Metals like silver, gold and copper can kill bacteria and viruses. An electric current can also eliminate microorganisms. A team of U of A researchers combined the two approaches and created a new type of antimicrobial surface.

“It is a synergistic effect,” said physicist Yong Wang, one of the lead researchers on the project. “It’s not like 1+1=2. When we combine the two, it’s much more effective.”

In lab tests, the new technology, which uses thin nanowires of silver to carry a microampere electric current, eliminated all the E. coli bacteria on glass surfaces.