Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 has spread rapidly across the globe, greatly affecting how humans as a whole interact, work and go about their daily life. One of the key pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is being utilised to return to the norm is the face mask or respirator. In this review we aim to examine face masks and respirators, looking at the current materials in use and possible future innovations that will enhance their protection against SARS-CoV-2. Previous studies concluded that cotton, natural silk and chiffon could provide above 50% efficiency. In addition, it was found that cotton quilt with a highly tangled fibrous nature provides efficient filtration in the small particle size range. Novel designs by employing various filter materials such as nanofibres, silver nanoparticles, and nano-webs on the filter surfaces to induce antimicrobial properties are also discussed in detail. Modification of N95/N99 masks to provide additional filtration of air and to deactivate the pathogens using various technologies such as low- temperature plasma is reviewed. Legislative guidelines for selecting and wearing facial protection are also discussed. The feasibility of reusing these masks will be examined as well as a discussion on the modelling of mask use and the impact wearing them can have. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models and its applications to minimise or prevent the spread of the virus using face masks and respirators is also addressed. It is concluded that a significant amount of research is required for the development of highly efficient, reusable, anti-viral and thermally regulated face masks and respirators.
Highlights
Demonstrated that nanofibre filter incorporated surgical masks showed a decrease in air flow resistance and an improved filtration efficiency when compared to commercially available masks [84]
A separate study modelling a patient coughing while wearing a face mask found that the mask had a 91% “initial efficiency”, droplets were capable of penetrating the mask and travelling over 1.2 m [119]
Unlike the previous epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory disease (MERS), the technologies are equipped to control this infection. This growth was seen by the quick actions like identifying the pathogen, rapid development of detection test kits, enhanced research for vaccines or drugs and introducing health care policies in a very short period [125]
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic broke out in December of 2019 in a city called Wuhan in the Hubei province of China [1]. On the 19th of March, WHO issued guidelines for the prevention of infection of COVID-19 They recommended that health care workers use medical masks when treating suspected patients and that these patients wear masks or covered their mouths when coughing or sneezing [7]. Respiratory droplets and aerosols (Figure 1) are the main method of infection of COVID-19 with asymptomatic individuals capable of transmitting the virus unknowingly whilst breathing or speaking [9]. When the individual wore a face mask, they were unable to detect any coronavirus in either the aerosol or the droplets [13] This would indicate that the use of a face mask can help prevent the spread of the virus from infected individuals. In the United States of America, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that face masks be worn when social distancing cannot be upheld and for respirators and surgical masks not to be used [20]
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