Feature
COPPER VS COVID When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was one particular group of researchers who were more prepared than most to assist in the global effort to protect the population. Dr Sandra Wilks from Health Sciences and Professor Bill Keevil from Biological Sciences lead a team investigating the length of time viruses and bacteria can remain on surfaces, exploring the effectiveness of various decontamination methods, as well as a particular focus on the antimicrobial benefits of copper. Together with their team, which also includes Dr Catherine Bryant and Dr Rachel Owen, they have secured over £200,000 worth of consultancy funding since the start of the pandemic. Working with a range of SMEs and global companies, including some linked directly to overseas government departments, the team has been focusing primarily on the use of copper alloys in different product types.
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The antimicrobial uses of copper Sandra is an interdisciplinary Lecturer in Medical Microbiology and has extensive experience in biofilm research, with a particular interest in understanding how complex microbial communities develop and can be detected. “Bill and I have been working together in this field for 20 years,” she explained. “Our research into the antimicrobial use of copper and its protection properties against fungi, bacteria and viruses has enabled us to provide consultancy to hundreds of organisations in that time. The pandemic and the research needed around COVID-19 means we are busier than ever.” Bill first published a paper in 2015 investigating how human coronavirus 229E, which is closely related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes COVID-19, remains infectious on common touch surface materials such as stainless steel and how it can be rapidly
inactivated on a range of copper alloys. Bill said: “At the time very few people were publishing papers about coronavirus, so when COVID-19 began this was one of the key papers in this field of research.” Work by Sandra, Bill and the team has already led to the installation of antimicrobial touch surfaces globally in hospitals, supermarkets, on public transport and in a busy airport, and this has been further expanded during the pandemic. “Our work with external companies has centred, most recently, on testing the effectiveness of solid copper and copper alloy materials and coatings in combatting the spread of COVID-19,” explained Sandra. “We are working with Copper Cover Ltd to show that their copper powder spray inactivates SARS-CoV-2 in as little as one minute. The powder is cold sprayed at high velocity, forming a bond with the base
