Testing of Commercial Masks and Respirators and Cotton Mask Insert Materials using SARS-CoV-2 Virion-Sized Particulates: Comparison of Ideal Aerosol Filtration Efficiency versus Fitted Filtration Efficiency.
Nano Lett
; 20(10): 7642-7647, 2020 10 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-801587
ABSTRACT
Shortages in the availability of personal protective face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic required many to fabricate masks and filter inserts from available materials. While the base filtration efficiency of a material is of primary importance when a perfect seal is possible, ideal fit is not likely to be achieved by the average person preparing to enter a public space or even a healthcare worker without fit-testing before each shift. Our findings suggest that parameters including permeability and pliability can play a strong role in the filtration efficiency of a mask fabricated with various filter media, and that the filtration efficiency of loosely fitting masks/respirators against ultrafine particulates can drop by more than 60% when worn compared to the ideal filtration efficiency of the base material. Further, a test method using SARS-CoV-2 virion-sized silica nanoaerosols is demonstrated to assess the filtration efficiency against nanoparticulates that follow air currents associated with mask leakage.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Respiratory Protective Devices
/
Textiles
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Filtration
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Masks
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Nano Lett
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Acs.nanolett.0c03182
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