ABSTRACT
Copper (Cu) and its alloys are prospective materials in fighting covid-19 virus and several microbial pandemics, due to its excellent antiviral as well as antimicrobial properties. Even though many studies have proved that copper and its alloys exhibit antiviral properties, this research arena requires further research attention. Several studies conducted on copper and its alloys have proven that copper-based alloys possess excellent potential in controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Moreover, recent studies indicate that these alloys can effectively inactivate the covid-19 virus. In view of this, the present article reviews the importance of copper and its alloys in reducing the spread and infection of covid-19, which is a global pandemic. The electronic databases such as ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed were searched for identifying relevant studies in the present review article. The review starts with a brief description on the history of copper usage in medicine followed by the effect of copper content in human body and antiviral mechanisms of copper against covid-19. The subsequent sections describe the distinctive copper based material systems such as alloys, nanomaterials and coating technologies in combating the spread of covid-19. Overall, copper based materials can be propitiously used as part of preventive and therapeutic strategies in the fight against covid-19 virus.
Subject(s)
Alloys/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Copper/chemistry , Animals , Anti-Infective Agents, Local , Disinfection , Humans , Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry , Nanostructures/chemistry , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
In this letter, we report the ability of the nanostructured aluminum Al 6063 alloy surfaces to inactivate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There was no recoverable viable virus after 6 h of exposure to the nanostructured surface, elucidating a 5-log reduction compared to a flat Al 6063 surface. The nanostructured surfaces were fabricated using wet-etching techniques which generated nanotextured, randomly aligned ridges approximately 23 nm wide on the Al 6063 alloy surfaces. In addition to the excellent mechanical resilience properties previously shown, the etched surfaces have also demonstrated superior corrosion resistance compared to the control surfaces. Such nanostructured surfaces have the potential to be used in healthcare environment such as hospitals and public spaces to reduce the surface transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and combat COVID-19.