Solid brass handles are more COVID-safe, research shows
Recent research has shown that the high copper content in solid brass door and cabinet handles has anti-microbial properties that can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic survives for days on glass and stainless-steel surfaces. However, as soon as it lands on copper, it dies within hours.
Anti-microbial properties discovered in solid brass handles with high copper content
Solid brass has many advantages – its appearance, hand-feel and durability. But there is one attribute that has remained almost unnoticed until 2020.
The solid brass used for our handles has a high copper content, giving it powerful antimicrobial properties. The copper in the brass rapidly removes any bacteria and viruses left on the handle from hand contact. This process has been shown to work several times faster with brass than with silver-based materials and surfaces, also known as a powerful killer of bacteria.
Our solid brass handles by European manufacturer M&T, for example, all contain a minimum of 60% copper, allowing them to destroy any virus or bacteria that land on them.
How the copper in brass destroys viruses
According to the Smithsonian institute , the Coronavirus can live for days on plastic or metal surfaces, making it a hazard to anyone who touches a handle made from these materials. However, once it lands on copper surfaces, either when airborne or by hand-to-surface contact, it soon disintegrates.
British microbiology researcher Bill Keevil, from the UK’s University of Southampton, has studied the antimicrobial effects of copper for decades, watching the metal destroy diseases such as Legionnaire’s Disease, Staphylococcus, MERS and Swine Flu. In each case, copper contact killed the pathogen within minutes. “It just blew it apart,” he says.
How does the copper in brass kill bacteria and viruses?
Heavy metals such as gold and silver are antibacterial, but it is the specific atomic make up of copper that copper’s specific atomic makeup that makes it so effective, according to Keevil. Copper has a free electron in its outer orbital shell that sets it apart from the less reactive silver and gold. Solid brass that uses a high percentage of copper is therefore recommended for a more COVID-safe handle for the home or business premises.
Solid brass handles from Two Tease
At Two Tease we specialise in solid brass handles from premium European manufacturers such as M&T and Jolie Handles.
You can explore our solid brass door handles here and cabinet handles here.
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