Journal
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.2c00440
Keywords
facemask; nanofibrous air filters; antibacterial; antiviral; curcumin
Funding
- Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham [K-COVID-20-615]
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A three-layered nanofilter mask has been designed with high filtration efficiency and biocidal activity. The mask has good breathability and can be reused multiple times.
The current COVID-19 pandemic situation has posed a significant threat to human health. This calls for versatile facemask filters with high filtration efficiency and biocidal activity. Herein, we have rationally designed a three-layered nanofilter mask consisting of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) and curcumin as a nanocoating on a polypropylene spunbond membrane. The nanomask thus developed had a particulate filtration efficiency of 96.8 +/- 0.1%, with good breathability (64 +/- 2 Pa) and a high quality factor (0.052 +/- 0.0005 Pa-1) for a coating thickness of similar to 20 mu m. An aerosol filtration efficiency of >99.99% was achieved for both bacteria and bacteriophages (a virus surrogate). Curcumin loading into the nanocoating induced significant contact-killing efficiency against bacteria and bacteriophages, implying the high biocidal activity presented by the nanomask. Furthermore, this mask could be reused up to 30 times after successive washing and drying, without alterations in its particle-filtration efficiency or fibrous morphology. Thus, by adopting a simple, scalable technique, a nanomask with manifold features was developed that satisfies the essential demands of air filtration in the current pandemic era.
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