Kumkrong Paramee, Scoles Ludmila, Brunet Yvan, Baker Scott
National Research Council Canada, Canada.
MethodsX. 2021 Aug 11;8:101485. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101485. eCollection 2021.
Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a sterilizing agent for medical devices and its use has recently been extended to N95 masks during PPE shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hydrogen peroxide remaining on the masks after sterilization could potentially pose a health hazard to the mask users. In the present study a colorimetric method was optimized for the determination of hydrogen peroxide on N95 masks following chemical sanitizations. The developed analytical method demonstrated an overall recovery of 98% ± 7%. The limit of detection ranged from 0.16 to 0.25 mg/mask, depending on the type of mask. The expanded measurement uncertainty was 13% (at a 95% confidence interval). The sanitization process itself introduced a significant variation in hydrogen peroxide load between masks. The ozone used in the sanitization process had no significant impact on analytical performance. Stamped and printed marks on the mask surfaces could induce biased readings. Hydrogen peroxide decomposes quickly on the mask surfaces so timing of analysis is an important factor in method standardization.•The validation data demonstrated that the in-house method is reliable and fit for the intended purpose, offering a sensitive, simple, rapid, and inexpensive method of residue monitoring.
过氧化氢通常用作医疗器械的消毒剂，由于新冠疫情导致个人防护装备短缺，其用途最近已扩展到N95口罩。消毒后残留在口罩上的过氧化氢可能会对口罩使用者构成健康危害。在本研究中，优化了一种比色法，用于测定化学消毒后N95口罩上的过氧化氢。所开发的分析方法总体回收率为98%±7%。检测限为0.16至0.25毫克/口罩，具体取决于口罩类型。扩展测量不确定度为13%（95%置信区间）。消毒过程本身导致不同口罩之间过氧化氢负载量存在显著差异。消毒过程中使用的臭氧对分析性能没有显著影响。口罩表面的冲压和印刷标记可能会导致读数偏差。过氧化氢在口罩表面分解迅速，因此分析时间是方法标准化的一个重要因素。验证数据表明，该内部方法可靠且适用于预期目的，提供了一种灵敏、简单、快速且廉价的残留监测方法。
