On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear
Abstract After the spread of COVID-19, surgical masks became highly recommended to the public. They tend to be handled and used multiple times, which may impact their performance. To evaluate this risk, surgical masks of Type IIR were submitted to four simulated treatments: folding, ageing with arti...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2022-03-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09068-1 |
| _version_ | 1818356774916325376 |
|---|---|
| author | Vincent Varanges Baris Caglar Yann Lebaupin Till Batt Weidong He Jing Wang René M. Rossi Gilles Richner Jean-Romain Delaloye Véronique Michaud |
| author_facet | Vincent Varanges Baris Caglar Yann Lebaupin Till Batt Weidong He Jing Wang René M. Rossi Gilles Richner Jean-Romain Delaloye Véronique Michaud |
| author_sort | Vincent Varanges |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract After the spread of COVID-19, surgical masks became highly recommended to the public. They tend to be handled and used multiple times, which may impact their performance. To evaluate this risk, surgical masks of Type IIR were submitted to four simulated treatments: folding, ageing with artificial saliva or sweat and washing cycles. The air permeability, mechanical integrity, electrostatic potential, and filtration efficiency (FE) of the masks were measured to quantify possible degradation. Overall, air permeability and mechanical integrity were not affected, except after washing, which slightly degraded the filtering layers. Electrostatic potential and FE showed a strong correlation, highlighting the role of electrostatic charges on small particle filtration. A slight decrease in FE for 100 nm particles was found, from 74.4% for the reference masks to 70.6% for the mask treated in saliva for 8 h. A strong effect was observed for washed masks, resulting in FE of 46.9% (± 9.5%), comparable to that of a control group with no electrostatic charges. A dry store and reuse strategy could thus be envisaged for the public if safety in terms of viral and bacterial charge is ensured, whereas washing strongly impacts FE and is not recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T20:02:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-19cbd2a559454c62a15493565c20a3d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T20:02:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-19cbd2a559454c62a15493565c20a3d72022-12-21T23:33:07ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-03-0112111010.1038/s41598-022-09068-1On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wearVincent Varanges0Baris Caglar1Yann Lebaupin2Till Batt3Weidong He4Jing Wang5René M. Rossi6Gilles Richner7Jean-Romain Delaloye8Véronique Michaud9Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Institute of Materials (IMX), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Institute of Materials (IMX), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Institute of Materials (IMX), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)Laboratory of Advanced Analytical Technologies, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)Laboratory of Advanced Analytical Technologies, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)Spiez Laboratory, Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCPDepartment of Surgery, Clinic of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, KantonsspitalLaboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites (LPAC), Institute of Materials (IMX), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Abstract After the spread of COVID-19, surgical masks became highly recommended to the public. They tend to be handled and used multiple times, which may impact their performance. To evaluate this risk, surgical masks of Type IIR were submitted to four simulated treatments: folding, ageing with artificial saliva or sweat and washing cycles. The air permeability, mechanical integrity, electrostatic potential, and filtration efficiency (FE) of the masks were measured to quantify possible degradation. Overall, air permeability and mechanical integrity were not affected, except after washing, which slightly degraded the filtering layers. Electrostatic potential and FE showed a strong correlation, highlighting the role of electrostatic charges on small particle filtration. A slight decrease in FE for 100 nm particles was found, from 74.4% for the reference masks to 70.6% for the mask treated in saliva for 8 h. A strong effect was observed for washed masks, resulting in FE of 46.9% (± 9.5%), comparable to that of a control group with no electrostatic charges. A dry store and reuse strategy could thus be envisaged for the public if safety in terms of viral and bacterial charge is ensured, whereas washing strongly impacts FE and is not recommended.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09068-1 |
| spellingShingle | Vincent Varanges Baris Caglar Yann Lebaupin Till Batt Weidong He Jing Wang René M. Rossi Gilles Richner Jean-Romain Delaloye Véronique Michaud On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear Scientific Reports |
| title | On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| title_full | On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| title_fullStr | On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| title_short | On the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| title_sort | on the durability of surgical masks after simulated handling and wear |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09068-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vincentvaranges onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT bariscaglar onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT yannlebaupin onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT tillbatt onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT weidonghe onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT jingwang onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT renemrossi onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT gillesrichner onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT jeanromaindelaloye onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear AT veroniquemichaud onthedurabilityofsurgicalmasksaftersimulatedhandlingandwear |