Development of antiviral surfaces to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19

于二零二零年三月，新型人类冠状病毒COVID-19被宣布为大流行。 截至2020年5月21日，世界卫生组织报告了超过480万例确诊病例，其中全球死亡人数超过323，000人。仅在加拿大，确诊感染人数和死亡人数已分别达到8万多人和6,000多人。除了死亡率和患病率上升之外，这一流行病还在全世界造成了严重的社会和经济混乱。该提案的重点是开发热喷涂的内在抗病毒涂层，以减轻SARS-CoV-2病毒的间接传播。这些涂层可应用于触摸表面，如扶手，门把手，电梯按钮，ATM机和各种公共和服务部门（如医院，学校和运输系统）的生物医学器具。另一个重要的目标应用是用于建筑物，飞机和其他交通工具中使用的通风系统中的空气净化。 使用热喷涂，一种以其多功能性，可扩展性和成本效益而闻名的技术，我们打算开发具有TiO 2，Cu 2 O和TiO 2/Cu 2 O等材料的抗病毒涂层。这些材料在暴露于紫外线、可见光甚至在黑暗中时显示出其病毒杀灭和抗病原体特性的前景。这可以提供一种创新的方法来抑制病毒感染的传播，更具体地说，基于高效，低成本和环保的技术，COVID-19疾病。

In March 2020, the new human coronavirus disease COVID-19 was declared pandemic. As of May 21, 2020, the World Health Organization has reported over 4.8 million confirmed cases, including over 323,000 deaths worldwide. Only in Canada, the number of confirmed infections and deaths have reached over 80,000 and 6,000, respectively. Apart from the elevated rates of death and illness, this pandemic has caused major social and economic disruption throughout the world. This proposal is focused on development of thermally sprayed intrinsic antiviral coatings in order to mitigate the indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. These coatings can be applied on touch surfaces such as the handrails, doorknobs, elevator buttons, ATM machines, and biomedical appliances in various public and service departments such as hospitals, schools, and the transport system. Another important targeted application is for air purification in the ventilation systems used in buildings, airplanes and other means of transport. Using thermal spray, a technology known for its versatility, scalability and cost-effectiveness, we intend to develop antiviral coatings with materials such as TiO2, Cu2O, and TiO2/Cu2O. These materials have shown promise for their virus killing and anti-pathogen properties when exposed to UV light, visible light, and even in the dark. This could provide an innovative approach to inhibit the spread of viral infections, and more specifically the COVID-19 disease, based on a highly efficient, low-cost and environmentally friendly technology.