This article describes the impregnation of copper nanoparticles (CuNP) in a polyester fibre filter that can be used in solid–gas filtration to retain the spread of pathogen microorganisms in indoor environments. The impregnation of the CuNP was achieved by spraying the suspension on the surface of filter media. An acid pretreatment was also evaluated to increase the adhesion between fibre and nanoparticle. The synthesis of the CuNP was done by chemical reduction. The bacterial effect was measured through the contact method for
Escherichia coli
and
Staphylococcus aureus
, and we demonstrate that the presence of CuNP to filter media reduced up to 99.99% of gram‐negative and 99.98% of gram‐positive bacteria. The pretreatment with HCl was a good alternative to filter modification due to the higher adhesion between CuNP and the fibre while the high efficiency against pathogen microorganisms was kept. The modification of filters with CuNP can improve the air quality of indoor environments, vanishing the pathogen microorganisms circulating in the air.
Antimicrobial air filtration techniques have recently been widely studied to enhance indoor air quality and mitigate hazardous airborne microorganisms. Here, CuNPs were incorporated into a commercial polyester fiber surface and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer was used to measure the adherence between fibers and nanoparticles. An acid pretreatment previous CuNP incorporation was effective against the particle release and enhanced the adhesion between particle and fiber. CuNP was a mixture of Cu
0
and Cu
2
O with a diameter size of 90 nm (SEM micrographs). The permeability of the filter was low, in order of 10
–9
m
2
. The activity against pathogens was tested in loco in a real environment using a filtration prototype apparatus. It was observed that the presence of CuNP mitigated the fungi and bacteria growth not only on the surface but also reduced microbe concentrations after passing through the filter. These results show that CuNP can be used as an inhibitor of various microorganisms, making them a good alternative for indoor environments to control indoor air quality.
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