Anti-viral organic coatings for high touch surfaces based on smart-release, Cu2+ containing pigments

Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable on solid surfaces for up to one week, hence fomites are a potential route of exposure to infectious virus. Copper has well documented antiviral properties that could limit this problem, however practical deployment of copper surfaces has been limited due to the associated costs and the incompatibility of copper metal in specific environments and conditions. We therefore developed an organic coating containing an intelligent-release Cu2+ pigment based on a cation exchange resin. Organic coatings containing a 50 % weight or higher loading of smart-release pigment were capable of completely inactivating (> 6 log reduction in titre) SARS-CoV-2 within 4 h of incubation. Importantly these organic coatings demonstrated a significantly enhanced ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 compared to metallic copper and un-pigmented material. Furthermore, the presence of contaminating proteins inhibited the antiviral activity of metallic copper, but the intelligent-release Cu2+ pigment was unaffected. The approach of using a very basic paint system, based on a polymer binder embedded with smart release pigment containing an anti-viral agent which is liberated by ion-exchange, holds significant promise as a cost effective and rapidly deployed coating to confer virus inacti-vating capability to high touch surfaces.

Automated summary

The study found that organic coatings containing smart-release Cu2+ pigment can completely inactivate SARS-CoV-2 within 4 hours, demonstrating a stronger ability to neutralize the virus compared to metallic copper and un-pigmented material. This simple coating system holds promise as a cost-effective and rapidly deployable solution for virus inactivation on high touch surfaces.