Lifetime of sessile saliva droplets in the context of SARS-CoV-2

Spreading of respiratory diseases, such as COVID-19, from contaminated surfaces is dependent on the drying time of the deposited droplets containing the virus. The evaporation rate depends on environmental conditions, such as ambient temperature and relative humidity and physical properties (e.g., droplet volume, contact angle and composition). The respiratory droplets contain salt (NaCl), protein (mucin), and surfactant (dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine) in addition to water, which are expected to influence the evaporation in a big way. A diffusion-based theoretical model for estimating the drying time is developed which takes into account the dynamic contact angle of saliva droplets laden with salt and insoluble surfactants. The effect of the initial volume, contact angle, salinity, surfactant concentration, ambient temperature and relative humidity on the drying time of droplets is investigated.

Automated summary

The spreading of respiratory diseases like COVID-19 from contaminated surfaces is largely influenced by the drying time of virus-containing droplets, which is affected by environmental conditions and physical properties. Respiratory droplets contain salt, protein, and surfactant in addition to water, which are expected to impact evaporation significantly.