Development of antituberculosis melt-blown polypropylene filters coated with mangosteen extracts for medical face mask applications

The aim of this article was to develop a three-layer mask, which was made of a polypropylene filter containing mangosteen extract by spray-coating technique in order to enhance antibacterial and antituberculosis activities. The bacterial filtration efficiency was performed by spraying the biological aerosol through the filters. Breathability of face masks was also measured as a pressure drop parameters. The physical properties of filters were evaluated in terms of surface morphology and water contact angle. The coated filters were then challenged with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as the representative bacteria. The results showed that the increase in the mangosteen extract concentration for coating caused fiber diameter, hydrophilicity, % BFE (>95%) and pressure drop of filters to be also increased. Investigation into release characteristic of mangosteen extract-coated polypropylene filters exhibited initial burst release after 60min of immersion in a phosphate buffer solution. The coated filter exhibited good antibacterial performances against three types of pathogens. An in vitro cytotoxic test showed that 2% and 5% w/v mangosteen extract-coated polypropylene filters were not toxic by an indirect cytotoxicity test using L929 mouse fibroblast cells. This study demonstrated that the filters coated with mangosteen extract significantly play an important role in achieving antibacterial face mask.