During the past several months, we all have had our lives affected not only in Canada, and North America, but also around the world by Covid-19. With the current pandemic of this deadly virus, increasing awareness and supporting the implementation of antimicrobial/antibacterial materials is imperative for our industry. Therefore, we wanted to share some information that may, and should be of interest, specifically the Antimicrobial benefits of Copper and its alloys.
For more than 5000 years civilizations around the world have acknowledged, and understood the health benefits that Copper possesses. It is a self sterilizing, antimicrobial element. Copper, Brass, and Bronze kill greater than 99.9% of many bacteria within 2 hours of exposure, and will continue to kill bacteria offering long term protection whereas “Antimicrobial coatings” are fragile, and can deteriorate wearing off over time.
How copper kills bacteria is through the release of copper ions (electrically charged particles) which prevent cell respiration when transferred to a copper surface through touch, coughing or sneezing. These ions create holes in a bacterial cell membrane and destroy the DNA & RNA inside. The use of copper alloys for frequently touched surfaces can help reduce the amount of disease causing bacteria in Health care facilities, Schools, Universities, Mass Transit systems i.e. buses, street car, subways, and trains. Applications include door and furniture hardware, hand and bed rails, faucets, sinks, work stations. The list of potential opportunities to convert to copper based alloys are endless once imagined.
At Gamma Foundries Inc. We cast a variety of antimicrobial copper alloy products (Copper, Brass, and Bronze). We are conscious of the importance in helping others and we are also committed to assist our valued customers with their casting requirements. We can engineer, design, mold and cast to your needs. Antimicrobial Copper alloy castings can be a solution to help improve health, and safety in our world during this moment of need.
We at Gamma Foundries want to encourage people to move forward towards safety, and we want to thank all of our front line workers for supporting us in this hard task of keeping us all safe. We are all in this together, and with time we are confident we will overcome, and prosper.
