[Courtesy of Dongkuk Steel]
SEOUL -- South Korea's metal construction material maker Dongkuk Steel has developed an antiviral pre-coated metal plate that can be used for adorning the interior and exterior of a building. The steelmaker promotes its new metal plate as the first of its kind to have antiviral characteristics.
Antimicrobial construction materials that kill microorganisms including bacteria and fungi are commonly available in the market. The most commonly used products are films and metal plates coated with an antimicrobial material. Microorganisms are normally destroyed in less than an hour when they come into contact with the surface of the antimicrobial product.
Dongkuk Steel has upgraded "Luxteel," a metal plate with antiviral coating that can kill 99.9 percent of COVID-19 viruses in 30 minutes. "Because of the antiviral techniques used in the production of Luxsteel, we predict a greater demand in places such as COVID-19 screening centers, surgery rooms, food factories, semiconductor plants and biosimilar factories where the metal plate can be used in and outside buildings," the company said in a statement on March 3.
The market demand for antiviral films soared in South Korea in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Films coated with an antiviral material were used inside buildings to cover handrails and buttons of elevators and door handles.
[Courtesy of Dongkuk Steel]
