Researchers have developed a brand new N95 face masks that may not solely cut back COVID-19 unfold but in addition kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus upon contact with it. The masks can probably be worn longer, inflicting much less plastic waste because it doesn’t must be changed as continuously, the researchers mentioned.
“We think the work is a first step toward longer-lasting, self-sterilising personal protective equipment, such as the N95 respirator,” mentioned Edmund Palermo, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute within the US. “It may help reduce transmission of airborne pathogens in general,” Palermo mentioned.
In analysis lately revealed within the journal Applied ACS Materials and Interfaces, the group efficiently grafted broad-spectrum antimicrobial polymers onto the polypropylene filters utilized in N95 face masks.
“The active filtration layers in N95 masks are very sensitive to chemical modification. It can make them perform worse in terms of filtration, so they essentially no longer perform like N95s. They are made out of polypropylene, which is difficult to chemically modify,”.
“Another challenge is that you don’t want to disrupt the very fine network of fibres in these masks, which might make them more difficult to breathe through,” Zha added.
The group, together with researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) within the US, connected antimicrobial quaternary ammonium polymers to the fibre surfaces of nonwoven polypropylene materials utilizing ultraviolet (UV)-initiated grafting.
“The process that we developed uses a really simple chemistry to create this non-leaching polymer coating that can kill viruses and bacteria by essentially breaking open their outer layer,” mentioned Zha. “It’s very straightforward and a potentially scalable method,” Zha famous.
The group used solely UV mild and acetone of their course of, that are broadly out there, to make it straightforward to implement. The course of might be utilized to already manufactured polypropylene filters, reasonably than necessitating the event of recent ones, the researchers mentioned.
The group did see a lower in filtration effectivity when the method was utilized on to the filtration layer of N95 masks, however the answer is easy, they mentioned. The person might put on an unaltered N95 masks together with one other polypropylene layer with the antimicrobial polymer on prime, in keeping with the researchers.
In the longer term, producers might make a masks with the antimicrobial polymer integrated into the highest layer, they mentioned.
“Hopefully, we are on the other side of the COVID pandemic. But this kind of technology will be increasingly important,” mentioned Zha.
“The threat of diseases caused by airborne microbes is not going away. It’s about time that we improved the performance and sustainability of the materials that we use to protect ourselves,” Zha added.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”