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Materials engineers at the University of Hong Kong have developed a stainless steel alloy that permanently deactivated 99.75 percent of COVID virus on its surface within three hours and 99.99 percent within six hours, according to a study the group published in Chemical Engineering Journal.
The alloy is 80 percent stainless steel and 20 percent copper by weight.
The metal also kills the H1N1 flu virus, which sparked a global pandemic in 2009, and E. coli bacteria, a common bug responsible for a range of ailments. Tests against other pathogens are underway.
The alloy’s antiviral properties don’t disappear over time, the developers say.
The material can be produced using existing “powder metallurgy” technology, so no new processes or equipment need to be created to make it and fabrication should easily scale to commercialization.
The engineers are in contact with manufacturers who could test the material in door knobs and handles, handrails, elevator buttons, and other surfaces large numbers of people touch daily.
TRENDPOST: If the lab’s results are borne out in commercial tests, the alloy will become a common material in surfaces that see a lot of hand contact in public places.