A new study has demonstrated that an innovative electrospun nanofibrous
air filtration
system may be invaluable for improving personal protective equipment and indoor air filtration systems. This could help to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The research was published on the medRxiv preprint server.
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The limitations of current masks and filtration systems
While scientists are still learning the multiple factors that impact the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and its manifestation, one thing that is agreed upon is that airborne transmission presents a significant route to infection. Water droplets, expelled by breathing, coughing, and talking, have been proven to linger in the air for hours, remaining infectious and accumulating in closed environments.
Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new coronavirus mask model
Over 84.8 million confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), including 1.85 million deaths. This staggering toll comes even amid the crucial measures taken by public health authorities worldwide, such as lockdowns, travel bans, mass gathering restrictions, home quarantines, social distancing measures, personal protective actions, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions.
The spread of the virus in aerosol droplets is most infectious through long-range transmission; the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols is 1.1 hours. One of the major mitigation strategies in the spread of the novel coronavirus, then, has been the use of face masks. For the pandemic, many types of masks have hit the market with varying levels of effectiveness.
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