HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Egyptians were the first to mention the antimicrobial effects of copper in 2600 BC. They used copper vessels to sanitize drinking water and also to treat chest wounds. In papyrus circa 1500 BC, it was stated that various adaptations of copper were used to treat infections, scalds, and itching (18). In Cyprus, a Greek island, copper was found in large quantities, and therefore, it was used frequently by the ancient Greeks. This is also the basis from which the Latin name for copper, cuprus, was derived. In the Hippocratic Collection, which was partially written by the great Greek physician Hippocrates (460 to 377 BC), it was stated that copper-containing wound dressings were recommended to treat leg ulcers, and infection of fresh wounds was prevented by sprinkling dry copper powder on the wound. In another important first-century medical writing, De Medicina, written by the Roman Aulus Cornelius Celsus, copper is mentioned as an important drug for practicing physicians, namely, to treat venereal diseases and nonhealing chronic ulcers. During the two great European cholera epidemics in the 19th century, copper suppressed a cholera outbreak among workers in the copper industry (19).

Despite the demonstrated benefits, interest in copper diminished due to the limited understanding of the mechanisms of antimicrobial action and basis of promotion of wound healing, but more importantly, it was superseded by the discovery of antibiotics.

（To be continued）

Copy from cmr.asm.org

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