Laboratory testing of Antimicrobial Copper reveal 3 key benefits.
Extensive laboratory testing has proven that Antimicrobial Copper continuously kills bacteria*, never wears out, and is safe to use.
In order to obtain the only EPA public health registration for a
touch surface material, Antimicrobial Copper alloys had to
demonstrate efficacy under rigorous, EPA-approved test protocols.
Three test protocols were developed to test Antimicrobial Copper's
ability to kill bacteria* that cause infections. A
description of the testing is provided below:
Required Testing for Regulatory Approval
The three EPA approved Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) test
protocols used to register Antimicrobial Copper with public health
claims are:
1. Efficacy as a Sanitizer-which measures viable bacterial
count after two hours.
2. Residual Self-Sanitizing Activity-which measures
bacterial count before and after six wet and dry wear cycles during
which bacteria are added in a standard wear apparatus (shown as a
schematic in Figure 1).
3. Continuous Reduction of Bacterial Contaminants-which
measures bacteria after inoculating an alloy surface eight times in
a 24-hour period without intermediate cleaning or wiping.
Figure 1: Residual Self-Sanitizing test protocol
schematic.
The results of the 216 GLP tests, involving three test
protocols, two to three lots of six different alloys, and six
bacteria*, are summarized in Table 1. In both the Efficacy as a
Sanitizer test and Residual Self-Sanitizing test (wear test), a
reduction in live bacteria greater than 99.9% is seen in all
seventy two tests when compared to S304. In the Continuous
Reduction of Bacterial Contaminants test, a reduction of greater
than 99.9% is found in sixty-three out of the seventy-two tests,
again when compared to S304. In the remaining nine tests,
reductions ranged from 99.3% to 99.9%. In summary, a
reduction greater than 99.9% was seen on 207 out of 216 tests. The
reduction seen in the remaining nine tests ranged from 99.3% to
99.9%. These results indicate that the antimicrobial response of
copper alloys is effective, enduring and reproducible.
Figure 2: Continuous Reduction test results for
MRSA on copper alloy C11000 and stainless steel S30400. Each
inoculation adds 650,000 CFUs. - Click on graph to
enlarge
Table 1: Average Percent Reduction of Bacterial Contamination
(Good Laboratory Practice Studies)
|
|
Group
|
Alloy
|
%Cu
|
S.aureus
|
E.aerogenes
|
MRSA
|
P.aeruginosa
|
E. coli O157:H7
|
|
Efficacy as a sanitizer
|
I
|
C110
|
99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
II
|
C510
|
94.8
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
III
|
C706
|
88.6
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
IV
|
C260
|
70
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
V
|
C752
|
65
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
VI
|
C280
|
60
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Residual Self Sanitizing
|
I
|
C110
|
99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
II
|
C510
|
94.8
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
III
|
C706
|
88.6
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
IV
|
C260
|
70
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
V
|
C752
|
65
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
VI
|
C280
|
60
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuous Reduction
|
I
|
C110
|
99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
II
|
C510
|
94.8
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
III
|
C706
|
88.6
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
IV
|
C260
|
70
|
99.6
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
V
|
C752
|
65
|
99.7
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
|
|
VI
|
C280
|
60
|
99.8
|
>99.9
|
99.9
|
>99.9
|
>99.9
|
* Laboratory testing shows that, when cleaned regularly,
Antimicrobial Copper™ kills greater than 99.9% of the following
bacteria within 2 hours of exposure: MRSA,
Vancomycin-ResistantEnterococcus faecalis (VRE),
Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter
aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
and E. coli O157:H7. Antimicrobial Copper surfaces
are a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection
control practices and have been shown to reduce microbial
contamination, but do not necessarily prevent cross contamination;
users must continue to follow all current infection control
practices. Michels et al, Lett Appl Microbiol,
49 (2009) 191-195 demonstrated that Antimicrobial Copper™
outperforms two commercially available silver-containing coatings
under typical indoor conditions.