Rapid Application of New Technologies
Copper Kills Germs
Sometimes specific metals offer applied technology breakthroughs. SCRA Applied R&D’s Copper Air Quality and Touch Surfaces Program are helping to reduce the measure of pathogens in healthcare environments and ultimately stem the rate of hospital-acquired infections and to kill harmful microbes, including molds and harmful bacteria that may be passed through heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units in healthcare facilities.
Helping Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections with Copper
Copper and copper alloys (e.g., brasses, bronzes, copper nickels, copper-nickel-zincs) have intrinsic antimicrobial properties with well documented efficacy against a wide range of pathogens, including multi-disease resistant bacteria. The Copper Development Association has conducted a series of laboratory tests under Environmental Protection Agency Good Laboratory Practices protocols that have provided evidence that copper surfaces kill microbes in a matter of hours.
Two programs were launched in 2007 under the Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center, a section of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. SCRA Applied R&D directs these programs working with the Copper Development Association who initiated the study proposals.
The Copper Touch Surfaces Program comprises a series of three clinical trials to determine whether copper touch surfaces will decrease HAIs in patients. The trials will examine bacterial loads and rates of infection related to three specific indicator organisms: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) and Acinetobacter baumannii (A-baum) in various clinical environments including intensive care units, cancer and general medicine rooms such as gastrointestinal care units.
Reducing Harmful Airborne Microbes Stemming from HVAC Systems
Microbial growth in heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and their contamination of the indoor air environment is a growing concern. Pathogenic fungi and bacteria, which are threats to public health, thrive in moist, dark HVAC environments. Researchers have found these conditions to be viable environments for the growth and propagation of harmful microbes. These organisms suspended in indoor air are known to be associated with respiratory infections, chronic lung diseases, airway irritation and sick-building syndrome. The Copper Air Quality Program will design, produce and evaluate copper components for HVAC systems to demonstrate the effectiveness of copper surfaces for reducing the incidence of harmful airborne microbes within these systems and throughout buildings and other indoor civilian and military settings.
Copper is a naturally antimicrobial engineering material. The inherent antimicrobial properties of copper and copper alloys offer an alternative approach to mitigating pathogens and provide the potential for limiting the spread of infectious diseases and allergens through HVAC systems. It is also more thermally conductive, thus more energy efficient, than either stainless steel or aluminum — materials typically used for components in HVAC systems. Copper alloys have been found effective in eliminating pathogenic bacteria within 90 minutes at room temperature and within a few hours at chilled air (indoor air-conditioning) temperatures.
Conversely, microorganisms have been found to survive for up to a month or more on materials such as stainless steel or aluminum.
To learn more about the Copper Touch Surfaces Program, go to: http://coppertouchsurface.org.
To learn more about the Copper Air Quality Program, go to: http://copperairquality.org.