This article is a Preprint
Preprints are preliminary research reports that have not been certified by peer review. They should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Preprints posted online allow authors to receive rapid feedback and the entire scientific community can appraise the work for themselves and respond appropriately. Those comments are posted alongside the preprints for anyone to read them and serve as a post publication assessment.
Low-Cost Enhancement of Facial Mask Filtration to Prevent Transmission of COVID-19 (preprint)
medrxiv; 2020.
Preprint
in English
| medRxiv | ID: ppzbmed-10.1101.2020.08.01.20166637
ABSTRACT
The use of face masks is recommended worldwide to reduce the spread of COVID-19. A plethora of facial coverings and respirators, both commercial and homemade, pervade the market, but the true filtration capabilities of many homemade measures against the virus are unclear and continue to be unexplored. In this work, we compare the efficacy of the following masks in keeping out particulate matter below 2.5 microns N95 respirators, surgical masks, cloth masks, cloth masks with activated carbon air filters, cloth masks with HVAC air filters, lightly starch-enhanced cloth masks, and heavily-starched cloth masks. The experiments utilize an inhalation system and aerosol chamber to simulate a masked individual respiring aerosolized air. COVID-19 disproportionately affects people in low-income communities, who often lack the resources to acquire appropriate personal protective equipment and tend to lack the flexibility to shelter in place due to their public-facing occupations. This work tests low-cost enhancements to homemade masks to assist these communities in making better masks to reduce viral transmission. Experimental results demonstrate that the filtration efficacy of cloth masks with either a light or heavy starch can approach the performance of much costlier masks. This discovery supports the idea of low-cost enhancements to reduce transmission and protect individuals from contracting COVID-19.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
medRxiv
Main subject:
COVID-19
Language:
English
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Preprint
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS