The project developed from a project initiated by my husband, Dr. Harold T. Michels, PhD, while at the Copper Development Association, New York. Having seen a nursing school report that brass doorknobs had lower bacterial contamination than those made of stainless steel, he initiated a program designed to confirm and expand this report. Along with several collaborators, he has demonstrated that copper and copper alloy surfaces have anti-microbial activity and are capable of killing bacteria, fungi, and viruses upon contact. Anti-microbial copper reduced bioload contamination in medical ICU's 83% and infection rates 58%.  (H.T. Michels PubMed)

Dr. C. A. Michels, in collaboration with Associate Professor Nidhi Gadura of Queensborough Community College - CUNY, are investigating the mechanism of killing in order to understand why resistant mutant strains do not arise. This is a very important issue to insure that the installation of copper-alloy surfaces in hospitals and other public venues will lead to long-term anti-microbial actions and cost-effective. Their studies listed below suggest that copper-surface resistance is likely lethal.

Hong, R, T.Y. Kang, C.A. Michels, and N. Gadura, 2012. Membrane lipid peroxidation in copper alloy-mediated contact killing of Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 78: 1776-1784. pdf

San, K, J. Long, C.A. Michels, and N. Gadura, 2015. Antimicrobial copper alloy surfaces are effective against vegetative but not sporulated cells of Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis. pdf