Integrated photothermal decontamination device for N95 respirators.
Sci Rep
; 11(1): 1822, 2021 01 19.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33469049
ABSTRACT
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for the COVID-19 global pandemic has infected over 25 million people worldwide and resulted in the death of millions. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in many regions around the world, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. The shortages of PPE, such as N95 respirators, is something that will persist until an effective vaccine is made available. Thus, devices that while being easy to operate can also be rapidly deployed in health centers, and long-term residences without the need for major structural overhaul are instrumental to sustainably use N95 respirators. In this report, we present the design and validation of a decontamination device that combines UV-C & B irradiation with mild-temperature treatment. The device can decontaminate up to 20 masks in a cycle of < 30 min. The decontamination process did not damage or reduce the filtering capacity of the masks. Further, the efficacy of the device to eliminate microbes and viruses from the masks was also evaluated. The photothermal treatment of our device was capable of eradicating > 99.9999% of the bacteria and > 99.99% of the virus tested.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Contexto en salud:
4_TD
/
6_ODS3_enfermedades_notrasmisibles
Problema de salud:
4_covid_19
/
4_pneumonia
/
6_other_respiratory_diseases
Asunto principal:
Bacterias
/
Rayos Ultravioleta
/
Virus
/
Descontaminación
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá