- 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

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 Sao 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 Comunicacao Corporativa +55 11 3144-7997 | 4996 | 
5364

SOURCE  JBS