Improving the Protective Efficacy of Facemasks
Wearing a well-fitted mask along with vaccination, self-testing, and physical distancing, helps protect you and others by reducing the chance of spreading COVID-19. With the Long Covid phenomenon on the rise, it is better to take extra measures to improve the protective effects of our facemask. Nano silver has been shown to have anti-viral properties. A research was done to study the effects of incorporating silver nanoparticles into facemask. The study found that silver nanoparticles embedded in masks can neutralize the majority of virus particles that enter the mask.
Abstract from the Research Journal
Cloth used for facemask material has been coated with silver nanoparticles using an aerosol method that passes pure uncoated nanoparticles through the cloth and deposits them throughout the volume. The particles have been characterized by electron microscopy and have a typical diameter of 4 nm with the atomic structure of pure metallic silver presented as an assortment of single crystals and polycrystals. The particles adhere well to the cloth fibers, and the coating consists of individual nanoparticles at low deposition times, evolving to fully agglomerated assemblies in heavy coatings.
The cloth was exposed to Usutu virus and murine norovirus particles in suspension and allowed to dry, following which, the infectious virus particles were rescued by soaking the cloth in culture media. It was found that up to 98% of the virus particles were neutralized by this contact with the silver nanoparticles for optimum deposition conditions. The best performance was obtained with agglomerated films and with polycrystalline nanoparticles.
The work indicates that silver nanoparticles embedded in masks can neutralize the majority of virus particles that enter the mask and thus increase the opacity of masks to infectious viruses by up to a factor of 50. In addition, the majority of the virus particles released from the mask after use are non-infectious.
This research article was published on 3rd August 2022 in Journal Nanomaterials 2022, Volume 12, Issue 15, 2662. The full research study is available at this link.
Spraying Colloidal Nano Silver on Your Facemask
A simple method can be used to improve the effectiveness of facemask in protecting against virus and other infectious air-borne micro-organisms. Use a 10ppm colloidal nano silver solution and pour into a fine mist spray bottle. Spray the solution on to your facemask before using it.
