Salt coatings functionalize inert membranes into high-performing filters against infectious respiratory diseases

Autor: Surjith Kumar Kumaran, Su Hwa Lee, Hyo-Jick Choi, Dong-Hun Lee, Ilaria Rubino, Chun Il Kim, Hae Ji Kang, Euna Oh, Sana Kaleem, Sarah Armstrong, Ki Back Chu, Byeonghwa Jeon, Fu-Shi Quan, Alex Hornig, Shivanjali Choudhry, Sumin Han, Romani Lalani
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
0301 basic medicine
Materials science
Hot Temperature
Disease prevention
Respiratory Protective Device
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Science
Pneumonia
Viral
Sodium Chloride
Gram-Positive Bacteria
Article
Biomaterials
03 medical and health sciences
Betacoronavirus
0302 clinical medicine
Gram-Negative Bacteria
Infection transmission
Humans
Respiratory system
Respiratory Protective Devices
Pathogen inactivation
Pandemics
Inert
Aerosols
Public health
Respiratory tract diseases
Multidisciplinary
SARS-CoV-2
Masks
COVID-19
Humidity
Membranes
Artificial
Nanobiotechnology
Pulp and paper industry
Anti-Bacterial Agents
030104 developmental biology
Membrane
Design
synthesis and processing
Air Filters
Medicine
Infectious diseases
Bacterial infection
Coronavirus Infections
Crystallization
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Zdroj: Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020)
ISSN: 2045-2322
Popis: Respiratory protection is key in infection prevention of airborne diseases, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic for instance. Conventional technologies have several drawbacks (i.e., cross-infection risk, filtration efficiency improvements limited by difficulty in breathing, and no safe reusability), which have yet to be addressed in a single device. Here, we report the development of a filter overcoming the major technical challenges of respiratory protective devices. Large-pore membranes, offering high breathability but low bacteria capture, were functionalized to have a uniform salt layer on the fibers. The salt-functionalized membranes achieved high filtration efficiency as opposed to the bare membrane, with differences of up to 48%, while maintaining high breathability (> 60% increase compared to commercial surgical masks even for the thickest salt filters tested). The salt-functionalized filters quickly killed Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria aerosols in vitro, with CFU reductions observed as early as within 5 min, and in vivo by causing structural damage due to salt recrystallization. The salt coatings retained the pathogen inactivation capability at harsh environmental conditions (37 °C and a relative humidity of 70%, 80% and 90%). Combination of these properties in one filter will lead to the production of an effective device, comprehensibly mitigating infection transmission globally.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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