Jung Sunghoon, Yang Jun-Yeoung, Byeon Eun-Yeon, Kim Do-Geun, Lee Da-Gyum, Ryoo Sungweon, Lee Sanggu, Shin Cheol-Woong, Jang Ho Won, Kim Hyo Jung, Lee Seunghun
Department of Nano-Bio Convergence, Korea Institute of Materials Science, 797 Changwondae-ro, Changwon 51508, Korea.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 22;13(9):1367. doi: 10.3390/polym13091367.
Face masks will be used to prevent pandemic recurrence and outbreaks of mutant SARS-CoV-2 strains until mass immunity is confirmed. The polypropylene (PP) filter is a representative disposable mask material that traps virus-containing bioaerosols, preventing secondary transmission. In this study, a copper thin film (20 nm) was deposited via vacuum coating on a spunbond PP filter surrounding a KF94 face mask to provide additional protection and lower the risk of secondary transmission. Film adhesion was improved using oxygen ion beam pretreatment, resulting in cuprous oxide formation on the PP fiber without structural deformation. The copper-coated mask exhibited filtration efficiencies of 95.1 ± 1.32% and 91.6 ± 0.83% for NaCl and paraffin oil particles, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 inactivation was evaluated by transferring virus-containing media onto the copper-coated PP filters and subsequently adding Vero cells. Infection was verified using real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunochemical staining. Vero cells added after contact with the copper-coated mask did not express the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and envelope genes of SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid immunofluorescence results indicated a reduction in the amount of virus of more than 75%. Therefore, copper-coated antiviral PP filters could be key materials in personal protective equipment, as well as in air-conditioning systems.
在确认实现群体免疫之前，将使用口罩来预防大流行的再次发生和新型严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）毒株的爆发。聚丙烯（PP）过滤器是一种典型的一次性口罩材料，可捕获含病毒的生物气溶胶，防止二次传播。在本研究中，通过真空镀膜在KF94口罩周围的纺粘PP过滤器上沉积了一层20纳米的铜薄膜，以提供额外的防护并降低二次传播风险。使用氧离子束预处理提高了薄膜附着力，在PP纤维上形成了氧化亚铜，且无结构变形。镀铜口罩对氯化钠和石蜡油颗粒的过滤效率分别为95.1±1.32%和91.6±0.83%。通过将含病毒培养基转移到镀铜PP过滤器上，随后添加Vero细胞来评估SARS-CoV-2的灭活情况。使用实时聚合酶链反应和免疫化学染色来验证感染情况。与镀铜口罩接触后添加的Vero细胞未表达SARS-CoV-2的RNA依赖性RNA聚合酶和包膜基因。SARS-CoV-2核衣壳免疫荧光结果表明病毒量减少了75%以上。因此，镀铜抗病毒PP过滤器可能成为个人防护装备以及空调系统中的关键材料。
