City mask breakthrough
A NOTTINGHAM scientist has developed a antiviral face mask that is more than 90 percent effective at killing coronavirus.
The masks feature a fluid-repellent outer layer to stop people inhaling the droplets that carry Covid-19 and copper embedded in the mask material that emits ions once in contact with a virus to kill it.
Dr Gareth Cave, scientist and nanotechnology expert at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), developed the patented technology and designed the masks.
Tests showed that the masks – which are Type IIR, meaning they offer the highest level of protection with a 99.98 percent filtration efficiency – were killed more than 90 percent of influenza and coronavirus within seven hours. This means the masks are certified to ISO 18184 standards – an antiviral textile test.
Dr Cave, of the university’s School of Science and Technology, said: “It’s exciting to see our technology move forward and make a real impact towards the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
“The mask we’ve developed has been proven to inactivate viruses upon contact; the antiviral layer kills virus which has been blocked by the filter layers.
“The challenge with conventional surgical-type masks is that they only block virus from entering or exiting the mask. They don’t have an active mechanism for killing it once it’s trapped in the mask.
“Our new antiviral mask has been designed to utilise the existing barrier technology and combine it with our nanotechnology to kill the virus once it is trapped there.
“By killing the virus on contact, it also means that the used face mask can be safely disposed of and not be a potential source of passive transfer.”
The masks are expected to go into production in Nottingham this month and will be commercially available from December for healthcare, transport and food service settings initially.
They are now being produced by NTU spin-out company Pharm2Farm, founded by Dr Cave, in Nottingham’s Biocity.
Instead of the usual three-ply design, the five-ply surgical mask includes an additional antiviral inner layer which incorporates nano-copper created using a patented process developed at the university.
Because they are spherical, nanoparticles have a large surface area making the approach more effective at killing the virus.
The masks can be pre-ordered in bulk for £1 per mask. But minimum orders start at £10,000.
While current conventional surgical masks block the virus, it can remain on or in the mask while being worn and after it has been disposed of.
NTU deputy vice-chancellor for research and enterprise, Professor Nigel Wright, said: “This is quality work and exciting news.
“It’s another great example of how NTU researchers have risen to the challenge to help find solutions to tackle this global pandemic and other real world problems.”