SBIR Phase I: Rapidly Deployable Virus Adsorbing Face Mask Coating to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission

小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是减少新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）和其他病毒病原体的病毒传播。持续的COVID-19大流行已造成数十万人死亡，经济和医疗系统受到广泛干扰。口罩已被证明在减少冠状病毒传播方面发挥着关键作用。然而，布面具在保护佩戴者免受暴露和有效替代品（即，N95消毒剂）对一线工作人员和公众来说供不应求，迫切需要一种低成本、安全、有效、简单的涂层技术来减少病毒传播。该项目将开发一种可直接应用于面罩或面罩插件的涂层。 除了COVID-19，未来的涂料组合物可以调整以应对新的病毒爆发。此外，由于对当前危机的认识提高，对通过涂层或过滤器插入物进行呼吸保护的需求可能很高。该SBIR第一阶段项目建议开发具有两性特性的分子涂层，以增强水基气溶胶中的病毒吸附。离子交换（IEX）材料由于pH可调的静电亲和力而通常在水性环境中用作有效的病毒吸附剂。然而，这些设计原理尚未转化为面罩涂层，因为市售的IEX材料：1）利用需要复杂和集中生产的危险化学品，2）缺乏在固定pH环境中吸附的可调性（即，人的呼吸），和3）通常吸收对面罩的呼吸保护有害的水。该项目将通过设计异质表面涂层来克服这些限制。涂层组合物将被优化以促进在呼吸条件下的静电病毒吸附（即，pH ~ 7.7），同时增强疏水性以使气溶胶通过多孔面罩的渗透最小化。拟议研究解决的关键技术障碍是：1）形成单相涂层溶液，2）涂层应用和两性特性的优化以用于选择性吸附，3）实现2倍或更高的病毒保护因子的增加，（4）评估从摇篮到该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project is the reduction of viral transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and other viral pathogens. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands with widespread disruption to economic and healthcare systems. Face masks have been shown to play a critical role in reducing coronavirus transmission. However, cloth masks do a poor job protecting the wearer from exposure and effective alternatives (i.e., N95 respirators) are in short supply for front-line workers and the public, creating an urgent need for a low-cost, safe, effective, and simple coating technology that reduces virus transmission. This project will develop a coating that can be applied directly to a face mask or mask insert. Beyond COVID-19, future coating compositions could be tuned to address new viral outbreaks. Furthermore, respiratory protection via coatings or filter inserts are likely to be in high demand given the increased awareness from the current crisis. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop molecular coatings with amphoteric properties to enhance virus adsorption from water-based aerosols. Ion exchange (IEX) materials are commonly used in aqueous environments as effective virus adsorbents because of pH tunable electrostatic affinity. However, these design principles have not been translated to a face mask coating because commercially available IEX materials: 1) utilize hazardous chemicals that require complex and centralized production, 2) lack tunability for adsorption in a fixed pH environment (i.e., human breath), and 3) typically absorb water which is detrimental to the respiratory protection of a mask. This project will overcome these limitations through the design of a heterogeneous surface coating. The coating composition will be optimized to promote electrostatic virus adsorption under breathing conditions (i.e., pH ~ 7.7) while simultaneously enhancing hydrophobicity to minimize aerosol penetration through a porous mask. The key technical hurdles addressed by the proposed research are: 1) formation of a single phase coating solution, 2) coating application and optimization of amphoteric properties for selective adsorption, 3) achieving an increase viral protection factor of 2× or higher, and 4) assessing cradle-to-grave safety.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.