Hamouda Tamer, Kafafy Hany, Mashaly H M, Aly Nermin M
Spinning and Weaving Engineering Department, Textile Industries Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
Dyeing, Printing and Auxiliaries Department, Textile Industries Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
J Ind Text. 2022 Apr;51(9):1494-1523. doi: 10.1177/15280837211051100.
The global widespread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused shortage of medical face masks and led to developing of various types of cloth masks with different levels of protection and comfort to meet the market demands. Breathing comfort is a significant aspect that should be considered during the design of cloth masks along with the filtration efficiency; otherwise, the wearer will feel suffocated. In this work, different types of cotton and polyester knitted fabrics blended with spandex yarns were produced and treated with silver nanoparticles to be used as antiviral cloth masks. Scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and EDX were used to characterize the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Antiviral activity was assessed against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus as well. The influence of using different fabric materials, number of layers, and hybrid layers on their air permeability and breathability were investigated to evaluate the comfortability of the cloth masks. Physiological impacts of wearing the cloth masks were evaluated by measuring oxygen saturation of hemoglobin and heart rate of the wearers while doing various activities. The results indicated that AgNPs have low cytotoxicity and considerable efficiency in inhibition of SARS-CoV-2. Adding spandex yarns with different count and ratios reduced the porosity and air permeability of the fabrics. Moreover, the combination of three hybrid layers' mask made of polyester fabric in the outer layer with 100% cotton fabric in the inner layer showed high comfortability associated with high air permeability and breathability. Also, wearing these masks while doing activities showed no significant effect on blood oxygen saturation and heart rate of the wearers.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）在全球范围内的传播导致医用口罩短缺，促使人们开发出各种具有不同防护水平和舒适度的布口罩，以满足市场需求。呼吸舒适度是布口罩设计过程中应与过滤效率一同考虑的重要方面；否则，佩戴者会感到窒息。在这项工作中，生产了不同类型的与氨纶纱混纺的棉和聚酯针织物，并用银纳米颗粒进行处理，用作抗病毒布口罩。使用扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜和能谱仪对银纳米颗粒（AgNPs）进行表征。还评估了其对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的抗病毒活性。研究了使用不同织物材料、层数和混合层对其透气性和呼吸性的影响，以评估布口罩的舒适性。通过在佩戴者进行各种活动时测量血红蛋白的氧饱和度和心率，评估佩戴布口罩的生理影响。结果表明，AgNPs具有低细胞毒性，对SARS-CoV-2有显著的抑制效果。添加不同支数和比例的氨纶纱会降低织物的孔隙率和透气性。此外，外层为聚酯织物、内层为100%棉织物的三层混合层口罩，具有高透气性和呼吸性，舒适性高。而且，佩戴这些口罩进行活动时，对佩戴者的血氧饱和度和心率没有显著影响。
