POP goes the virus!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Just think about all the germs we touch everyday. Eek! Who knows how many contaminated surfaces we bump into. It’s impossible to keep them clean.
Or is it? What if we could kill viruses and bacteria as soon as they land on our counters?
Samson Mah and team from R-M-I-T University in Melbourne may have found a way.
First, they carved into silicon wafers using hot plasma. Yum. This created a surface covered in tiny spikes! Then they added harmful respiratory viruses and bacteria responsible for hospital infections onto the spiky surface.
Results? Microscopy imaging showed that after six hours, the shape of the respiratory virus was deflated. There was also a ninety-six percent decrease in infectious particles! AND fifteen to 30 percent of the bacteria died after eighteen hours!
These spiky surfaces could be useful in places like doctors’ offices or hospitals
I guess now we can say to harmful microbes …EN GARDE! (Or just “ouch.”)
Reference: Samson W. L. Mah, Denver P. Linklater, Vassil Tzanov, Phuc H. Le, Chaitali Dekiwadia, Edwin Mayes, Ranya Simons, Daniel J. Eyckens, Graeme Moad, Soichiro Saita, Saulius Joudkazis, David A. Jans, Vladimir A. Baulin, Natalie A. Borg, and Elena P. Ivanova. ACS Nano 2024 18 (2), 1404-1419
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c07099