Enhancing the effectiveness of copper-coated surfaces against viruses

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic required global efforts to create new protection and sterilization strategies. The sterilizing capacity of some metals is widespread. Copper (Cu) is one of the most studied due to its ability to inactivate viral agents, low cost, and ease of processing. This work evaluated the self-sterilizing capacity of Cu layers electrodeposited with two solutions – H2SO4/CuSO4 and HCl. Virucidal activity tests were performed with Mouse hepatitis virus 3 (MHV-3), a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. The coating produced using HCl (dendritic surface structures) led to viral inactivation in 4 h. Conversely, the coating produced using H2SO4/CuSO4 (equiaxed surface morphology) required 24 h to achieve viral inactivation.

Keywords

• Virus
• Cu surfaces
• SARS-CoV-2
• MHV-3
• Self-sterilizing