Friday, January 16th, 2009

Antimicrobial Copper?

A laptop with copper surfaces used in the clinical trials of copper as an antimicrobial agent. Courtesy Copper Development Association

Using copper for some surfaces might help cut down on hospital-acquired infections. The EPA has registered copper and copper alloys including brass and bronze as antimicrobial materials, allowing an industry trade group, the Copper Development Association, to claim that copper "kills 99.9% of bacteria within two hours." Studies submitted by the trade group when seeking the ruling looked at the actions of the copper materials on organisms including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli O157:H7. We'll talk about what's known about copper as an antimicrobial.