Development and Validation of Sars-Cov-2 Antiviral Coatings for High-touch Critical Surfaces

In the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the development of antiviral high-touch surfaces is a promising solution to limit the fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus in public spaces. Recent research results have demonstrated superior performance of copper in inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to other common hard surfaces (e.g. plastic, stainless steel). In this work, copper-based antiviral coatings are fabricated using cold spray. The microstructure and surface state of the coatings are tailored through using different cold spray process parameters and surface modification methods to maximize the antiviral activity. For preliminary screening, the coatings are tested against a human coronavirus that resembles SARS-CoV-2 to evaluate their killing effectiveness. The best performing coatings are then subjected to SARS-CoV-2 virus testing. After virus testing, surface characterization of the coatings and wet chemical analysis of the virus containing solutions are performed to understand the virus inactivation mechanism. It is also demonstrated in this work that coating strategies could be quickly applied to existing surfaces in various public locations, such as airports.