Reduction of bacterial burden by copper alloys on high-touch athletic center surfaces

Ibrahim, Zina; Petrusan, Alexandra J.; Hooke, Patrick S.; Hinsa-Leasure, Shannon M.

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2017.08.028

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…The estimate average bacterial burden reduction on copper was 59% for door handles and 33% for handrails. When compared to similar in situ investigations [34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43], these reduction levels may seem lower than those that were observed in several other studies [34,35,36,37,41,42] reaching, for some types of furniture, 90% of reduction [41], but obviously, several different experimental points between these studies and ours can potentially explain these differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among others techniques, such as contact agar plates or wipes [35,37,40,41,42], swabbing is preferred to perform samplings on small area and non-flat surfaces [34,37,38,43], like the door handles and handrails of this study. Due to the size and form of the copper door handles, the area of 10 cm 2 was used here as the standard area to sample, which is a smaller surface than in several other studies where sampled areas were frequently up to 100 cm 2 or more [35,36,37,40,41,42]. Also, peptone water was used as resuspension medium for bacteria, while other studies used media like saline water (0.9%) [34,35,36,37,38] or neutralizing buffers [35,36,37,40,42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Copper Alloy Touch Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities: An Effective Solution to Prevent Bacterial Spreading

et al. 2018

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In the healthcare environment, microorganisms’ cross-transmission between inanimate surfaces and patients or healthcare workers can lead to healthcare-associated infections. A recent interest has grown to create antimicrobial copper touch surfaces, in order to counteract microbial spread in the healthcare environment. For the first time, five French long-term care facilities were at 50% fitted with copper alloys door handles and handrails. Related to the environmental bacterial contamination, 1400 samples were carried out on copper and control surfaces over three years after copper installation. In addition, some copper door handles were taken from the different facilities, and their specific activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was tested in vitro. In comparison to control surfaces, copper door handles and handrails revealed significantly lower contamination levels. This difference was observed in the five long-term care facilities and it persists through the three years of the study. High and extreme levels of bacterial contamination were less frequent on copper surfaces. Although, the antibacterial activity of copper surfaces against MRSA was lowered after three years of regular use, it was still significant as compared to inert control surfaces. Therefore, copper containing surfaces are promising actors in the non-spreading of environmental bacterial contamination in healthcare facilities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper Alloy Touch Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities: An Effective Solution to Prevent Bacterial Spreading

et al. 2018

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“…Copper (Cu) is one such metal that is essential in eukaryotes and prokaryotes but is highly toxic when present in excess. Indeed, Cu alloys are used for controlling bacterial surface contaminations [ 3 ]. Furthermore, human macrophages pump copper into their phagosomes after engulfing pathogenic bacteria to induce oxidative stress and bacterial cell death [ 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cu Homeostasis in Bacteria: The Ins and Outs

et al. 2020

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Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for all living organisms and used as cofactor in key enzymes of important biological processes, such as aerobic respiration or superoxide dismutation. However, due to its toxicity, cells have developed elaborate mechanisms for Cu homeostasis, which balance Cu supply for cuproprotein biogenesis with the need to remove excess Cu. This review summarizes our current knowledge on bacterial Cu homeostasis with a focus on Gram-negative bacteria and describes the multiple strategies that bacteria use for uptake, storage and export of Cu. We furthermore describe general mechanistic principles that aid the bacterial response to toxic Cu concentrations and illustrate dedicated Cu relay systems that facilitate Cu delivery for cuproenzyme biogenesis. Progress in understanding how bacteria avoid Cu poisoning while maintaining a certain Cu quota for cell proliferation is of particular importance for microbial pathogens because Cu is utilized by the host immune system for attenuating pathogen survival in host cells.

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“…Copper compounds have been used for their antimicrobial properties since ancient times [ 14 ], and many different microorganisms are rapidly killed by copper ions [ 15 , 16 ]. Recently, copper alloys have been approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Reg 82012-1 [ 17 ]), due to their effective antimicrobial properties, on important bacteria such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) [ 18 , 19 ], Salmonella enterica [ 20 ], and E. coli O157 [ 21 ], as well as on bacteriophages [ 22 , 23 ] and Norovirus [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, copper alloys have been approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Reg 82012-1 [ 17 ]), due to their effective antimicrobial properties, on important bacteria such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) [ 18 , 19 ], Salmonella enterica [ 20 ], and E. coli O157 [ 21 ], as well as on bacteriophages [ 22 , 23 ] and Norovirus [ 24 ]. Copper is used not only for medical applications but is also used for surfaces [ 16 ], since it can prevent the spread of pathogens more effectively than stainless steel alone [ 18 ] or silver [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper Kills Escherichia coli Persister Cells

et al. 2020

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Due to their reduced metabolism, persister cells can survive most antimicrobial treatments, which usually rely on corrupting active biochemical pathways. Therefore, molecules that kill bacterial persisters should function in a metabolism-independent manner. Some anti-persister compounds have been found previously, such as the DNA-crosslinkers mitomycin C and cisplatin, but more effective and lower cost alternatives are needed. Copper alloys have been used since ancient times due to their antimicrobial properties, and they are still used in agriculture to control plant bacterial diseases. By stopping transcription with rifampicin and by treating with ampicillin to remove non-persister cells, we created a population that consists solely of Escherichia coli persister cells. Using this population of persister cells, we demonstrate that cupric compounds kill E. coli persister cells. Hence, copper ions may be used in controlling the spread of important bacterial strains that withstand treatment with conventional antimicrobials by forming persister cells.

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Reduction of bacterial burden by copper alloys on high-touch athletic center surfaces

Abstract: Copper alloys can mitigate the bacterial burden on high-touch surfaces. Strategically placing copper alloys in areas of high human contact can augment infection control efforts and potentially decrease community-acquired infections in athletic centers.

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Copper Alloy Touch Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities: An Effective Solution to Prevent Bacterial Spreading

Copper Alloy Touch Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities: An Effective Solution to Prevent Bacterial Spreading

Cu Homeostasis in Bacteria: The Ins and Outs

Copper Kills Escherichia coli Persister Cells

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