JBS Couros launches antiviral leather

Leader in the leather processing market introduces new JBS V-Block technology with Silver microparticles to produce leather that inactivates bacterias and viruses including Covid-19

SÃO PAULO, July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JBS Couros has announced the launch of JBS V-Block technology, which inactivates the SARS-Cov-2 virus, the cause of Covid-19. At processing stage, a silver microparticle additive is added to the leather coating   providing it with antiviral qualities.

"Our leather has undergone scientific tests that prove the inactivation of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. The application of this new technology sets a new standard in leather production. It not only inactivates the spread of viruses including Covid-19 but assists in the preservation of the material making it ideal for use in surfaces that are used regularly or come into contact with a number of people meaning there is potential increased exposure to Covid and other viruses, such as furniture, seating and vehicle steering wheels or items such as clothing, bags and wallets.", says Guilherme Motta, president of JBS Couros.

In tests conducted in the level 3 biosafety laboratory (NB3) of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (ICB-USP), the material showed 99% inactivation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 30 minutes from contact with viral particles.  "The use of this technology increases the contact surface of silver and its prominence in the leather, enabling antiviral action," says researcher Lucio Freitas, who participated in the tests of the new material. The tests were made in accordance with the international standard ISO 21702, which establishes the most appropriate methods to detect antiviral activity in plastics and non-poral surfaces.

The microparticles are constructed from the synthesis of silver salts - an element chosen for their recognized antiviral action - and stabilized by synthesis technology. "Silver microparticles are able to inactivate the virus by two mechanisms: in its membrane - where they break this external coating of the virus and inactivate its entry into the host cells and, in RNA (or DNA), where they oxidize the genetic material of the exposed virus, inactivating its multiplication capacity", says materials scientist Daniel Minozzi, founder and director of Nanox, a company specializing in new materials and antimicrobials that developed the additive used by JBS Couros.

Learn more about JBS V-Block in http://www.jbscouros.com/vblock/en.

Contact: JBS – Diretoria de Comunicação Corporativa +55 11 3144-7997 | 4996 | 5364