Researchers win Emerald Literati Award for proving Additive Manufacturing material kills Covid-19

The successful collaboration project found that an additively manufactured antiviral copper-tungsten-silver (Cu-W-Ag) material killed 100% of the Covid-19 virus (Courtesy University of Wolverhampton)

Researchers at the University of Wolverhampton have been announced as the winners of the Emerald Literati Award 2022, recognized for their contribution to ‘outstanding scholarly research’ after their successful collaboration project found that an additively manufactured antiviral copper-tungsten-silver (Cu-W-Ag) material kills 100% of the Covid-19 virus.

In 2021, the University of Wolverhampton’s Additive Manufacturing Functional Materials (AMFM) research group and the Catholic University of Valencia’s Biomaterials and Bioengineering Lab published a new research report titled ‘Additive Manufacturing of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Copper-Tungsten-Silver alloy.’ The project was led by the University of Wolverhampton’s Dr Arun Arjunan, Dr John Robinson and Dr Ahmad Baroutaji, who partnered with Dr Ángel Serrano-Aroca’s group to assess the antiviral performance of Additive Manufacturing materials that could offer the potential for preventative virus transmission and on-demand manufacturing.

Dr Arun Arjunan, Director of the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Research (CEIR) at the University, shared “The Covid-19 pandemic brought forth unprecedented challenges, and our study demonstrates how redistributed manufacturing of 3D printed antiviral materials can play a pivotal role in providing rapid and effective solutions.”

“The study not only presents a novel methodology for 3D printing the Cu-W-Ag alloy, but it also showcases the potential of redistributed manufacturing in responding to the evolving challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our work opens up new possibilities in the fight against the virus and paves the way for innovative approaches to tackling future pandemics,” Dr Arjunan concluded.