Aereus Technologies Inc. is a Toronto-based, start-up company that has developed a novel process for coating wood, plastics and metals (or other surfaces) with copper. The benefit of the copper coating is that copper is known to have intrinsic antimicrobial properties. A variety of copper-coated products have been developed by Aereus including: chair arms, door handles door push plates, ceramic floor tiles and wood siding. Other non-copper alloys in a variety of colours may also be impregnated through the Aereus process. Aereus is working with George Brown College to evaluate the effectiveness of their coating process in reducing contaminants in a clinical environment.