Abstract
Copper has long been known as a metal with outstanding antimicrobial properties. Although ancient healers were not familiar with the mechanisms of its influence on microorganisms, they had empirically established its effectiveness in sterilizing drinking water, disinfecting wounds, treating skin diseases, various infections and other maladies. Recently, there has been renewed interest in investigating copper and its alloys as possible materials that can limit the spread of bacteria and viruses, given that humanity is often facing various local epidemics, and rarely pandemics, as ongoing Corona virus, SARS CoV-2, first detected in March 2020. This paper reviews the recent literature in the research field of antimicrobial properties of metallic copper, its alloys and other copper - based materials, with the aim to promote their future implementation on contact surfaces, primarily in hospitals and institutions with a high frequency of people where the probability of spreading infection is increased.
Highlights
Copper is one of the first metals known to human civilization, which was, due to its discovery in the native form, used 10.000 years ago in Western Asia
The results showed that the growth of bacteria on copper and brass surface was almost completely stopped, with the effect of brass self-cleaning being achieved in a maximum of 7 hours, while copper self-disinfected in 15 min from some microbial species
The toxic effect of copper on microorganisms was used in agriculture to control bacterial and fungal plant diseases [13], which later led to the first detailed studies of the biocidal properties of copper [14]
Summary
Copper is one of the first metals known to human civilization, which was, due to its discovery in the native form, used 10.000 years ago in Western Asia. Copper was used for medical purposes in the ancient Greece and Rome, in order to treat lung diseases, eye infections and disinfect fresh wounds. In 1939, German medical researchers discovered that workers in copper mines and smelters did not suffer from arthritis during their active working in those facilities. The spread of antibiotic resistance has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, frequently present in hospitals, nursing homes, food processing plants and commercial animal farms This has triggered the need for different approaches and research to keep these pathogenic microorganisms under control. The results of the study revealed that none of the tested pathogens survived in drinking water stored in copper vessels, even after enrichment with bacterial cultures. This study confirmed the knowledge of ancient healers that copper has got the amazing health properties
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