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Copper alloys have bactericidal activity and applied to touch surface to suppress the transmission of pathogens via material surface. The touch surface is exposed to real life conditions, which are lower in humidity than that in laboratory testing conditions. In this study, the antibacterial activity of copper and its alloys was systematically investigated by a method simulating droplet transmission under controlled humidity (60 and 35%RH) with Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. Corrosion rate of copper was estimated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy under the controlled humidity.
The all materials decreased their antibacterial activity with reduction in humidity. At both high and low humidity, the materials with high copper contents had the higher antibacterial activity than those with lower copper contents. The corrosion rate of copper decreased with reduction in humidity, suggesting the importance of copper ion release at the surface for their antibacterial activity.

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Keyword: antibacterial tests, copper and copper alloys, relative humidity, droplet transmission, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Date published: 2026-01-01

Publisher: Japan Institute of Metals

Journal:

• MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS (ISSN: 13459678) vol. 67 issue. 1 p. 83-91 MT-M2025099

Funding:

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.mt-m2025099

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Updated at: 2025-12-25 15:45:11 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-12-26 08:19:17 +0900