Abstract
Recent crisis in the form of COVID-19 has rendered wearing of mask mandatory for patients, health care workers and members of public worldwide. This has caused a sudden shift of focus on availability, effectiveness, re-use and development of face masks/respirators. In the current pandemic situation, the shortage of masks has also led to rethinking on strategies of reuse of masks after due sterilization. This work discusses a quick laboratory methodology to test/determine the particle filtration efficiency of face masks/respirators. The testing parameters include the particle capture efficiency of the mask material/full mask, pressure drop and the fit factor. Two different, simple, make-shift set-ups have been adopted for the present context. The first is used to measure the intrinsic particle capture efficiency and pressure drop of the filter material and the second as a ‘full mask sampler’ to assess the leakages through seams and joints of the mask. Experiments conducted with atomized NaCl test particles on three types of mask viz. commercial N-95 respirator, surgical mask and cloth mask have been used for evolving the methodology. The differences in terms of capture efficiency of aerosol particles for the filter material and for the full mask in face fix/sealed fixture have been linked to improvement of the mask design in development phase. This paper hopes to provide a crucial laboratory link between the mask developers and the certification agencies in the times of urgency. Needless to mention that commercialization of the same is subject to certification from authorized agencies, following standard procedures.
Highlights
IntroductionThe world is facing an unprecedented crisis in the form of COVID-19 (coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 disease) pandemic, a highly infectious disease
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis in the form of COVID-19 pandemic, a highly infectious disease
condensation particle counter (CPC) was preferred for the estimation of fit factor (FF) as it can be used as a ‘total number concentration counter’ operating at a high measurement frequency
Summary
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis in the form of COVID-19 (coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 disease) pandemic, a highly infectious disease. As of 15th November, 2020, more than 54.4 million cases and 1.3 million deaths [1] indicate the severity of the current situation. The modes of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 in populations include droplets, aerosols and physical contact, very similar to some recent pandemics (Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-1, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Influenza) [2,3,4]. Wearing of face mask/respirator is one of the key public recommendations made by the scientists [5], designated authorities and governments. This is posed as a crucial defense to control the transmission from the infected to healthy individuals, implying better public health. The research studies on masks have been consistent, resurgence is seen during the pandemic period [6], periodically bringing the focus on aspects related to their effectiveness in controlling the airborne transmissions
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