New Cost-Effective Antimicrobial Surface Protects Hospitality Businesses from Coronaviruses and Bacteria
Keeping staff and customers safe has never been such a priority for hotel, restaurant and bar management. What if, rather than having to wipe down the surfaces after every visitor, the high use areas such as reception desks, counters and bars were actually designed to help fight viruses? Here Stuart Tranter, General Manager of Alanod UK, part of the world’s leading manufacturer of specialised coated metal surfaces, discusses how the company’s latest antimicrobial copper surface can help reduce the transmission of bacteria and viruses, included coronaviruses, whilst looking stylish and sophisticated.
Commonly used materials that are frequently seen in hospitality spaces are those that provide just the right environment for viruses to sit on and remain viable for days at a time. These include materials such as stainless steel, varnished wood and plastic, that are robust, long-lasting and easy to clean, but are also comfortable places for microbes to lurk. There are materials, however, that can play an active role in the battle against infection and one of these is Alanod’s new MIRO® CU unique copper-coated antimicrobial surface.
Long before the development of modern microbiology, people understood that copper or silver vessels helped to preserve foodstuffs and delay spoiling. In fact, ancient civilisations in India and China used copper to prevent and treat disease. Over the years, copper has been shown to have the strongest and longest-lasting antimicrobial effect. Tests on 100-year-old copper handrails installed at New York’s Grand Central Station showed that they were still killing bacteria and viruses as effectively as new material.
Stylish, cost-effective copper
For all its advantages as a hygienic material, pure copper also has some significant pitfalls. It is still a relatively costly metal, for example and it is tricky to work with. However, thanks to development work by Alanod, a new technology is now available that offers all the antimicrobial properties of pure copper in an accessible, versatile and cost-effective format. Called MIRO® CU, this new material uses Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) to permanently bond a layer of copper only 200 nanometres thick onto a sheet of anodised aluminium.
This layer of copper provides enough ions for a lifetime of antimicrobial performance, while the 95% recycled aluminium substrate produces a material that is lightweight, environmentally friendly, easy to handle and cost-effective. Moreover, the bright copper surface is visually stunning when new, and will develop a luxurious patina with time and use.
MIRO® CU is available in two versatile formats. A 0.1mm foil with a self-adhesive backing is easy to cut and bend, making it idea for application to light-switches, door handles and other high touch areas. Alternatively, 0.5mm sheets are suited for the protection of countertops, tables and worksurfaces. These formats make MIRO® CU ideal for manufacturing, servicing or retrofitting to hospitality surfaces that are in frequent contact areas and used by multiple customers and/or staff.
In tests conducted at the EuroVir institute in Germany, Alanod’s MIRO® CU was shown to eliminate up to 99.97% of the bacteria and viruses applied to its surface. When compared to stainless and plastic surfaces, where the virus was still detectable up to three days after application, there is only one logical solution for surfaces that need to protect staff and customers alike.
Open for business
Samples of MIRO® CU are available on request from Alanod and the company is proud to offer the hospitality sector its 40 years of experience in the research, design, development and manufacture of specialised metal materials. As many businesses look for ways to keeping staff and customers safe, surface advancements such as MIRO® CU are proving to be a real game-changer in the fight against coronavirus.