Can Copper Stop the Spread of COVID-19?

The History of Copper

While many people may correlate disinfectants with anti-bacterial wipes or Lysol sprays, copper metal kills bacteria and viruses upon contact! Copper is a metal that has been around since ancient times, oftentimes used for health purposes. It’s what Egyptian soldiers would use to sharpen their swords, and what they would fill their wounds with to eliminate infections and increase the healing time. In fact, copper has been used for health purposes throughout several centuries. So, the question remains, could copper help to stop the spread of COVID-19? Scientists today are still learning about the amazing benefits of copper within the healthcare industry and its antiviral abilities.

How Copper Works

On the periodic table, copper is represented by the abbreviation Cu. (As in Cu later, germs!). Copper alloys kills germs upon contact, as opposed to the traditional aluminum or steel you’re exposed to on a day to day basis. Take into consideration the number of doorknobs you touch daily. Did you know that doorknobs are primarily made with brass? The logic behind it is simple. Germs can only live on copper for a short period of time, as opposed to traditional metals such as steel or aluminum, which can leave germs to linger for several days. Bacteria can also last for an extended period of time on plastic surfaces.

The Potential of Copper

How does copper kill germs? Scientists have found that the copper ions, which are electrically charged molecules, are able to kill harmful and dangerous viruses by attacking their genetic materials. The copper ions interact with the oxygen, thus changing the oxygen molecules. As a result, the virus is unable to mutate or spread. This disrupts the protective layers of the organisms and interfering with its vital processes.

The question remains, could copper be the newest antiviral treatment as we currently think of hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes?

Studies have shown that copper has the ability to kill a wide variety of germs upon contact such as:

• MRSA
• Influenza A
• Coli
• Norovirus

With that being said, copper also has the potential to kill COVID-19 germs upon contact as well. On a day to day basis, the average human washes their hands approximately 9 times. Although hand-washing has the ability to kill germs, there is still the potential that harmful germs may linger.

By incorporating copper into touch surfaces, you’ll not only be killing the typical germs that you come into contact with daily, but it can stop the mutation of COVID-19, killing it upon contact and making it unable to spread to others.

Other Applications of Copper

Copper can be utilized on any touch surface you may be exposed to. For instance, consider copper coating on door handles in the workplace. Rather than let harmful germs linger for days on the metal surface of doorknobs, by adding a thin layer of copper onto the handles, it can eliminate the germs that otherwise would be lingering for days on the surface.

Human Interface Design

As a custom designer of printed electronics and  user interfaces, it’s only right that we also consider the impacts of adding layers of copper onto products. Consider a silicone rubber keypad, which is common on household items such as your television remote. Incorporating a copper coating on buttons eliminates the germs that we don’t even think could be remaining on the remote. The same goes for user interface products such as membrane switches. By adding a copper layer to the top of the membrane switch, the membrane switch is considered antimicrobial. Any harmful germs that the membrane switch may be exposed to are unable to spread or transfer to other users of the product.

Everyday Products

We could even take the concept of incorporating copper onto items outside of the workplace. Think of grocery carts at the store. Imagine the germs that those carts contain with the thousands of different users each week. Now think of the number of germs that could be eliminated by incorporating copper handles onto these carts.

When each user touches the cart’s handle, they won’t be exposed to the hundreds of different potential germs that could be lingering on its surface, but rather be relieved at the fact that these carts can now be considered antimicrobial. This means that the potential spread of germs is minuscule compared to the germs they could’ve been exposed to prior.

When it comes to the potential of copper in the healthcare industry, especially when it comes to copper’s ability to stop the spread of harmful germs, the benefits and applications are endless. By incorporating a copper coating to elements you’re exposed to on a day to day basis, we could stop the spread of COVID-19 or any other harmful germs we’re exposed to. You can read more on the Copper Development Association website.

Butler Technologies is developing a copper based overlay that can be custom cut to fit your application.  If you’re interested in learning more about copper and its benefits among user interface products, or if you’re interested in getting your next project started, reach out! We’re more than ready to help tackle whatever project you’re up against.

Meet the Author: Jaclyn King

Jaclyn is a Digital Marketing Specialist on the BTI Team. Her main job responsibilities involve inbound marketing, content creation, and social media management. To get to know more about Jaclyn, check her out on LinkedIn!