Nanothread filter forms barrier against coronavirus aerosols
A filter made from polymer nanothreads has been shown to capture 99.9 per cent of coronavirus aerosols compared to other forms of face coverings and air filters.
The study, led by engineers at UC Riverside and The George Washington University, is said to be the first to use coronavirus aerosols for evaluating filtration efficiency in such masks and filters.
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"Previous studies have used surrogates of saline solution, polystyrene beads, and bacteriophages - a group of viruses that infect bacteria," said corresponding author Yun Shen, a UC Riverside assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering. The team's findings have been published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
The study compared the effectiveness of surgical and cotton masks, a neck gaiter (or snood), and electrospun nanofibre membranes at removing coronavirus aerosols to prevent airborne transmission. The cotton mask and neck gaiter removed about 45 per cent-73 per cent of the aerosols. The surgical mask removed 98 per cent of coronavirus aerosols but the nanofibre filter was found to remove almost all the coronavirus aerosols, which have been identified as a major mechanism of COVID-19 virus transmission.
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