Over the last sixteen years we have worked with copper for its aesthetic qualities. Enriching and warming our palette of liquid metals, copper has added elegance to many of our cast bronze works.
In recent months we have become increasingly aware of the antimicrobial properties of this metal, discovering that it kills viruses and bacteria within a few hours of contact. According to Bill Keevil (Professor of Environmental Healthcare at the University of Southampton), copper doesn’t just kill these pathogens ‘it destroys them, right down to the nucleic acids, or reproductive blueprints, so there is no chance of mutation [or evolution]’.
Upon learning this, we had our Based Upon BC50 bronze liquid metal (our most commonly used high copper content tone) tested to the standard ISO 12702 - the measurement of antiviral activity on plastics and other non-porous surfaces. We are pleased to share that our surface killed 99% of human coronavirus NL63 within 2 hours. to put this in perspective: when coronaviruses lands on other surfaces, such as stainless steel, the virus can live for up to four days. This result means we already have existing bronze works killing bacteria and viruses out in the world.
