Functionalized non-woven surfaces for combating the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic

Research progress in preparation, properties, and applications of medical protective fiber materials

A variety of public health events seriously threaten human life and health, especially the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has caused a serious impact on human production and life. Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the most effective ways to prevent infection and stop the spread of the virus. Medical protective fiber materials have become the first choice for PPE because of their excellent barrier properties and breathability. In this article, we systematically review the latest progress in preparation technologies, properties, and applications of medical protective fiber materials. We first summarize the technological characteristics of different fiber preparation methods and compare their advantages and disadvantages. Then the barrier properties, comfort, and mechanical properties of the medical protective fiber materials used in PPE are discussed. After that, the applications of medical protective fibers in PPE are introduced, and protective clothing and masks are discussed in detail. Finally, the current status, future development trend, and existing challenges of medical protective fiber materials are summarized.

Determining the filtration effectiveness of non-standard respiratory protective devices by an ad-hoc laboratory methodology

The recent pandemic caused by COVID-19 profoundly changed people's habits. Wearing a face mask has become usual in everyday life to reduce the risk of infection from airborne diseases. At the beginning of the pandemic, the massive request of surgical or filtering face piece (FFP) masks resulted in a global shortage of these devices for the most exposed people, such as healthcare workers. Due to this high demand for respiratory protective devices, many industrial plants have partly converted to the production of face masks using adapted materials and not complying with any specific regulation (non-standard respiratory protective devices or community masks). In this work, an ad-hoc laboratory methodology has been developed to evaluate the filtration efficiency of the materials that compose the community masks using specific instrumentation. The instrumentation consists of three main tools: an aerosol generator, a specifically designed measuring chamber, and an optical particle sizer (OPS) for the measurement of aerosol concentration. The generated aerosol was sent into the measuring chamber, divided into two separate sections by the respiratory mask. The OPS measured the aerosol mass concentration upstream and downstream of the respiratory mask, and from the concentration difference the filtration efficiency was evaluated. The proposed methodology has been validated by evaluating the particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of certified respiratory masks and was then applied for the evaluation of the filtration efficiency of different types of non-standard or community masks to analyze their effectiveness in protecting from the risk of infection of airborne diseases.

Antimicrobial and mechanical properties of functionalized textile by nanoarchitectured photoinduced Ag@polymer coating

The control of microbial proliferation is a constant battle, especially in the medical field where surfaces, equipment, and textiles need to be cleaned on a daily basis. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) possess well-documented antimicrobial properties and by combining them with a physical matrix, they can be applied to various surfaces to limit microbial contamination. With this in mind, a rapid and easy way to implement a photoinduced approach was investigated for textile functionalization with a silver@polymer self-assembled nanocomposite. By exposing the photosensitive formulation containing a silver precursor, a photoinitiator, and acrylic monomers to a UV source, highly reflective metallic coatings were obtained directly on the textile support. After assessing their optical and mechanical properties, the antimicrobial properties of the functionalized textiles were tested against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains. In addition to being flexible and adherent to the textile substrates, the nanocomposites exhibited remarkable microbial growth inhibitory effects.

Editorial: theme issue on coronavirus and surfaces

Since the publication of the headline review on ‘Surface interactions and viability of coronaviruses' in Journal of the Royal Society Interface in January 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2020.0798), it has been my earnest desire to focus the minds of the scientific community on the role played by surfaces in the spread of COVID-19, especially the input physical sciences and engineering can impart to decelerate the spread of this disease worldwide. In fact, fig. 4 of the above-mentioned review clearly illustrated how persistence and viability of different coronavirus strains were dependent on widely used material surfaces. I thought the best way to achieve this goal on this rather complex and novel scientific issue was to put together a concise theme issue in Interface Focus where we bring together the opinions of a few internationally leading researchers on this important topic to collectively reduce the burden of COVID-19. Coronavirus and surfaces, the theme of this issue, is of utmost importance to many commercially significant industries such as packaging, textiles and metal forming. As the virus mutates and alters its anchoring and survival capabilities, this theme on coronavirus and surfaces will become more important, so we need to focus on this theme scientifically and methodically, with utmost urgency.