Researchers have developed a new N95 face mask that can not only reduce COVID-19 spread but also kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus upon contact with it. The mask can potentially be worn longer, causing less plastic waste as it does not need to be replaced as frequently, the researchers said.
“We think the work is a first step toward longer-lasting, self-sterilising personal protective equipment, such as the N95 respirator,” said Edmund Palermo, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the US. “It may help reduce transmission of airborne pathogens in general,” Palermo said.
In research recently published in the journal Applied ACS Materials and Interfaces, the team successfully grafted broad-spectrum antimicrobial polymers onto the polypropylene filters used 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,”.