Development of the world’s first stainless steel that kills the COVID19 virus within hours

Leo Poon and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (HKU) developed the world’s first stainless steel that kills the COVID19 virus within hours.

The project team led by Professor Mingxin HUANG at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), in collaboration with Professor Leo Lit Man POON’s research team at the Centre for Immunity and Infection of HKU, has made significant breakthroughs in producing the first anti-pathogen stainless steel that kills the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) on its surface.

The team has been liaising with industrial partners to generate prototypes of public stainless steel products such as lift buttons, doorknobs, and handrails for further tests and trials.

The findings were published in Chemical Engineering Journal on 25 Nov 2021 in the paper titled “Anti-pathogen stainless steel combating COVID-19”.

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Media enquiry: - Ms Celia Lee, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 8519; Email: leecelia@hku.hk) - Mr Heng Cheng, Faculty of Engineering, HKU (Tel: 3917 1924; Email: hengc@hku.hk)