Preparation and Characteristic of Antibacterial Facemasks with Chinese Herbal Microcapsules

Ya-Fen Wang,Geng-Le Lin,Cheng-Hsien Tsai,Sheng-Jie You,Fei Kang

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2017.06.0208

Abstract

ABSTRACTAlong with the current increases in human activities, air pollution, especially that generated from bioaerosols, has begun to receive more extensive attention. Among the bioaerosols, bacteria and fungi can result in organisms that are pathogenic to animals and humans. Therefore, a biological protective respirator with an antibacterial function would be a significant method by which to prevent epidemic spread of respiratory infectious diseases and protect human health. In this study, a type of facemask with an antibacterial function was prepared. The structure of the respirator included a respirator body and an inner filter layer that was assembled with herbal microcapsules. A kind of Chinese herb microcapsule developed through a cross-linking reaction method was successfully prepared to serve as an important component of the respirator. Scutellaria baicalensis (SB), a typical Chinese medicine, was employed to prepare the Chinese herb microcapsule. Three kinds of filter cloth (cotton, polyester fiber, and non-woven fabric, respectively) were employed to assemble with Chinese herb microcapsule. Meanwhile, the antibacterial performance and adhesion of the Chinese herb microcapsule for E. coli and S. aureus were investigated. The measurement results revealed that (i) the antibacterial efficiency of the Chinese herb microcapsule and the respirator filter was above approximately 99.999 and 96.000%, respectively; (ii) the adhesion of the herb microcapsules was still excellent after the filter was washed 100 times; (iii) the as-prepared antibacterial filter modified by an O2 plasma-surface (PSM-O2) treatment exhibited excellent antibacterial performance. Finally, a chamber simulation utilizing an Anderson first order sampler was designed to simulate the effect of wearing the antibacterial filter in a real environment. Overall, the respirator exhibited excellent biological protection properties compared with general masks, which will satisfy a vast number of application prospects.

Highlights

Bioaerosols generated from airborne particles of biological origin include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and fragments of the foregoing or their metabolic products (Chow et al, 2015; Walser et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2016; Lal et al, 2017)
The measurement results revealed that (i) the antibacterial efficiency of the Chinese herb microcapsule and the respirator filter was above approximately 99.999 and 96.000%, respectively; (ii) the adhesion of the herb microcapsules was still excellent after the filter was washed 100 times; (iii) the as-prepared antibacterial filter modified by an O2 plasma-surface (PSM-O2) treatment exhibited excellent antibacterial performance
The results showed that the minimum antibacterial concentrations of Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) for E. coli and S. aureus were 0.2 and 0.0125 g mL–1, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Bioaerosols generated from airborne particles of biological origin include fungi, bacteria, viruses, and fragments of the foregoing or their metabolic products (e.g., endotoxins, mycotoxins) (Chow et al, 2015; Walser et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2016; Lal et al, 2017). Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 17: 2119–2128, 2017 history of treating diseases, serve as an established segment of the public health system in China at present and have attracted much more concern in other parts of Asia (Chen and Zhu, 2013). Traditional Chinese medicine utilizes multiple plant prescriptions made from their extraction agents that have served the health needs of the Chinese general public for over 5000 years (Mahady et al, 2008). Scutellariabaicalensis (SB), a traditional Chinese medicine, comprises several biological activities including anti-oxidative, antiinflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral activities ((Duan et al, 2007). An increasing number of antibacterial respirators employing Chinese herbal medicine has emerged (Chen and Zhu, 2013; Han et al, 2015; Mazzio et al, 2016)

Methods

Results

Conclusion