruses HIV, Herpes virus etc. Influenza A, is killed almost 100% after 6 hr.
Norovirus inactivation was found to be 5 min (very contagious, causing 267 million cases of gastroenteritis annually worldwide) [1]
Human Corona viruses: rapid inactivation, irreversible destruction of viral RNA, and massive structural damage were observed in coronavirus exposed to copper and copper alloy surfaces. SARS Cov -2 was inactivated within 10 minutes on copper surfaces [2]
Copper seems to be an effective and low-cost complementary strategy to reduce the transmission of several infectious diseases by limiting hospital and community infectious transmission.
Michels HT, Keevil CW, Salgado CD, Schmidt MG. 2015. From laboratory research to a clinical trial: copper alloy surfaces kill bacteria and reduce hospital-acquired infections. Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4561453/
Bryant C, Wilks SA, Keevil CW. 2021. Rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 on copper touch surfaces determined using a cell culture infectivity assay. Link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.02.424974v1
