ABSTRACT
The outbreak of COVID-19 provided a warning sign for society worldwide: that is, we urgently need to explore effective strategies for combating unpredictable viral pandemics. Protective textiles such as surgery masks have played an important role in the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic, while revealing serious challenges in terms of supply, cross-infection risk, and environmental pollution. In this context, textiles with an antivirus functionality have attracted increasing attention, and many innovative proposals with exciting commercial possibilities have been reported over the past three years. In this review, we illustrate the progress of textile filtration for pandemics and summarize the recent development of antiviral textiles for personal protective purposes by cataloging them into three classes: metal-based, carbon-based, and polymer-based materials. We focused on the preparation routes of emerging antiviral textiles, providing a forward-looking perspective on their opportunities and challenges, to evaluate their efficacy, scale up their manufacturing processes, and expand their high-volume applications. Based on this review, we conclude that ideal antiviral textiles are characterized by a high filtration efficiency, reliable antiviral effect, long storage life, and recyclability. The expected manufacturing processes should be economically feasible, scalable, and quickly responsive.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Pandemics/prevention & control , Textiles , Masks , FiltrationABSTRACT
The article presents several news related to long-term effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It highlights effects such as science and technology research budgets has classified as an arm of the national defense force;announcement of U.S. government related to spaceship designate for in-orbit medical treatment of COVID-19 patients;and changes in education with the use of remote, and technology-enhanced classrooms.