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Recent events has triggered an renewed interest in understanding how a virus is able to stay on a surface.

For sake of argument, let's assume we are dealing with a Corona-type virus. One can then speculate that a virus sticks to a (non organic) surface due to a London-force (a Van der Waals force) interaction between the surface and the virus Spike S protein. But I really have no idea and it's just a wild guess.

I'm looking for research and experiments on this topic but I can't find any, most likely because I am not asking Google the right question or using the correct biology language.

How does a virus stay attached to a non-biological surface?
(Are there any "stickiness" measures for this?)

PS. When I say non-biological, I mean glass, metal and plastic.

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    $\begingroup$ It might be useful to look into studies that have been done into colocalization of viruses and bacteria on (organic) biofilms (e.g., ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4993353). $\endgroup$
    – Alex Reynolds
    Commented Feb 10, 2020 at 1:19
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    $\begingroup$ The virus never appears isolated. When it is distributed by droplets or feces that is the transportation medium. And those are sticky by them selfes. $\endgroup$
    – aggsol
    Commented Feb 24, 2020 at 8:28
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    $\begingroup$ @aggsol do aerosol droplets last days attached to surfaces even when said surface appears dry? Is it microscopic? $\endgroup$
    – larry909
    Commented Mar 13, 2020 at 22:40
  • $\begingroup$ @aggsol That's very logical, why don't you make it an answer rather than a comment ? $\endgroup$
    – Quidam
    Commented Jun 17 at 19:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Larry Nothing is dry, check the humidity level with a device. I think it will remains attached to dried organic material maybe. $\endgroup$
    – Quidam
    Commented Jun 17 at 19:13

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The virus never appears isolated. When it is distributed by droplets or feces that is the transportation medium. And those are sticky by itself.

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