FOOD -PLASTIC- WRAP : ANTI-VIRUS STUDY

Plastic food wrap can inactivate virus. PVC film eradicates 99.9% of Covid-19 particles in 15 minutes.

Researchers. scientists and doctors have been closely studying the Covid-19 infection ever since its outbreak in March last year.

A recent study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo's Biomedical Sciences Institute, has found that transparent stretchable plastic [PVC] film used in the packing of meat, fruit, other foods, and to protect surfaces, can inactivate coronavirus, reported National Herald India.

Marketed by Brazilian plastics manufacturer Alpes, the material comprises silver and silica nanoparticles, a technology developed and licensed by Nanox. In tests conducted at the university, the PVC film proved capable of eradicating 79.9% of the particles of SARS-CoV-2 in three minutes and 99.9% of the particles in approximately 15 minutes.

''Elimination of the virus by the material was extremely effective and fast,'' said study author Lucio Freitas Junior from ICB-USP, adding. ''It's a very different application from the more than 40 products that attack the novel coronavirus tested by us since the start of the pandemic.''

The film was tested against ISO 21702 : 2019, the technical standard governing the measurement of antiviral activity on plastic and other non-porous surfaces, and requiring demonstration of this capability within four hours.

Samples of the material and without silver-silica nanoparticles kept in direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 for different amounts of time.

After the requited periods, the viral particles found in the material were removed and placed in contact with Vero cells to measure the infection and replication rate after exposure of the film.

For the unversed, Vero cells are derived from the kidney of an African money and widely used in microbiological cultures.

The viral genetic material was quantified by PCR, showing a reduction of almost 100% in copies of SARS-CoV-2 after 15 minutes of exposure to the film.

''Considering its use in wrapping for food products that are exposed and handled in supermarkets, 15 minutes for the film to eliminate the virus completely from the surface of the material is satisfactory,'' researchers noted. [The Express Tribune]