Timber could hold the key to dramatically shortening the lives of viruses on surfaces – with Scots pine, Norwegian spruce, and Oak all found to suppress a range of coronaviruses and enteroviruses within the hour.
That is according to new research, Tree Species-Dependent Inactivation of Coronaviruses and Enteroviruses on Solid Wood Surfaces, which has quantified how timbers suppress viruses. The Finnish study, led by Professor Varpu Marjomäki, examined how long viruses persist on the most common surfaces (including benchtops and cutting boards), all the while screening nature-based compounds for their antiviral functionality.
We found that different wood species like pine, spruce, birch, oak, eucalyptus, and alder naturally displayed broad-spectrum antiviral activity, with varying capacities to inactivate both enveloped and nonenveloped viruses,
Sailee Shroff, one of the researchers involved in the project.
As it stands, enveloped viruses, including coronavirus, can live up to five days on surfaces, while nonenveloped viruses, such as enteroviruses linked to the common cold, can live for several weeks on surfaces, even after disinfecting. However, while past studies have shown that wood has antibacterial and antifungal properties, wood’s ability to inactivate viruses has yet to be studied.
Led by Professor Marjomäki, researchers studied how long enveloped and nonenveloped viruses remained infectious on the surface of six types of wood: Scots pine, silver birch, gray alder, eucalyptus, pedunculate Oak, and Norway spruce.
To determine viral activity, they flushed the surface of a wood sample with a liquid solution at different time points and then placed that solution in a petri dish containing cultured cells. After incubating the cells with the solution, they measured the number (if any) infected with the virus.
Results from the demonstrations with an enveloped coronavirus showed that Pine, spruce, birch, and alder need one hour to completely reduce the virus’ ability to infect cells, with Eucalyptus and Oak needing two hours. In addition, Pine had the fastest onset of antiviral activity, beginning after five minutes. Spruce came in second, showing a sharp drop in infectivity after just 10 minutes.
“For a nonenveloped enterovirus, researchers found that incubation on oak and spruce surfaces resulted in a loss of infectivity within about an hour, with oak having an onset time of 7.5 minutes and spruce after 60 minutes,” according to the study, published in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces earlier this year. “Pine, birch, and eucalyptus reduced the virus’ infectivity after four hours, and alder showed no antiviral effect.”
For Ms Shroff, these findings highlight the potential of wood to limit the spread of viruses. “With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, it is essential to continue exploring new ways to combat the virus and limit its spread in the community.”
The new research comes after Wood Central revealed that glass timber panels (GTP), which combine the visual appeal of high-quality wood materials whilst meeting hygiene requirements, could shake up the $40 billion medical construction industry.
That is according to a new paper published by Sagar Vanapalli and Stefan Reisch, two German researchers, who have tested a new type of hybrid wood that is impermeable to water, easy to clean and resistant to disinfection and chemicals used.
“Glass timber panels (GTP) combine the visual effect of noble and high-quality wood materials while meeting the hygiene requirements for the health and welfare sector,” before adding that the new research “describes the fabrication requirements and techniques of GTP.”
“GTP offers a high-quality wooden surface that meets the same hygiene standards as ceramic, metal, or plastic,” allowing “greater design flexibility and a warmer aesthetic while ensuring that hygiene standards are met.”
