May/June_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 2 0 2 4 and a large number of alloy producers and component manufacturers have signed on to making the types of items needed. The world is currently fighting a COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years we have seen HIV, SARS, MERS, and several different strains of influenza each year, not to mention the 1918 flu pandem- ic. All cause large numbers of fatalities, but, fortunately, only a few spread as rapidly as COVID-19. The COVID-19 pan- demic will not be the last. Novel infec- tive agents will continue to emerge and spread worldwide due, in large part, to high global mobility. We must use every weapon available to fight this never- ending battle. Antimicrobial copper alloys are potentially powerful weapons. These alloys must be widely deployed in pub- lic spaces on common touch surfaces, especially in places with high levels of human traffic. Mass transit systems, air- ports, cruise ships, military bases and ships, shopping centers, schools, ho- tels, entertainment facilities, sports sta- diums, large office buildings, hospitals and healthcare facilities, andmoremust be retrofitted to include the appropri- ate placement of antimicrobial copper components such as doorknobs, stair railings, push plates, handles and draw- er pulls, electrical switch plates, plumb- ing fixtures and sinks, and elevator floor buttons. ~AM&P For more information: Harold Mi- chels, consultant, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030, cu.microbes@gmail.com, www. amcopper.com; retired senior vicepresi- dent, Copper Development Association, www.copper.org . References 1. H.T. Michels and C.A. Michels, The New ‘Old’ Weapon in the Fight Against Infectious Disease, Curr. Trends Microbiol., Vol 10 p 23-45, 2016. 2. N. van Doremalen, T. Bushmaker, D.H. Morris, M.G. Holbrook, A. Gamble, B.N. Williamson, A. Tamin, J.L. Harcourt, N.J. Thornburg, S.I. Gerber, J.O. Lloyd- Smith, E. de Wit, and V.J. Munster, Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS- CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1, N. Engl. Jour. Med, 2020, DOI: 10.1056/ NEJMc2004973. 3. S.L. Warnes, Z.R. Little, and C.W. Keevil, Human Coronavirus 229E Re- mains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials, mBio, American Soc. Microbiology, Vol 6, e01697-15, 2015. 4. R. Hong, T.Y. Kang, C.A. Michels, and N. Gadura, Membrane Lipid Peroxidation in Copper Alloy-Mediated Contact Killing of Escherichia coli, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 78, p 1776-1784, 2012. 5. C. Espirito Santo, E.W. Lam, C.G. Elowsky, D. Quaranta, D.W. Domaille, C.J. Chang, and G. Grass, Bacterial Killing by Dry Metallic Copper Surfaces, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 77 p 794- 802, 2011. 6. S.L. Warnes, E.N. Summergill, and C.W. Keevil, Inactivation of Murine Norovirus on a Range of Copper Alloy Surfaces is Accompanied by Loss of Capsid Integrity, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 81, p 1085-1091, 2015. 7. J.O. Noyce, H. Michels, and C.W. Keevil, Inactivation of Influenza A Virus on Copper versus Stainless Steel Sur- faces, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 73, p 2743-2750, 2007. 8. H.T. Michels, and D.G. Anderson, Antimicrobial Regulatory Efficacy Testing of Solid Copper Alloy Surfaces in the USA, Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine, Vol 10, editedby C.I. Maymard, T. Theophanides, L. Khassanova, and T. Collery, published by John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, p 185-190, 2008. Fig. 3 — The interior of a Ronald McDonald House in Charleston, South Carolina, retrofitted with copper alloy components.