Martí Miguel, Tuñón-Molina Alberto, Aachmann Finn Lillelund, Muramoto Yukiko, Noda Takeshi, Takayama Kazuo, Serrano-Aroca Ángel
Biomaterials and Bioengineering Lab, Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, c/Guillem de Castro 94, 46001 Valencia, Spain.
The Norwegian Biopolymer Laboratory (NOBIPOL), Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Sem Sælands vei6-8, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Jan 8;13(2):207. doi: 10.3390/polym13020207.
Face masks have globally been accepted to be an effective protective tool to prevent bacterial and viral transmission, especially against indoor aerosol transmission. However, commercial face masks contain filters that are made of materials that are not capable of inactivating either SARS-CoV-2 or multidrug-resistant bacteria. Therefore, symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals can infect other people even if they wear them because some viable viral or bacterial loads can escape from the masks. Furthermore, viral or bacterial contact transmission can occur after touching the mask, which constitutes an increasing source of contaminated biological waste. Additionally, bacterial pathogens contribute to the SARS-CoV-2-mediated pneumonia disease complex, and their resistance to antibiotics in pneumonia treatment is increasing at an alarming rate. In this regard, herein, we report the development of a non-woven face mask filter fabricated with a biofunctional coating of benzalkonium chloride that is capable of inactivating more than 99% of SARS-CoV-2 particles in one minute of contact, and the life-threatening methicillin-resistant and (normalized antibacterial of 0.52 ± 0.04 and 0.72 ± 0.04, respectively). Nonetheless, despite the results obtained, further studies are needed to ensure the safety and correct use of this technology for the mass production and commercialization of this broad-spectrum antimicrobial face mask filter. Our novel protective non-woven face mask filter would be useful for many healthcare workers and researchers working in this urgent and challenging field.
口罩在全球范围内已被公认为是预防细菌和病毒传播的有效防护工具，尤其是针对室内气溶胶传播。然而，商用口罩所包含的过滤器是由无法灭活严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）或耐多药细菌的材料制成的。因此，有症状和无症状的个体即使佩戴了口罩也可能感染他人，因为一些存活的病毒或细菌载量可能会从口罩中逸出。此外，触摸口罩后可能会发生病毒或细菌的接触传播，这构成了越来越多的受污染生物废物来源。此外，细菌病原体促成了SARS-CoV-2介导的肺炎疾病复合体，并且它们在肺炎治疗中对抗生素的耐药性正以惊人的速度增加。在这方面，我们在此报告了一种无纺布口罩过滤器的研发情况，该过滤器采用了苯扎氯铵生物功能涂层，在接触一分钟内能够灭活超过99%的SARS-CoV-2颗粒，以及对生命有威胁的耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌和耐碳青霉烯类肺炎克雷伯菌（标准化抗菌率分别为0.52±0.04和0.72±0.04）。尽管如此，尽管取得了这些结果，但仍需要进一步研究以确保该技术在大规模生产和商业化这种广谱抗菌口罩过滤器时的安全性和正确使用方法。我们新型的防护性无纺布口罩过滤器将对许多在这个紧迫且具有挑战性的领域工作的医护人员和研究人员有用。
