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Mumbai, Nov 25 (PTI) The COVID-19 virus survives on surfaces by clinging to thin liquid films, according to a study by IIT-Bombay researchers that provides insights into how the novel coronavirus maintains itself for hours or days on solid surfaces in ambient conditions.
The study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, attributes the novel coronavirus’s long survival time on a surface to the slow evaporation of a thin nanometer liquid film that remains after evaporation of the loose droplet.
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The ability to predict survival of the novel coronavirus on different surfaces can help prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19, the researchers said.
While typical respiratory droplets dry out within seconds, the survival time of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on different surfaces within recent experiments has been found to be on the order of hours, they said.
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This discrepancy suggests an order-of-magnitude difference over time between droplet drying and the survival time of the COVID-19 virus on surfaces, according to the researchers.
The researchers described how a nanometer-thick liquid film adheres to the surface, due to London-van der Waals forces, which allows the COVID-19 virus to survive for hours.
Van der Waals forces include attraction and repulsions between atoms, molecules and surfaces, as well as other intermolecular forces.
“Our model for thin film transport shows that the survival or drying time of a thin liquid film on a surface is on the order of hours and days, similar to what has been observed in virus titer measurements,” said Amit Agrawal, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bombay.
“It captures the relatively longer survival time on plastics and glass than on metals,” Agrawal said.
A titer is the lowest concentration of virus that still infects cells.
The nanoscale film is assumed to be like a pancake deposited on a surface. The researchers briefly examined changes in drying time as a function of contact angle and surface type.
“Our biggest surprise was that the drying time of this nanometer film is on the order of hours,” said Rajneesh Bhardwaj, a professor at IIT Bombay.
“This suggests that the surface is not completely dry and the slowly evaporating nanometer film is providing the means necessary for the coronavirus to survive,” said Bhardwaj.
Because a longer survival time for the virus corresponds to a higher chance of getting infected, the researchers said it is desirable to disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs or portable devices, and inside hospitals and other areas. subject to epidemics.
“We also recommend heating surfaces, because even short-lived high temperatures, at which the surface is at a higher temperature than ambient, can help evaporate the nanoscale film and destroy the virus,” added Bhardwaj. PTI
(This is an unedited story and auto-generated from the syndicated news feed, LatestLY staff may not have edited or edited the body of the content)
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