pper ▁on ▁the ▁skin ▁was ▁effective ▁at ▁prevent ing ▁someone ▁from ▁getting ▁ch ol era . ▁ ▁The ▁o lig od ynamic ▁effect ▁was ▁discovered ▁in ▁ 1 8 9 3 ▁as ▁a ▁to xic ▁effect ▁of ▁metal ▁ ions ▁on ▁living ▁cells , ▁alg ae , ▁m olds , ▁sp ores , ▁fung i , ▁vir uses , ▁pro k ary otic , ▁and ▁e uk ary otic ▁micro organ isms , ▁even ▁in ▁relatively ▁low ▁concentr ations . ▁This ▁ant im icro b ial ▁effect ▁is ▁shown ▁by ▁ ions ▁of ▁co pper ▁as ▁well ▁as ▁mer cur y , ▁silver , ▁iron , ▁lead , ▁z inc , ▁b ism uth , ▁gold , ▁and ▁al umin ium . ▁ ▁In ▁ 1 9 7 3 , ▁research ers ▁at ▁Batt elle ▁Columb us ▁Labor ator ies ▁conducted ▁a ▁compreh ensive ▁literature , ▁technology ▁and ▁pat ent ▁search ▁that ▁trac ed ▁the ▁history ▁of ▁understanding ▁the ▁" b acter i ost atic ▁and ▁san it izing ▁properties ▁of ▁co pper ▁and ▁co pper ▁al loy ▁surfaces ", ▁which ▁demonstrated ▁that ▁co pper , ▁in ▁very ▁small ▁quantities , ▁has ▁the ▁power ▁to ▁control ▁a ▁wide ▁range ▁of ▁m olds , ▁fung i , ▁alg ae ▁and ▁harm ful ▁micro bes . ▁Of ▁the ▁ 3 1 2 ▁cit ations ▁mentioned ▁in ▁the ▁review ▁across ▁the ▁time ▁period ▁ 1 8 9 2 – 1 9 7 3 , ▁the ▁observations ▁below ▁are ▁not ew orth y : ▁ ▁Co pper