Antimicrobial FeO-CuO-PO glasses.

Glasses with high antimicrobial efficacy were developed in the FeO-CuO-PO ternary system to mitigate fomite-mediated transmission of infectious diseases in high-risk settings such as hospitals, daycares, and nursing homes. Binary CuO-PO glasses were not durable enough for use as high touch point articles, so FeO was added to the compositions to increase the chemical durability. The amount of Cu leachate decreased by at least 3 orders of magnitude when FeO was increased from 0 to 13.