Most likely, in most homes there is copper wiring and some utensils made with this material, which stands out for its great durability, resistance to corrosion, and high thermal and electrical conductivity.
From Cobre 29 Spa we want to inform you that this material also has a "superpower" that experts in materials have been able to take advantage of: Its antimicrobial capacity.
Indeed, copper and its alloys (brass, bronze, cupro-nickel alloys, copper-nickel-zinc and others) are natural antimicrobial materials. Ancient civilizations exploited the antimicrobial properties of copper long before the concept of microbes was understood in the 19th century. It has been known for centuries that water contained in copper vessels or transported in copper transport systems was of better quality (i.e. little or no visible slime or biofouling) than water contained or transported in other materials.
The antimicrobial properties of copper are still being actively studied. The molecular mechanisms responsible for the antibacterial action of copper have been the subject of intense research. Scientists are also actively demonstrating the intrinsic efficacy of copper alloy “touch surfaces” in destroying a wide range of microorganisms that threaten public health.
What are the mechanisms of antimicrobial action of copper? In 1852, Victor Burq discovered that human groups that worked with copper had far fewer deaths from cholera than others, and he did extensive research that confirmed this. In 1867 he presented his findings to the French Academies of Science and Medicine, informing them that putting copper on the skin was effective in preventing someone from contracting cholera.
The so-called oligodynamic effect of copper was discovered in 1893 as a toxic effect of metal ions on living cells, algae, molds, spores, fungi, viruses, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, even in relatively low concentrations. This antimicrobial effect is shown by both copper ions and mercury, silver, iron, lead, zinc, bismuth, gold and aluminum ions.
In 1973, researchers at the prestigious North American institution Battelle Columbus Laboratories conducted an exhaustive literature, technology, and patent search that traced the history of understanding the "bacteriostatic and disinfectant properties of copper and copper alloy surfaces," which demonstrated that copper, in very small amounts, has the power to control a wide range of harmful molds, fungi, algae and microbes: from the tuberculosis bacillus to different species of paramecia and other protozoa, to a multitude of harmful fungi.
Antimicrobial mechanisms are very complex and take place in many ways, both within microbial cells and in the interstitial spaces between them.
Researchers currently believe that the most important antimicrobial mechanisms of copper are the following:
– Elevated levels of copper inside a cell cause oxidative stress and the generation of hydrogen peroxide (so-called hydrogen peroxide). Under these conditions, copper participates in the so-called Fenton-type reaction, a chemical reaction that causes oxidative damage to cells.
– Excess copper causes a decrease in the integrity of the membrane of microbes, which leads to the leakage of specific essential cellular nutrients, such as potassium and glutamate. This leads to desiccation and subsequent cell death.
– Although copper is necessary for many protein functions, in a situation of excess (such as being in contact with a copper alloy surface), then copper binds to proteins that do not need copper for their function. This "inappropriate" binding leads to loss of function of the protein and/or breakdown of the protein into non-functional parts.
In the interest of protecting public health, especially in healthcare settings with susceptible patient populations, numerous peer-reviewed antimicrobial efficacy studies of the efficacy of copper in killing Escherichia coli, resistant Staphylococcus aureus, have been conducted over the past ten years. to methicillin, Staphylococcus, Clostridium difficile, influenza A virus, adenovirus and fungi.
Stainless steel was also investigated because it is an important surface material in today's healthcare environments. The studies cited here, in addition to others conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, resulted in the registration in 2008 of 274 different copper alloys as certified antimicrobial materials having public health benefits.
A typical case is that of the Escherichia coli bacterium, which is a highly infectious potent pathogen, risk group 3 of the ACDP (Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, United Kingdom), which is transmitted by food and water. The bacteria produce potent toxins that cause diarrhea, severe pain, and nausea in infected people. Symptoms of serious infections include hemolytic colitis (bloody diarrhea), hemolytic uremic syndrome (kidney disease), and sometimes death. Escherichia coli has become a serious threat to public health due to its increasing incidence as children up to 14 years of age, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals are at risk of the most severe symptoms.
Well, recent studies have shown that more than 99.9% of Escherichia coli microbes are killed after just 1-2 hours on copper. However on stainless steel surfaces, microbes can survive for weeks.
Indeed, and unlike copper alloys, stainless steel does not have any degree of bactericidal properties against E. coli. This material, which is one of the most common touch surface materials in the healthcare industry, however allows toxic E. coli to remain viable for weeks.
For all these reasons, in recent years it has become evident that copper surfaces with which pathogens can come into contact, that is, metallic copper contact surfaces, can help reduce hygiene problems, admits the Society American Institute of Microbiology (AEM). For example, dry copper surfaces in laboratory and hospital settings have been shown to have high killing efficacy against a wide range of microbes.
Fortunately, copper dominates in all the spaces of COBRE29 SPA, making your stay in our facilities, bathrooms, massage rooms, changing rooms and social spaces, an initiation rite of healthy beauty!
