The spread of the new human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has become a global health issue, causing millions of deaths due to complications associated with infections in the respiratory tract. 1 Person-to-person aerial transmission mechanism 2 places the use of masks among the three most important recommendations to contain the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, along with social distancing and sanitation of hands and objects. A recent study suggests that masks could reduce disease severity since they can reduce viral load. 3 Surgery and homemade masks are employed worldwide due to their higher availability and lower price. However, they are prone to rapid contamination due to breathing, manipulation, and interpersonal contact. Virucidal coatings could be applied to the mask surface, enhancing both protection and durability.Several studies have shown the antimicrobial activity of metallic elements, including those from the copper group. 4 Tremiliosi and coworkers reported silver-nanoparticle-based coatings' capability to inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2

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Electrospinning technology was used to produced polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-copper salt composites with structural differences, and their virucidal activity against coronavirus was investigated. The solutions were prepared with 20, 13.3, 10, and 6.6% w/v PVP containing 3, 1.0, 0.6, and 0.2% w/v Cu (II), respectively. The rheological properties and electrical conductivity contributing to the formation of the morphologies of the composite materials were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images revealed the formation of electrospun PVP-copper salt ultrafine composite fibers (0.80 ± 0.35 µm) and electrosprayed PVP-copper salt composite microparticles (1.50 ± 0.70 µm). Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) evidenced the incorporation of copper into the produced composite materials. IR spectra confirmed the chemical composition and showed an interaction of Cu (II) ions with oxygen in the PVP resonant ring. Virucidal composite fibers inactivated 99.999% of coronavirus within 5 min of contact time, with moderate cytotoxicity to L929 cells, whereas the virucidal composite microparticles presented with a virucidal efficiency of 99.999% within 1440 min of exposure, with low cytotoxicity to L929 cells (mouse fibroblast). This produced virucidal composite materials have the potential to be applied in respirators, personal protective equipment, self-cleaning surfaces, and to fabric coat personal protective equipment against SARS-CoV-2, viral outbreaks, or pandemics.

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